DIY Christmas Ornament 11: String

When I was little, every 4th of July, we would host these huge water fights. All the parents and kids on our street would pack up their water balloon and water guns, and take aim. We’d even climb onto part of our roof to get a height advantage. Unfortunately for me, my brother’s room had direct access to this part of the roof and he hit me with a water balloon every time. EVERY TIME!

Why am I telling you this cute little tale in December?

Well I had to break out the water balloons for this ornament.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• String (I used crochet thread, but I recommend using basic, inexpensive string for this project)
• Water balloons
• Fabric Stiffener or Spray Starch
• Ribbon
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (or paperclip)

I may be planning a water balloon attack since I have so many left over…you’ve been warned.

Step 2:

Inflate a few balloons.

Tip: Buy a balloon pump at Target or a Party Store. They only run a couple of dollars and they making blowing up the small balloon a breeze.

Step 3:

Drench the string in fabric stiffener (I used spray fabric starch) and wrap it around the balloon. I did this in several layers, allowing some time for the string to set before wrapping it in an additional layer.

With the spray starch, I find that you need to really coat the string well in order for it to work. So after wrapping it a few times I doused the balloon in A LOT of spray starch. You may not need to do this if you are using another type of fabric stiffener.

Step 4:

Use a basic wire ornament hanger to pierce the balloon (not pop it). You can use the paperclip for this if you don’t have any ornament hangers.

Use this hanger to hang the balloon up in order to dry.

I hung them from my office blinds, in front of an open window. Weird? Maybe…but it worked.

Unfortunately it was raining the day I started this ornament, and it took almost 2 days to fully dry. If the string is not fully dry, when you remove the balloon, it will collapse.

Step 5:

When the string is fully dry, carefully pop the balloon and remove, leaving yourself with a delicate string orb.

Optional: lightly brush with adhesive (white glue and homemade mod podge work well) and sprinkle with glitter. Just don’t get the string too wet with glue or the stiffener will break down and the ornament will collapse.

Step 6:

Tie some ribbon to the top of the ornament to create a hanger.

Enjoy!

Project Cost Breakdown (per ornament):

• String (Hobby Lobby) = $2.79
• Water balloons (Target) = $0.99
• Fabric Stiffener or Spray Starch (Already Owned) = $0
• Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $3.78

This cost is if you were to only make 1 ornament; however, so far, I’ve made 4 and still have plenty of supplies left. So the cost will keep going down with each ornament you make.

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