We have several pairs of old blue jeans that I just can’t seem to bring myself to throw out. They’re very worn out, but I just hate throwing away all of that fabric. So they continue to sit upstairs in a pile. Until this past weekend…
Last weekend Alberto and I finally put up our Christmas trees. We always like to make new ornaments every year and Alberto thought of making a few of them out of the old blue jeans…it was a great idea! All we did was cut the jeans into strips and twist them around a foam ball. The twisted fabric gave the ornaments an interesting texture and the unevenness of the blue color added an extra character to each ornament. To finish them up, we added a few pieces of old costume jewelry that we’ve found at garage sales from the last summer –instant BLING!
Here’s what we used to make the ornaments:
- 6 foam balls
- Blue jeans (washed!)
- Gold ribbon
- Old costume jewelry
This is what we needed to put it together:
- Glue gun
- Pins (You may also want a pen or pencil to save your fingers from pushing in the pins.)
- Scissors
Let’s make some Blue Jean Ornaments!
- Start by cuting the ribbon about 5-inches long.
- Next, bend the ribbon in half, and pin the ribbon to the end of one of the foam balls.
- Now, cut six strips of the blue jeans about 1-inch wide. We used jeans that had a 30-inch inseam, and we were able to do the entire ball with about 5 1/2 strips.
- Taking one of the strips, twist the end and pin it next to the ribbon. Use two pins to secure the jean fabric in place and start twisting it around the foam ball.
- Make sure to pin the fabric into place at least every turn. I like to put the pin on the bottom of the fabric so that you won’t see it on the finished ornament.
- Once you’ve reached the end of the first strip, pin the end underneath the row above.
- Taking a second strip, twist the end and pin it about 1/4-inch in from the end of the first strip. This will help hide the break in the fabric.
- Twist and wrap the second strip around the ball pinning as you go.
- Continue these last few steps until you’ve completely covered the ball. On the last strip, cut the fabric and tuck it into the center. Place a pin in it to secure the end.
- Repeat for the other 5 balls.
Cocktail Break!
We put up our Christmas trees this weekend and we were feeling especially festive, so Alberto decided that he wanted to try mulling bourbon for this week’s cocktail break! We weren’t sure how it would turn out, and we were very pleasantly surprised. The bourbon took on the flavors of the season. Alberto then added caramel cream liqueur and Frangelico to come up with an amazing Eggnog Cocktail! Once again, this one will be added to the holiday classics!
Bling! Bling!
- Finish the ornament by placing a piece of old costume jewelry on the ornament to make sure you know the placement. Add hot glue to the back of the piece and press it on until the glue holds.
These were really so easy and the bling added holiday sparkle to the whole project…not to mention that we used the old blue jeans! I think we may even give them as hostess gifts for future holiday parties!
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