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Make a Keepsake Travel Ornament

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This post is brought to you by Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions and ideas are my own.

Today, I’ve got a super easy holiday craft for you that only uses a few materials, including FolkArt Multi-Surface Paint and Mod Podge. But first, a story.

An easy way to save and display ticket stubs, coins, and other small mementos from a trip. Love this ornament idea!

This summer, John and I had the wonderful chance to go to England and visit my sister who was there for a year. It was insanely madcap (which you can read a little more about here), but awesome, and we came home with a lot of detritus from our travels. Coins. Tickets. Stubs. Things that I didn’t want to get rid of (after all, we had opted to do more things and buy less on vacation) because they told a little bit of the story of our adventure.

For the last 6 months, I’ve been holding onto all of those things like a hoarder. Instead of cat skeletons, I’ve got gobs of travel things. I don’t like hanging onto a ton of stuff– and I’ve been trying to think of what I could do with all of it, especially the coins.

And then Michaels put out their Christmas crafting stuff, and it became abundantly clear. I’ll make an ornament. We’ll hang it on our tree every year and reminisce about how wonderful that trip was way-back-when.

I found a plastic, fillable ornament that was perfect to showcase a few fun things from our trip. In order for the items to really be shown off, I decided to paint, in layers, the back of the ornament, so that it would look festive from the front.

I chose FolkArt-Multi-Surface Paints to paint the background because it is so durable and is made to cover a variety of surfaces, including plastic. It also needs fewer coats and has quicker drying times (which is great because I’m impatient). It’s also non-toxic, dishwasher-safe (not that I’ll be putting Christmas ornaments in the dishwasher) and holds up to moisture.  I also decided to use Mod Podge as a festive way to add a little shine to the finished product because it’s made in the USA, water-based, and non-toxic. Score.

Here’s what you’ll need…

  • FolkArt Multi-Surface Paint in Pearl White, Green, and Gold
  • A large brush
  • A thin, small-tipped brush
  • An clear, plastic or glass ornament with a wide mouth. (I used this one)
  • A festive ribbon (about 8-9 inches long)
  • Mod Podge: New Pearl (optional)
  • Trinkets, coins, tickets from traveling

An easy way to save and display ticket stubs, coins, and other small mementos from a trip. Love this ornament idea!

Directions

On one side of the ornament, use the FolkArt Multi-Surface paint in gold. Dab it on generously and let it dry for 20-30 minutes.

An easy way to save and display ticket stubs, coins, and other small mementos from a trip. Love this ornament idea!

Once dried, use the Pearl White paint and generously dab the paint on top of the gold layer. Dabbing the paint on will give it a texture with peaks and valleys (much like meringue). It looks quite lovely– like a snowball! Once you have covered one side of the ornament in white paint, let dry. Depending on how thick the paint, this process can take between 2-5 hours.

Once the paint is dry, dab another coat of white paint on. You will want to ensure that there are no parts that are see-through. Cover everything uniformly with white paint.  Let dry overnight.

Once the white paint is dry, if you’d like to add a little glimmer, add a thin coat of Mod Podge: New Pearl over it and let dry. This will make the back of the ornament look glossy and shimmery.

Once your ornament is completely dry, flip it over and using the FolkArt Multi-Surface paint in green, paint on the year and/or the place of your trip. Let dry for about 20 minutes.

Now that your ornament is completely dry, fill it with the souvenirs from your trip. (Be careful when adding coins– they can make the ornament very heavy which might pull the top out inadvertently when hanging on a tree.)

An easy way to save and display ticket stubs, coins, and other small mementos from a trip. Love this ornament idea!

Add the top to the ornament, trim with a bow, and hang on the tree.

Super easy and absolutely no artistic talent needed!

Interested in more? Check out all of Plaid’s social media: Pinterest Facebook, and Instagram.

An easy way to save and display ticket stubs, coins, and other small mementos from a trip. Love this ornament idea!


3 Responses

  1. Great idea! I usually just make mini shadow boxes, but this is a good idea too!

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