Betcha Didn’t Know You Could Do THIS With Thumb Tacks!

My table centerpiece is typically a bowl full of oranges and lemons (plastic, of course, ’cause we don’t eat those fruits like that… I prefer to not have breakfast, talking over a display of moldy citrus- yuk!) but I thought it was time to switch up my table decoration for the holidays. I have pine cones sprinkled over my mantel so I thought I’d borrow some of those, and I’d add some nuts and pieces of spruce. (Speaking of pine cones, at the first hint of fall I decided to BLEACH some, and they turned out amazing!! If you didn’t get a chance to read how I did that, check it out here! Bleached pine cones are beautiful mixed in with foliage and red berries!)

But. Something in my centerpiece was missing. I needed something shiny to throw in the mix! I love anything DIY so I started surfing the web for some inspiration and found a photograph of what appeared to be thumb tacks that made this adorable, glowing ball of gold. THAT was what I needed! Challenge accepted.

I knew it couldn’t be too difficult to figure this thing out. What would thumb tacks stick into nicely? Uhh… styrofoam! And that is literally all that you need.

• styrofoam balls
• gold thumb tacks (check your local dollar store!)

To begin, I just started sticking thumb tacks into the ball making sure that they overlapped each other to help hold them in place.

There is no method to the madness, I just stuck and stuck and stuck until the ball was covered! I guess you could be fancy and make little flower shaped clusters, continuing the pattern from the photo above, but I just laid them all in there making sure to cover every bit of white. And there you have it!!

Where are my Game of Throne fans!?? This could also be a… dragon egg!! Right!? Halloween prop for my Khaleesi costume next year… maybe.

Anyway- then display!! It was just the touch of shimmer that I needed.

Now I’m off to make a few more! These reflect the glow of Christmas lights really well, if you have lights hanging around your fireplace or a shelf or something. Set a few of these guys nearby and watch them shine!!

What sorts of handmade holiday decorations are you using this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

For more fun family crafts and DIY projects, follow me at MyMilitarySavings.com!