Easy DIY Faux Silver Leaf Gift-filled Ornament

It’s gifting time! Which may mean finding the perfect gifts for teachers, bus drivers, co-workers, neighbors, and the mailman, all without breaking the bank. That can feel like a tall order if you also don’t have time (or the inclination) to bake batches of cookies or tubs of truffles!

I’m a consummate practical gift-giver, so I’m always looking for something useful that won’t just take up space on someone’s shelf or trash bin. So when I found these beautifully wrapped shower soothers to help out with the stress of the season or a nasty cold, they ticked all of the boxes!

Now, I just needed the perfect package to make them extra special. And then I found these plastic ornament balls. They were simple, reusable, and affordable. But they weren’t quite cute all on their own. Luckily, I had the help of Dixie Belle’s Dixie Shine!

Before we jump into the project, here is some obligatory legalese for your reading pleasure…

This post is sponsored by Dixie Belle Paint Company. While they provided some of the products for this project, all of the opinions are my own. Follow this affiliate link to see all of their amazing products!

AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES AT NO COST TO YOU. YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

Tools and Materials

Paint Design

There wasn’t much prep work involved with this project, just unwrapping the halves of the plastic balls. Once that was finished, I was ready to jump right in!

I used this Holiday Joy stencil from Dixie Belle for my inspiration and began painting Stick With Me in the shapes of snowflakes onto the surface of 1/2 of the plastic balls.

Pro Tip: The drying stage is the most important part of any project. I have rushed it in the past and ended up with a sticky mess, that ironically didn’t stick well in the next step. That being said, Stick With Me doesn’t take very long to dry, about 30 minutes to an hour (depending on temperature and humidity).

Apply Faux Silver Leaf

Once the Stick With Me glue was dry, it turned transparent and it was time for the next step: applying the faux silver leaf with the help of Dixie Shine! I really enjoy using Dixie Shine because it doesn’t create a huge mess. The remaining silver, gold, red, or copper leaf is held tightly to a long tape while the design created with the Stick With Me is perfectly embellished!

Applying Dixie Shine was super easy too! I cut off a strip of the Dixie Shine tape from the roll with a pair of scissors, pressed the back of the strip of Dixie Shine against the design, and then burnished it with my fingers.

Once I began to see the Dixie Shine pull away from the tape and stick to the design as I burnished it, I then peeled away the strip of Dixie Shine tape.

And just like that, this ornament was done! Talk about quick and easy!

Finishing Touches

All that was left to do was to fill the ornament with gifts and top it with a string for hanging!

At the last minute, I also found these wonderful hard lotions, just perfect for dry winter hands! I tossed in a little shredded paper filler, which disguises the gift but also makes the design a bit difficult to see.

Final Reveal

Some of the best gifts come in small packages! I just love the way Dixie Shine transformed this simple plastic ball into a beautiful gift package! The faux silver leaf design makes it a little extra special and the plastic material makes it safe and easily reusable.

This sweet ornament can be refilled with candy or another special surprise and regifted. It could even be hidden in the Christmas tree as a fun gifting scavenger hunt!

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