How to Make a Vanilla Bean Santa Ornament

This aromatic Santa will fill the area around your Christmas tree with the wonderful scent of vanilla. These little ornaments are easy to make, and you can use them to decorate your own Christmas tree or to spice up a package for a friend. They are frequently sold in Christmas theme stores for $10 or more, but they can be made fairly cheaply, and you can create a large number of them in very little time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vanilla bean
• White paint
• Red paint
• Black paint
• Flesh-colored paint
• Hot glue gun
• Thin red ribbon
• Scissors
• Thin paintbrush

1. Paint the top part of the vanilla bean red, the middle flesh and the bottom white. The top will be Santa's hat, the middle part his face and the bottom his beard. You can curve the white part at the bottom up a little bit to make a face shape.

2. Let the paint dry completely. This may take a few hours. The paint must be entirely dry so that you can paint over it with details.

3. Paint the details on Santa's face. Give him a little white mustache, black eyes and a smiling mouth. You can make his nose red or black. Also paint the white trim on his hat at this time, and give the very tip of his hat a little white point.

4. Glue a loop of ribbon to the back of Santa's hat. Use plenty of glue to make sure it holds securely. This will be the hanger for the ornament.

5. Allow the ornament to dry completely. Keep it in a warm, dry place for at least 12 hours. Once the glue and the paint are completely dry, you can hang your sweet-smelling Santa on the Christmas tree, or you can give him as a gift to a friend, neighbor or loved one.

Tips & Warnings

• Use textured white paint to add dimension to Santa's hat and beard.
• Be careful with the hot glue gun, since hot melted glue can cause severe burns.