Piano Keys Music Themed Christmas Ornament
Instructions on making this ornament yourself.
I bought the ornaments after Christmas on sale to get the best price. Note the original ornament has vertical grooves which will later help me with the lines, but it is not necessary.
Materials used are:
Lacquer Spray paint High Gloss Black
Lacquer Spray paint High Gloss White
Polycrylic Clear gloss finish
From Craft store
Adhesive Foam Sheet (black)
Metalic Cord
Tacky glue
Before I began, I taped up the brass fitting on top of the ornament to protect it from the paint. I then hung them on a hanger so I could move them around as I painted.
Then I spray painted
the ornaments white applying two coats to make sure that it was evenly coated.
Next I cut out the black keys and the top and bottom parts with an office paper slicer to make sure that all the pieces were the same size. The circles were drawn out by tracing a glass. There are two top circles with holes in them for the brass hanging part. The first top circle is smaller than the second one because the second one which goes on top will hide the seams of all the parts. The bottom circle will hide and seal the bottom strings.
After these were cut out I first sprayed the Polycrylic on them to seal the foam. Be careful, the will blow around because the pieces are light. This takes a while to dry, so be patient. Then I painted the gloss black on them. The pieces are stuck on the surface, so you don't need to wory about them blowing away now. Finally I sprayed the polycrylic over the black paint to seal it an and shine it more.
After the parts are dry, I removed the paper of the back of the small circles and applied them over the brass fitting. Then I stuck the keys on the ornament in a pattern of 2 then 3 with a space between them to mimic a keyboard. I did have to cut the top half of the rectangles to make them fit the smaller top part of the ornament. I rest the ornaments on a cup t keep them from rolling all over.
To make the keys look individual, I use a string.I chose the metallic cord because it was shiny already, and yarn, or other cords would be too absorbent with the glue. To get the length I measured from the top of the ornament to the bottom for the longer lines, and from the bottom of the black keys to the bottom for the shorter lines. It was easy to start place the cords because all you need to to is lift a small amount of the sticky black foam key and put the cord end under it. I did this for all the keys.
To glue the cord down I used the tacky glue, (not the runny super glue) and made a straight line on the ornament. Then I placed the cord on the glue. Because it is tacky, it gives you plenty of time to adjust it and move it into the right position. Do this for about 1/3 of the ornament, and let it dry for about 5 minutes, If you keep going around, you might accidentally move some of your lines on the back side.
After all the cord is glued and has dried you can place the larger top circle and bottom corcle to finish the design. Make sure to press the foam to the bulb to get a positive bond.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and hope to see your versions of this.
Eric Chegwin
