I love the colors and finishes of the Darice Berry Accents vase fillers, so I thought that our ornament challenge would be the perfect opportunity for me to use them in a craft. These simple, clustered-berry ornaments fit in perfectly with my traditional antique ornaments, mercury glass, and feathered birds… but would look equally lovely on a modern tree, or with any holiday decorating theme!
Finished Berry Accents Ornament
Supplies:
- Berry Accents Vase Fillers (I used Green/Yellow Pearl and Gold Glitter)*
- 3 inch Dylite Balls or any other size/shape Styrofoam base
- Studio 71 Acrylic Paint in Iridescent Gold
- Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
- Dual Temp Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- Flat Paint Brushes
- (2) 24 inch pieces of 3/16 or 1/8 inch Double Faced Ribbon per ornament
1) Use acrylic craft paint as a base coat. This will keep the white of the dylite from showing through any spaces between the berries.
2) Once the paint dries, use hot glue to attach the ribbon and divide the ornament into 4 different quadrants. Start by gluing the middle of each ribbon to the bottom of the ornament, and use one or two additional glue dots to adhere each piece up the ornament, finishing at the top. I twisted the ribbon in between each dot of glue to give it a fancier look.
Berrying in Process!
3) Working on one quadrant at a time, make lines with Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue. Using a flat brush, spread the glue around thickly to fill up the space. Place berries onto the glue, pressing softly to make sure each berry nestles into the glue. (Note: It proved to be a little easier to do half of each ornament and allow to dry before finishing the other half, to keep the just-set berries from moving around in the wet glue.)
4) Once the glue has dried and the berries are set, create the ribbon hanger and bow. Using two opposite pieces, gently tie a knot next to the ornament. Then tie those two ribbon pieces together at the top as well. Take the remaining two pieces and tie them into a decorative bow around the hanger to finish off the ornament.
Bonus: Berry Accents Topiary Christmas Tree
Berry Accents Topiary Tree
Additional supplies needed:
- Small Durafoam Cone
- 1.5 inch Star Tree Topper
- Gold Glitter (I used Martha Stewart, but Darice gold glitter might better match the berries)
I made this cute Berry Accents topiary tree much the same way as I crafted the ornaments above. However, before I started to glue on the berries, I used hot glue to attach a glittered star tree topper. Once the berries were affixed and the tacky glue had dried, I added twisty ribbon tinsel–hot glued at the top, bottom, and once or twice in the middle–to finish off this free-standing holiday decoration.
*Note: Both ornaments and the topiary together used a little less than 1/4 of the Green/Yellow Pearl Berry Accents, and maybe 1/6 of the Gold Glitter Berry Accents. So this is a great option for those who need a lot of handmade ornaments!
