Altered Ornie - 'Show & Tell'

Here's the altered ornie I mentioned the other day - the supplies pic didn't turn out very clear but you can see the basic supplies I used. I tried to keep this a quick & simple project...



...and here's the flipside w/ some silver ribbon tied on and turquoise /mint heart pins tucked in, just need to slip one of those metal hangers discreetly in the back of the ribbon and hang it on our tree (as soon as we get one, we tossed our old fake one out when we moved - not sure whether to go real or faux this year, gotta make up my mind soon!)

Supplies:
- ornament to alter
- German glass glitter
- strong glue (i used metal/glass glue)
- patterned artist paper and/or vintage music sheet
- piece of illustration board
- glass beads, pearls or any other embellishment
- small piece of sandpaper (to remove existing store glitter or glue bits)
- distress ink (I used Tim Holz's, 'tea dye')

Remove all unwanted items (plastic beads and multi-color fine glitter in this case). Sand away parts to look like they are timeworn - we're going for a vintage distressed and aged look here :>

Dab on glue and sprinkle glass glitter on, patting carefully (that stuff has some sharp edges!) For the cage liner/bottom, place the cage on top of your papers/illo board and trace - you may have to adjust so check it after cutting out. Glue your patterned paper and music sheet on either side of the board. When dry, pop it into place (don't glue it or it'll be a struggle when you want to flip it around!)

To finish, straighten out the curlicue hanger and thread on the glass bead, then twist it back into place. For the bird, use a bit of diluted distress ink and with your fingers or a paintbrush add some age where it would occur naturally - underneath the bird where's it's attached and along the wings and neck area. I also lightly brushed the feathers with the diluted ink to age them a bit too. That's it!