Anngela's Pretty Little Things: Peacock Ornament {Tutorial}

I recently participated in a handmade ornament tutorial showcase with Sew Woodsy. In case you missed any of the 12 fabulous handmade ornaments brought to you by various bloggers for the '12 Days of Handmade Ornaments' stop on by here to see them all! There are some really neat ideas created by the lavely ladies who participated!

For my ornament, I wanted to do something different and fun, bright and colorful and something you don't see every day but almost anyone would love...meet the Peacock Ornament! She really sparkles and looks gorgeous hanging on a tree! This is a super simple ornament that almost anyone can make.

SUPPLIES

(not all supplies are pictured)

Plastic fillable ornament

Recollections extra fine 'Marine' blue glitter

Scissors

Mop & Glo Floor Shine Cleaner

Peacock feathers
Scrap piece of blue felt (please disregard to the green piece I have pictured)

Blue fluffy feather

1 orange bicone jewelry bead

Grey flat back crystals

Hot Glue

All of the above items can be purchased at Michaels craft store with the exception of the Mop & Glo. The peacock feathers were in the floral section with 5 feathers on a long stem. Any blue feather can be used for the peacock's head; I cut a small fluffy blue feather from a larger feather 'stick' found in the floral section. You can see the feather 'stick' in the supplies photo on the top right corner.

Now that you have all your supplies, let's get started!

Step 1. Squirt some Mop & Glo into your ornament. Gently swirl the product around in the ball to get an even coat all around the inside. Try not to create too many bubbles. Be sure to coat the neck of the ornament as much as you can as well. After the entire ornament is coated pour any remaining product back into your Mop & Glo bottle.

Step 2. Fill glitter into your ball. I used a piece of paper as a make-shift funnel. Tilt and swirl your ornament to get a nice, even coverage. You may have to pour glitter numerous times to fill the entire ornament. This step doesn't require near as much glitter as it seems!

Step 3. Once your ornament is evenly covered pour another small amount of glitter into the ball, cover the opening and shake the glitter to coat the neck of the ornament as best as you can. Pour any excess glitter back into your container.

Step 4. One glitter ornament complete!

Step 5. Arrange your feathers on a flat surface just as you would like them to show on your ornament--this is typically an arched shape. Cut a small piece of felt that will serve as a backing for your feathers. Make sure this piece of felt is cut smaller than your ornament but just large enough to serve as a good base for all of your feathers. (Use step 7 photo for reference as well)
Step 6. Use hot glue and attach your feathers one by one to your felt with the front of the feathers facing you. I started with my center feather and worked my way outward making sure my spacing was even.
Step 7. Apply hot glue on the entire front side of the feathers and felt and adhere it to the center of your ornament. This is what the back of the ornament will look like.
Step 8. Place your ornament hanger back on your ball. Admire your {over half-way finished} feathered friend!

Step 9. Using a small dot of hot glue, attach your blue feather to the top of your hanger.

Step 10. Attach your grey crystals as eyes and orange bead for the beak on your ornament hanger with hot glue.

Step 11. Trim the head feather and embellish the rest of the body if you'd like. I created a simple pattern with the remainder of my grey crystals. This step is definitely optional but I loved how it turned out! Strand fishing line or an ornament hook on the hanger and you're all done!