What better way to signify a joyful noise at Christmas, than with musical note DIY Christmas tree decorations! I think of Christmas carols and joyful songs. This Christmas ornament craft uses vintage sheet music for a warm and nostalgic feeling. It is also very easy to do. So, whipping up a bunch for yourself or for gifts is not a time consuming task when there is so much to do in the holiday season.
I found that the best place to find vintage sheet music is at antique stores. Although, other great places to look are estate sales, flea markets and even garage sales. The older and more yellow the pages, the better! I like the yellowing because this tends to look a little more rustic and saves me the step of aging the papers myself.
Sheet Music Christmas Ornament Tutorial:
Materials Needed:
- 3-4 inch styro-foam ball
- vintage sheet music
- Mod Podge decoupage
- paint brush
- beading eye pin
- silver decorative bead
- gloss brush on varnish
- glamour dust or glitter
- scissors
- craft wire, tin snips & pliers or a Christmas ball hook
1. Take a page of sheet music and cut it up into small squares. You want to have the squares small enough to fit flat onto your styro-foam ball without wrinkling when you apply your decoupage.
2. With your paint brush, apply a layer of Mod Podge decoupage to a section of the styro-foam ball. Place a square of the sheet music onto the Mod Podge and then apply another coat of Mod Podge over the sheet music.
3. Keep applying more squares in a random, mosaic type pattern. Make sure to overlap the layers so that there are no gaps.
4. When the entire ball is covered, let it dry for a few hours.
5. Take your beading eye pin and slip your decorative bead through to the looped end. Now coat the entire pin with styro-foam glue and then insert this into the center of your ball. This will act as your base to loop your hook for hanging on the tree.
6. Brush the entire ball with a gloss finish varnish or polyurethane. This gives a nice protective finish to the decoupage layer. While the varnish is still wet, brush on some Glamour Dust or glitter. You can find both varnish and Glamour Dust where you buy small containers of acrylic paints.
7. optional…If you want to make your own hook for hanging on the tree, cut a small section of craft wire with your tin snips. Insert one end through the loop at the top of your ornament and secure by clasping the wire together with your pliers. Bend the other end slightly for hanging.
This is a fun Christmas ornament craft to do for yourself or to give to others as a gift.
‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth’ Psalm 100:1
Such a lovely ornament