There’s nothing more elegant than a feminine flourish. That’s one of the reasons why damask textiles are a design classic. A great damask can add glamour and graphic impact at the same time. When in doubt – damask.

So for Day #17 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments we add swirly, damask flourishes to our glass ornament balls. And it seems this year I’m all about metallic, so our motifs are metal-leafed in a trio of gold, silver and copper tones.

Materials and Tools:

• Our Damask Flourishes Pattern (PDF)
• Glass ornament balls
• Graphite Paper (purchased or home-made version)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Low-tack, painters’ (blue) masking tape
• Metal-leaf sheets
• Adhesive pen for metal leafing
• Ornament hooks

Instructions:
1. Print our Damask Flourishes Ornaments Pattern (PDF) here

2. Cut out each pattern along the ornament ball outline. You can enlarge or reduce your pattern on a copy machine as needed for the size of your ornament balls.

3. Cut a piece of graphite paper as big as your ornament’s face. Using the low-tack tape, Tape it to the face of your ornament.

4. Tape your pattern on top of the graphite paper. You may need to strategically add little folds that don’t disturb the motif, around the edges of the paper. This will help it mold to the ball shape.

5. Trace the pattern with a pencil. This will transfer the damask motif to your ball. Then carefully remove the pattern and graphite paper (save both for re-use).

6. Read the instructions with the metal leaf and adhesive pen. I found the adhesive pen works much better for detailed motifs than brushing on adhesive. Brace your ornament ball by leaving it in its container bottom.

Fill in the entire motif with adhesive. Use plenty of adhesive to cover the design, but not so much that it drips. (A moist paper towel will catch drips.)

7. Leave the adhesive to dry according to package directions. I let mine dry for ten minutes.

8. Lay a sheet of metal leaf onto your design. Then quickly brush over it with your soft paint brush, to adhere the sheet. My metal leaf kit came with a backing paper for easier application. Now I peeled back the backing paper.

9. Using circular motions with your soft paint brush, burnish your metal leaf. This will add shine to the metal. The circular motions all over the metal area will also remove any loose flakes of metal around the edges of your design, and will reveal your design.

Note: Don’t look for razor-sharp edges with this technique. Instead they are a little ragged that I found added an aged look to the flourish.

10. Voila! Repeat steps for your other ornaments. I did one of each motif in gold, silver and copper tones.

All done! Now swoop these glam balls onto your tree, then kick back and enjoy your decor. Thanks for creating with us on Day #17 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

Next time, a little more glam and whimsy….