How to Make Styrofoam Cup Ornaments

Homemade ornaments are much more fun to use than just buying an ornament from the store. You can get the whole family involved, which gives you and your children a chance to build some lasting memories. Homemade ornaments can also be made for little or no cost because you can use items you find in your home. One ornament you will want to make is a Styrofoam cup ornament.

Things You'll Need

• Styrofoam cups
• Silver or gold paint
• Paintbrush
• Glitter
• Lace
• Glue
• Photocopied pictures
• String

Instructions

1. Decide if you want your Styrofoam cups to be silver bells or gold bells. Flip the cup upside down so that it looks like a bell.

2. Paint the cup the color you chose. Quickly shake some glitter all over the cup. It will stick to the paint and remain there once the paint dries.

3. Set the cup aside to dry. This may take 1 to 3 hours. You can set a fan in front of it to speed up the process.

4. Measure a piece of lace around the bottom of the Styrofoam cup and cut to fit. Remember, the bottom of the cup is now what used to be the top.

5. Glue the lace into place around the bottom of the Styrofoam cup.

6. Photocopy a picture of yourself or your child. A store like Staples has color copiers that make photos look just as good on paper. This way you can keep your original photo. Plus, the copied picture is on paper, which is much easier to stick to the Styrofoam cup than a regular picture.

7. Cut out the picture and glue to the center of the Styrofoam cup.

8. Poke two holes in the top of the Styrofoam cup. Make sure they are close to each other but have a tiny gap in between.

9. Cut a piece of string 8 inches long.

10. Thread the piece of string down through one hole and up through the other hole. Tie in a knot at the top so that you now have a loop to hang the Styrofoam cup ornament.

Tips & Warnings

• Lay newspapers over your workspace area to protect the surface.

• Wear old clothes or an apron so that you don't get paint on your clothes and ruin them.