Stained Glass Ornament

This was our very first activity from our Advent Activity Calendar.  I was so excited about this project!  These suncatchers are easy to throw together and relatively mess-free.  I’ve done several variations of this stained glass/suncatcher project….there was the Easter Cross Suncatcher, the Valentine’s Suncatcher, and the Rainbow Suncatcher.

So, as I mentioned, I was super excited about this one, and pumped about our very first Advent Activity.  I got all our supplies out, and sat down with The Littlest Apple.  He wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with this project.  Sometimes if I get started on my own, he’ll decide he’s interested after all and join in.  Not this time.  So this one was all me.  He played with his Gingerbread Playdough instead.  Maybe your kiddos will enjoy this more than mine did.  I enjoyed it!

What you’ll need:

• Clear contact paper
• Tissue paper, cut into squares or small shapes
• Glitter
• Permanent markers
• Aluminum foil
• Scissors
• Ribbon

Trace a plate on the contact paper to get the basic circle shape for your ornament, then freehand the top of the ornament.  (Make 2 of those, you’ll be sandwiching them together). Then peel the backing off one circle, and stick the tissue paper squares on.  Add glitter if using.  Then cut the aluminum foil to cover the top part of the ornament you free-handed, and stick that in place.  Now take the backing off the other piece of contact paper, and carefully line them up, sandwiching the tissue paper and glitter inside.  I then took a black sharpie and hand colored the outline on my ornament.  (You could also use black construction paper as a border, as we did with the Easter version, but that’s a little more work!)  Cut out a hole at the top for your ribbon, then hang your ornament in the window.