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Making a Christmas Tree Ball
 Here’s how to create a Christmas tree ball … or lots of them! They’re simple to make, they’re inexpensive, and they look rather luxurious.
Little did the glassblowers of Lauscha know in 1847 that their first Christmas tree ball would go on to become the quintessential Christmas ornament.
The small village in eastern Germany didn’t just produce silver-colored glass balls (‘baubles’ if you’re British) for Christmas decoration; they also molded the delicate glass into more fanciful shapes like fruits, nuts, birds and toys.
But somehow the hanging ball ornament has become the Christmas decorating device.
Christmas decoration balls are
- attached to Christmas wreaths and garlands,
- stuck into table centerpieces,
- hung in windows,
- piled into glass containers for a contemporary look, and - before I forget - they’re also …
- … hung in the Christmas tree!
A modern Christmas tree ball is often made of anything but glass - like the ones on this page. They make a great Christmas craft project, or even a holiday craft gift.
Here’s what you need to make contemporary Christmas ball ornaments:- styrofoam balls (always have one or two in reserve)
- thin gold or silver beading wire (or white, if you can get it)
- white tissue paper
- scissors
- PVA (water based) glue
- a broad, flat brush for the glue
- ‘snow’ glitter
- beads/sequins
- sequin pins (they’re like regular pins, but half the length)
- baking parchment to line your worktop
(I like making a sturdy, well-secured eyelet before ‘papering’ the Christmas ball ornament. If you don’t want to go to the trouble, no worries. Skip steps 1 - 3 and start with step 4.
Once you’ve completely decorated your Christmas ornament, insert a wire loop into the top. Glue it securely into the ball [with styrofoam-compatible glue]. It should be strong enough to keep your Christmas tree ball hanging in the tree until Christmas is well over.)
Step 1
Cut a length of wire that fits 3-4 times around the styrofoam ball. Run it around the ball as if you were wrapping a parcel, and secure with scotch tape.
(Silver wire will be almost invisible under the white paper. To cover gold wire completely, you’ll need at least two layers of paper.)
Step 2
To make an eyelet, knot the wire ends together; then wind them around a pencil or a knitting needle to make the eyelet shape.
Step 3
Secure and snip off excess wire.
Step 4
Cut a piece of tissue paper that is large enough to cover the whole Christmas tree ball. Scrunch it up thoroughly and gently pull it apart again.
Step 5
Take all scotch tape off, and coat the styrofoam ball generously with PVA.
Step 6
Smooth the tissue paper onto the ball without straightening out the wrinkles. Snip off any excess paper and smooth the edges down.
 Step 7
If you get ‘bald’ patches, or the paper rips, no problem. Just brush more PVA on and cover the offending patch with a smaller piece of scrunched-up tissue paper.
Do the same if there’s an area on the ball that doesn’t look quite right yet. Add a second layer of tissue paper if you can still see the wire through the first.
There, the messy bit is almost done! You're about to turn this sticky thing into a snowy Christmas ball ornament. Ready? Here we go...
 Step 8
Line your work area with baking parchment (that makes it easy to collect the excess snow glitter later). Cover the ball with PVA for one last time, and pour snow glitter over it.
Roll the ball in the glitter that has fallen on the parchment until it is well covered and looks like a snowball. Leave to dry well (takes at least 1 hour).
To decorate your ball ornament,
- try different types of beads and sequins,
- add ribbon if you want,
- go completely over the top if you feel like it!
Here are 3 Christmas tree ball designs to get you going:
Christmas tree ball #1, with golden sequins and pearl beads
This one is very easy to make: Take a sequin pin and use it to ‘spear’ a pearl bead onto a sequin. Stick it into the ball. Repeat.
Space the little stacks out evenly all over the ball. Don’t try to make the distances all the same – it’s really difficult to do and I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. Just start somewhere and distribute the little jewels around the ball.
Christmas tree ball #2, with gold wire, sequins and crystal beads
Have a look at the picture to see how to fasten the wire under a sequin at the start and finish. After winding it around the sequin pin two or three times and pushing the sequin down, just wrap the wire around the ball in a slightly irregular fashion, crossing here and there.
At the end, wind it around another sequin pin to hold it in place. Then snip the loose wire ends off as closely as you can (or dare), and stick sequin/bead stacks into the ball ornament wherever you like, on or near the wire.
Christmas tree ball #3, with gold beads and a few red sequins (my husband calls this one the ‘hedgehog’)
This is an easy one, too. Pack the beads more tightly at the top of the hanging ball, and then let them ‘rain off’ into an irregular edge at the sides.
Put red sequins under a few of them (1 sequin for every 7 beads, roughly). If you don’t have the right kind of sequins to hand, try hole-punching your own out of glossy giftwrap. That’s how I got the little red discs for the ‘hedgehog’.
There. That’s all the Christmas tree ball ideas for now. Do try them out and let me know how you get on!
Even better ... send a picture! Or better still ...
It would be absolutely lovely to hear from you.
Christmas paper crafts: lovely, inexpensive holiday craft gifts that are easy to send in the post
Design your own personalized Christmas cards
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