Books & videos & kits
Ornaments & some techniques
....Metallic powders/waxes,chalks... Stamps/molds
....Cutter shapes --cookie/canape
....Sculpting objects & figures (freestanding or on background sheet)
........bas relief
....Liquid clays (transfers, drizzling, etc.)
....Glass ball ornaments
......buying & preparing
......uses for glass balls
..........covering (basic & slices), scenes, torsos/heads, partial covering
..........outsides, insides + swirled paint
..........glass bulbs broken out, lighted from inside
..........xmas lightbulbs, used as forms, misc)
Canes
Other ideas (many)
....houses (summary) & more scenes
Websites & info re Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Solstice
Websites, ALL winter

BOOKS & VIDEOS& Kits

Design Originals books: http://www.d-originals.com/polymer.html ... or go to 6 pages of all their polymer books: http://tinyurl.com/6we2x
Holiday Happenings (# 3332) by Michelle Lott's (cute Christmas character ornaments: mice, snowmen, reindeer) $7.99
Clay Cut-Out Kids (# 3268 ), (mostly bas relief, Chris. ornaments using cutters, clay gun & craft knife) $6.99

Schiffer Books for Craftspeople:
Making Christmas Jewelry in Polymer Clay, by Bridget Albano ...(dangle Santa & 13 more)
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/sb88740832xa.jpg
Creating Christmas Ornaments from Polymer Clay, by Bridget Albano (short book) . . . reindeer, penguin, snowman, Santa, etc., all created in bas relief (but wihtout background) to hang from tree . . . arms, legs, head, hat, etc., overlapped or onlaid on each other
http://tinyurl.com/6cc2m (then click on "Look Inside this Book")

Cecilia Determan's mostly out-of-print books on Christmas ornaments, figures, etc. are all EXCELLENT
....Family Photo Ornaments (ornaments, cutouts), Fimo and Me on the Christmas Tree (various), Christmas Clay-Mates (figures of people and animals, etc, some in mini-scenes), Merry Christmas Faces (figures & heads),
...(try e-Bay, or out of print book businesses).... photos of book covers, showing many projects and ideas:
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter (click on each to enlarge)

various other short or regular-length polymer books have lessons on making at least a few Christmas or winter things

VIDEOS:
Gingerbread House and Christmas Ornaments, by Maureen Carlson
video on making a gingerbread house and some candies to go on it... and gingerbread man & tree?
http://www.weefolk.com//xmashse.jpg (photo of house and candies) http://www.weefolk.com//videos.htm (description of video)
(...see much more on making Gingerbread houses and candies in Houses-Structures > Gingerbread )

St. Nicholas, by Maureen Carlson
...how to dress a more complicated figure... how to build an armature to support an all-clay St. Nicholas figure (both standing and sitting) ...make hair, beards, and learn how to drape clothes... add a clay sack filled with toys and sweets made from clay as well
http://www.weefolk.com/sell.htm (under "Instructional Videos")

KITS: ....Sculpey brand clay now offers a number of Sculpey kits (for all their different clays) which come with a number of bars of clay (and some instructions/projects... some are seasonal, or relate to one topic like faces or dinosaurs, etc.)
http://www.clayfactory.net/sculpey/skits.htm (Christmas and regular)
http://www.sculpey.com/Products/products_activitysets.htm
http://www.sculpey.com/Products/products_samplers.htm (just clay, no projects)

To simulate a light frosty look, whitish mica powders like Pearl Ex (micropowder pearl?) can be dry-brushed onto the wet clay before baking. I used it on my lightswitch cover of holly berries. syndee
...both Rub 'N Buff and acrylic paints come in white also, which might give a touch-of-snow look.
...I've added gold Pearl-Ex to white acrylic paint then painted bisque with it - the result is a subtle metallic glow when the light hits a certain way.

very small candy molds (usually in a sheet mold) are often available for making tiny shapes, figures, etc.... these could be highlighted or covered with metallic powders,(or even painted) etc., to be hung on tiny Christmas trees as ornaments, or glued onto gifts or gift tags, etc.

syndee's lesson on making long, coiled spirals of clay as simple ornaments by wrapping long ropes of clay around forms like paper cones or wood dowels (and using a strong clay like Premo)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_HolidayRibbons.htm

(see more on inexpensive stamps and molds with Christmas and Winter themes in Stamping, and Molds)

CUTTER SHAPES... Cookie & Canape, etc.

(see much more in Cutters-Blades > Cutters)

You can bake your flat shapes between two tiles to keep them absolutely flat (if you use shiny ceramic tiles and adhere without bubbles, the surfaces will be shiny after baking). Though unless the cut outs are very thin, this won't be a problem.

faux puffed shapes... vbffl had an idea which could be adapted to polymer clay ... she created a reindeer and snowman with two sheets of paper bag which were sewn together near the edge and had paper inside to puff them a bit (embellished with a painted face, twigs or greenery, buttons, etc.,... one had candy canes for horns)...for clay, these could instead be made with two sheets of brownish clay (or white for a snowman, etc.), embellished, then sandwiched with some clay or even a bit of tissue inside, etc. ... edges could then be crimped or faux "stitched" with tracing wheel indentations. . . . or the forms could be made puffy by blowing into them as with pillow beads (see Beads > Pillow)... could be made small for pins or larger for ornaments... could use cookie cutters or free draw the shapes

Chicago Area Polymer Clay Guild's various kinds of ornaments
http://www.capcg.org/orn01.htm .... and http://www.capcg.org/orn99.htm

polymerclayexpress' lesson on holly and berry wreath, using 4- and 6-pointed canape cutters
http://polymerclayexpress.com/nov2000.html
Nettie's lesson on making a star-shaped Santa ornament, with star cutter
http://www.geocities.com/nettieinohio/starsanta.html
Heather P's lesson on making small mitten shapes with clay, then embellishing them with can slices for cuffs and here and there (her mittenshapes are cut around a cardboard template or freehand with a Xacto though, rather than a cutter)... ornament
http://www.humblebeads.com/mittens.html
Marcy's mittens, embellished with checkerboard cuffs, faux "patches", simple dots, and/or holly leaves/berries
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/christmas/christmas2.html
Lisa P's lesson on making a gingerbread person cutout for a card or as ornament
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_holidaycards.htm
Karen R's lesson on making gingerbread person with bow, wavy blade-cut rickrack, heart cutout , clay balls for nose/buttons, impressions for mouth, and painted eyes
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_hcc2c/article/0,3110,DIY_27284_4938571,00.html
Elizabeth's lesson on making mini-gingerbread house fronts, and many candies (LS and TLS)
http://polymerclayexpress.net/dece2002.html (be sure and click on Templates, and the last houses photo for a larger version)
(more gingerbread people, houses, etc., in Houses > Gingerbread People,Etc.)
Michelle Ross' lesson on holiday (Christmas & Hannukah) 4” by 5 1/2” postcards with cutter onlays, etc. (instr.for red card not shown)
http://www.polymerclayplay.com/html/projects/holidaypostcards/holidaypostcards.htm
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions_december/article/0,1789,HGTV_3270_2392071,00.html
Nina K's pine tree shape made from collage sheet of clay patterns, surrounded by thin clay rope frame
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/nina.html
Sue D's Christmas tree cutout made from collage sheets of pattern (dragged lines, mokume gane?, spirals of diff. colors & Pearl?)
http://www.brpcg.com/Galleries/sue/GallerySue01Trees.jpg
cutouts of snowflakes textured before cutting out, then highlighted w PearlEx, baked (orn's by playsclay2)
http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL526/531344/4530485/75544602.jpg
Kris Richards' lesson on making a snowflake ornament with a 6-pt. snowflake cutter
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_Snowflakes.htm (...or see instructions in Cutters >Uses for All Cutters)
Eberhard Faber's lesson on making a snowflake by cutting it out with an Xacto knife (over a pattern under glass sheet)
http://www.eberhardfaber.com/Giant_snowflakes.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=95156 (another variation on page uses logs of clay)
Cecilia Determan's frames for photo-ornaments, using various cutter shapes, then embellishing
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter/3048.jpg
Barbara P's small Christmas tree cutous made with dots, ropes, etc., as "ornaments"
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bdbear10/detail?.dir=dd90&.dnm=6a5c.jpg&.src=ph (gone?)
Darla's Christmas tree with "ornaments" --can begin with cutout, add rows of clay extrusions from clay gun or garlic press, then add stars and other small clay items/cutouts for the ornaments, and twisted square ropes of clay for tinsel (hobbystage --inaccessible?)
the Mitchells' openwork grid of thick slices could be thick cutouts, strung together with small beads as separators, to create a Christmas orn.
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_AnnKaren.htm
Marie's Christmas tree with extrusions from clay gun + ornaments http://www.marieidraghi.it/feste.htm

Eberhard Faber's lesson on partially covering a clear drinking glass with cutouts of textured translucent clay (reindeer and branch shapes) ..these plaqued a lot -- could use a less plaquing translucent too
....they also create a "frosted drinking glass" by covering it completely with translucent clay first ... then apply cutouts of white clay (also textured?) (looks like base layer not baked first, but could have been, then liquid clay between ) ... used as "vases"
http://www.eberhardfaber.com/Reindeer_Vases.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=17190... patterns available by clicking on "Motif Reindeer" or "Motif Mistletoe"

Sarajane's lesson on a star-cutter "frame" ornament for a photo ... she cuts out a fluted star shape, textures the flat star with various tools, then creates a sort of filigree effect with onlays (.. a clay rope as a frame to cover & hold down the photo's edges--textured with a comb, plus twisted ropes and other little clay balls, etc.)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_StarStudent.htm
Cecilia's many framed photos for xmas ornaments (onlaid) (website gone)
Ginny's xmas tree frame (clay gun squeezes on clay shape with hole cut out in middle) http://members.aol.com/ftofclay/minitree.JPEG (gone?)
...see more of this type in Frames/Mirrors > Medium & Small Frames

component pieces of somewhat 3-D simple objects, created in "layers"
.....hacrafter makes wood cutouts (which could be polymer) as component pieces of ornaments .... for example, she has a snowman head cutout, in this case, embellished with a scarf,sticking out from the back of a large decorated mitten (but extending) and has a snowman arm onlaid on the mitten as well
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/craft2decor8/index_frame.html ...the mitten's decorations could be polymer too (slices or onlays)

slightly-puffed figures & other shapes
... vbffl had an idea which could be adapted to polymer clay ......she had made very thin figures (gingerbread people?) with two sheets of paper bag which were sewn together near the edge... they had wadded paper inside to puff them out a bit
...for clay, these could made instead from two cutouts from sheets of brownish clay (or white for a snowman, or any color for any other figure or any shape)... use a cookie cutter or free-draw the 2 shapes
.......the cutout sheet shapes could be embellished if desired (or wait till later)
...then they'd be sandwiched with some clay or even a bit of tissue or cornstarch peanut between them
...the edges would then be crimped shut, or faux "stitched" with tracing wheel indentations
......or the figures could be made puffy by blowing into a gap left in the edges (perhaps with a thin straw)
...these could be made made largefor xmas ornaments, or smaller for pins, etc.

Donna Kato's lessons on making (Nativity) figures and animals (plus turban, fez type hat, crown, halo)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_nativity.htm
Oscelyn's owl and penguin (Nativity figures), next to stable
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4153008&a=31266991&p=68352143
Linda WP's lesson on making a polar bear with ice skates on mirror pond ...and a dog on a sled (made w/ FimoSoft's "Metallic White" clay)
http://www.chasummershow.com/productsheets/dogandbear.pdf (... to enlarge the text, change the % to 175 from 125, in the pdf toolbar window )
Linda WP's lesson on making a seated snowman and penguin sitting on clay "candy dish"... with scarf, mittens, earmuffs, and holly vine
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=23141
Nanetta's lesson on making a snow person "babe" with a dotted and fringed scarf, a hat, sunglasses, wire arms, etc
.... she uses a bullet shaped "weight" in, and protruding up from, the bottom ball... places the middle ball on top of that plus a toothpick in and protruding through that ... then places the top ball (little bit of toothpick protruding on top too)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_Snowbabe.htm (click also on pg. 2)
(see many more snow men below in Websites)

Sculpey's many lessons on Christmas ornaments & decotations
http://www.sculpey.com/projects_seasonal.htm (many)

simple mini Santa (wings also) made on a clay base shaped like a tall cone
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_AngelClaus.htm
Bonnie W's sculpted figures, reindeer, snowmen, etc.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_1529000,00.html
Kathy W's snowmen (w boots), Santas (w legs), angels (w feet) and candy canes... hanging as ornaments
http://people.delphiforums.com/kkephart/xmasorns.htm
chellebeadz' simple snowmen, penguins, and other characters, with hats, etc.
http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc289/chellebeadz
Cecilia Determan's many figures & heads (3-D and bas relief)... including Santas, moose, elves, girls & boys, trees, snowmen, etc.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter/dcf3.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter/5ff0.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter/5401.jpg
Ruth's babies in blankets ornaments
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4218486&a=31279335&p=68441898 (gone)
Shane's ethereal angels for sale, with many tiny Christmas items in their arms...
http://www.shanesangels.com/xmasangels.html

Babette's adorable little elves dressed in Christmas colors
http://www.babettecox.com/polymerclay.htm (click on 10 Little Elves)
(see more elves in Halloween > St. Patrick's Day)

Tamara's lesson on making a tiny (gingerbread) Christmas house (2-storey) with decorations, plus tree etc, on a base mostly with slices from tiny canes... she cuts two thick slices from house-shaped logs (one smaller and cut thinner than the other) ... lays a sheet of white clay on roof of each ...puts the smaller one on top of the larger one as a 2nd floor ...adds cane slice decorations ...places house on disk of white clay and adds a tree, bushes, etc. in "yard"
http://www.designcanes.com/christmas.htm
... NoraJean's tiny gingerbread house plus path and yard-scene on top of Altoid box!
http://www.norajean.com (click on Mini-Food at top... then click on Gingerbread-3 on left)
(see many more gingerbread houses and gingerbread people in Houses-Structures > Gingerbread)

darcangel's. s'mores snowmen made with simulated foods
... each has 2 polymer marshmallows for body, 2 stacked faux chocolate slabs for hat, faux graham cracker underneath, and faux carrot and raisins for nose, eyes, smile ... arms are just jute sticking out to sides
http://www.geocities.com/forevermyspace/snowmen.jpg

many wonderful lifelike Santa faces (mostly with fabric clothing, over simple armatures)
http://www.thegrandfatherclaus.com/Gallery/default.htm

Susan's cool lesson on making a shelf-sitter figure, using parts from 2 red socks for clothing!
...face, hands, boots made from clay with molds
http://www.theclaystore.com/pages-tutorials/polymer-clay-project-tutorials.html?action=showTut&tutID=48
...cut each sock into 2 pieces (under ribbing, leaving ankle and foot area)
...for torso, make large egg-shaped ball of clay (over aluminum foil ball for armature, if desired) --large end should fit into ankle area of one sock).. can flatten bottom a bit so will sit well, and widen upper part a little for "shoulders"
...form complete head from face mold + pad of clay, over aluminum foil ball armature mounted on a long wire with lg. loop at one end (for head)
...add more clay to make neck and upper shoulders... insert head wire into torso, and smooth it to torso
...bake head-torso ... (sit figure on edge of a box for rest of proj.)
...slip ribbing from sock 1 onto whole torso... sew or glue along top of shoulders except for neck area
...slip ankle area of sock 1 onto bottom half of torso ...trim off tip of sock, then cut sock-foot vertically creating two legs (remove and sew/glue ea.into tube)... glue molded (baked) boot into end of each leg tube... replace and glue to torso
...cut ribbing from sock 2 into two long arms... glue into tubes... glue molded baked hand/wrist into end of ea.
...sew/glue arms to shoulder area ...(add beard, hair, felt?suspenders, buttons, etc.... can use toe for cap)

(see many more FIGURES and HEADS of snowmen, Santas, Nativity, etc.... and ANIMALS (penguins, reindeer, etc. )..... and lessons:
in " Websites" below, in GlassBalls > Outside (on top), and also in Sculpting > "Websites")

Eva's ornaments ...twisted-ropes circle frames, with small sculpted figures standing or sitting on the bottoms of frame (like a swing)
http://gallery.gundo.com/gallery/album52/EvaMiniOrnaments1 or http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_minis.html

Sandy's mini-wreath with twisted vines & bird (see other wreaths on this page)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_sandy.htm

egg ornaments with scenes .....or any polymer sculpts or embellishments:
...long ago my great aunt used to cut small images from Christmas cards (in an oval shape), then glue them inside a blown egg which had an tall oval area cut out of one side. The egg became sort of a fancy frame or shadow box. She then put some cotton in the bottom of the egg and added tiny shell flowers and leaves she used to make. To finish the outside, she glued a row of pearls around the cut edge, with a row of ruffled lace behind that. Awesome... I've never seen directions for these or other photos, but would love to if they exist. Diane B.
...Treebelly has many creative ideas for eggs, including egg houses, mosaics, and many more.
http://www.treebelly.com/art/eggs/eggs.html (click on each photo for many more photos!)
...(see Eggs for many more ideas re eggs)

see more sculpted Christmas items in Other Ideas below

more on making little scenes of all kinds here at GlassAttic:
Kids-Beginners > Scenes & Dioramas
Houses-Structures for houses, castles, "ground," stone-brick, scenery, furniture, etc.
Sculpting > Bases
Miniatures for plants, food, other items & scenes
Halloween > Scenes, Dioramas, Houses

mostly Bas Relief sculpted things

Elizabeth's lesson on making mini-gingerbread house ...fronts, decorated with candies
http://polymerclayexpress.net/dece2002.html (be sure and click on Templates and the last photo to see details)
.....I think I'll print out that lesson and send it with some clay to my daughter-in-law wholikes crafts and has 5 small ones at home. Maybe she could do this with them for next christmas . . . I think that they could also attatch them to wreaths for decorating the door, as well as ornaments for the tree. Could even put one tied onto the bow for that special touch on a christmas present. Amanda
...Thank you so much for the lesson. I'm going to make this one up and send the pieces to my mom who is in her 80's and doesn't cook now.
(see Houses-Structures > Gingerbread for lessons and photos of gingerbread houses and fronts

Garie's kids' (mostly bas relief) Christmas scenes & figures (reindeer, snowman, Santa, trees) on bases... also gifts, Jap.cartoon characters, xmas trees, some on interesting backgrounds (tree, house, etc.)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/more_greetings.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/happy-holidays/christmas.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/x%27mas%20images/x%27mas.htm

Martha's winter seascape bas relief (on background slab of clay with edges "gathered" upward)... pine trees with snow, ocean, lighthouse . . . also simple scene with simple figures and other winter themed items, including skater, snow scene with snowmen
http://polymerclaycentral.com/chall_dec03.html (click on Details)

Kathy G's winter pine trees (metallic) with snow ... (Liquid Sculpey with white/pearl Pearl Ex?), stars outlined in blue (onlay) (website gone)

Marie R's lessons on making: a log cabin bas relief (on a xmas ball ornament or a votive, or anywhere) with snow (made from light blue tanslucent sheet under a white sheet of clay), some icicles created by pulling the snow under roof, etc., downwards, and snow-covered mountains created by manipulating the strip of clay cut into a mountain range shape and applied to ball, adding a darker blue clay here and there for valleys, etc.) . . . she uses a base clay cut with a cookie cutter to add her logs to.
...also showing snow on the ground made with a metal "clay shaper" (like small, short stiff palette knife, wood handle)
........ she mixes white Premo with small flecks or gratings of turquoise, dark blue and possibly lavender clays in the pasta machine until they begin to "melt" into the white (these will be the snow "shadows")... place on surface (in her case a winter scene ornament) and manipulate with the shaper or fingers into hills, valleys, drifts, etc.
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_BasReliefOrnament.htm

Consuelo's wonderful decorated pine tree
....tree created with overlaid rows of green textured (almost like crochet), scalloped, green clay curled along lower edges... with twisted strips of gold clay as tinsel ...and poinsettias and tiny balls as ornaments
...also textured night sky with stars, snowflakes ...and textured snow (with bit of blue along top?)... stacked snowmen
http://groups.msn.com/WoodchuckMuldoon/polymerclayart.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=10
plus her other snowman with faux knitted scarf and tree
http://groups.msn.com/WoodchuckMuldoon/polymerclayart.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=14

(see other websites on this page for more tiny objects that can be put on a background sheet)

Maureen's lesson on angel ornament (high-relief) with wings and dangling feet under skirt, using her pattern shapes-- & head and wings mold
http://www.weefolk.com/12_1996.htm
Amy K's lesson on making a bas relief tile (could be hung) . . . snowman head and embellishment
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_SnowDaysTile.htm
Garie's kids' Christmas bas relief scenes
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/christmas.htm
snowman bas relief scene from Marie R kids' class ...with snow, starry sky, moon and bare tree
http://www.marieredmondartsandcrafts.com/images/Starry_night-183x118.jpg
*Feat of Clay's relief snowman, etc., from her book Clay Cut Outs
http://hometown.aol.com/ftofclay/gallery.html
lesson on making a family of snow people ornament
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=23193&categoryid=10
Karen P's lesson on how to use the hands, feet, and face molds to make a bas relief old world Santa on a plaque http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_HolidaySantaPlate.htm
**Heather R's lesson on using different colors of clay to fill in a mold (in this case, for a Santa figure)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_SantaSled.htm

(....also see many more below in "Websites". . . and in Onlay ...and in Sculpting > Websites > Bas Relief)

LIQUID CLAYS

Kathy G's liquid clay (with white and or pearl clay or maybe Pearl Ex ?) to make winter pine trees (metallic) with "snow" ... stars outlined in blue (onlay)

using embossing powder on liquid clay. . . Marie R's lesson on drizzling-drawing an xmas tree or other shape onto baked clay withTLS, pulling more lines out with needle tool, then dumping embossing powder over liquid clay areas and tamping off excess, before rebaking 275 for 15 min to melt powder ... (can use as ornament, gift tag, etc.)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_TLSEmbossed.htm
....Sculpey's lesson on using metallic powders or inks to color liquid clay, before placing drops of it onto clay shapes (in this case tinted-translucent clay stars)... toothpick can be used to pull through the dots creating longer line patterns in the liquid clay; bake 275, 25 min... can then stack onto another or larger shape and repeat process with baking, if desired
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_TLSsnowflake.htm

I once used the white Liquid Sculpey )-- not the translucent -- (currently available only mail order, but could try white oil paint or a white powder) for a snow look. It was amazingly real looking. It has been a long time, but I think I let it set out for awhile, painted on the item, and used some kind of stenciling brush to pounce on it for a snow like pattern. Jeanne

Donna C's lesson on making flat xmas tree ornaments with ropes of clay (hers from a clay gun) made on a tile or sheet of glass... "closed shapes" created, then filled in with liquid clay (some colored with metallic acrylic paints, swirled Pearl Ex, etc.)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/tls_ornament.html

GLASS BALL ornaments or items
...or light bulbs ...or eggs ....or wood forms ... or papier mache balls...or ping pong balls

for more info on these ball ornaments +breaking them out + more info on covering/embellishing xmas lightbulbs -- indoor or outdoor
see Covering > Glass > Glass Balls

Generally, either the colored glass ball ornaments or the clear ones can be used...( see below for removing color, or can leave color as is)
...if you’ll be using white, translucent, or glow-in-dark clay, the ball's color can show through though...so for those, buy silver balls which are mirrored inside but don't have a color coating on the outside (or clear ones?)

I use cheapo glass balls from Walgreen's or Michaels, e.g....about $3-4 a dozen. obirtasil
......and after Xmas, they're cheap everywhere
...they come by the dozen... in boxes
..the better ones have filigree-type gold-colored tops... the others are a plain dull silver.

To make the colored ones clear:
....soak in hot soapy water, possibly with a little bleach... can add a bit of fabric to solution inside ball and shake to help remove
....another thing try for removing the color would be to use denture tablets (you know, like Efferdent tablets). It will even take flash-plating off of cheap jewelry, so I'd bet it will take the coating off of Christmas balls! Susannah
...I cleaned mine using salt and water....NO SMELL....loved it! It was so easy....I just put a lot of salt and a little water inside and swirled it around. ..came off quickly and no mess, then poured that into the next ball, and maybe add a little more salt but kept pouring that mixture into the next ball! ...and made the glass sparkling clean....plus the balls I used were soo old...... Then I just rinsed them out and dried them. Deb in PA
...You can soak it in bleach OR ammonia OR vinegar ...BUT NEVER MIX any of those together!!!!!!! (...some paints come off better in ammonia, some in bleach, and some in vinegar)
...In my experience, most of the ornaments made recently don't need the colors removed if you don't want... It is mainly with older ornaments that you need to worry about what is in the paint (to prevent bubbling or other problems), and therefore need to remove it. Kimba
...I bought these glass balls with a pearl coating on the outside which dissolves easily in water. . .the silver inside though is different. Dawn.
..these glass balls are made by different companies, so there is probably a difference in the paints they use
.....for difficult ones, maybe you could coat them with an extremely thin coat of liquid clay and bake, before putting the decorations on???
...What am I doing wrong?.... Tried putting a santa face on a red glass ball I bought. Worked just fine, but whatever was painted on the outside of the ball baked off. ..It's still red, but you can scratch off the paint easily with a fingernail... I salvaged it by coating it with a clear acrylic finish.. Ellen

WARNING ....the glass shapes which Michaels sells for ornaments (the ones you buy separately for about $1.00 each) are really fragile! and thinner than ordinary the glass balls bought as 12 to a box, etc.
.......my thumb went through one (while I was putting slices on it) & shattered the glass w/ very little pressure
...... the glass went all over everywhere too
......I went back to attempt to do the "other" (teardrop) shaped ornaments I'd bought--same brand, even thinner! One shattered when I gently laid a cane slice on, then rolled it against the palm of my hand. ...I'm not sure it would withstand a drop off of a tree branch . .since they're more expensive, I'd expect them to be less fragile and dangerous, but they're A LOT thinner. Laurel
...i have learned, thru experience dealing with fragile surfaces, to never use my thumb (too strong), ring, or baby fingers (little control). ...use the index finger only with an occasional switch to the middle finger.... also roll the fingers back and forth only, never push.... apply all the canes first using the pointer finger to secure them to the surface without any regard to smoothing... once all the canes are applied, then use a small roller or brayer to smooth and blend them out. Sunni
...to strengthen those kinds of glass shapes, maybe you could cover them with liquid clay and bake before covering just like one way of preparing eggs for covering. (Brenda Lea)
......I use a stabiliser (on my fragile quail eggs) before covering. . . PVA (white) glue - the thicker the better (let dry overnight). You possibly could consider a similar treatment for the glass ornaments - they'll be an awful lot stronger and if they do break, the glass will be covered in a plastic envelope .. Alan V.
ROUNDED-CUBE SHAPES
...Sandie W's rounded cube shape (and star) glass ornaments, covered with clay
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4217709&a=31300662&f=
....the square (cube) ones are the easiest (...i have problems doing the round ones so they are really smooth)
....... to cover the cube ones more safely:... measure a rectangle of clay which is long enough to fit around the 4 sides of the cube (plus 1" which will give an extra 1/2" extra on each end), and wide enough to cover the side plus the top and bottom... (centering the strip) wrap it around the 4 sides of the ornie, and seal side edge (don't do anything to overhang just yet)...then do the ornie bottom (do not touch corners) by pulling up the overhanging clay (from the center of each overhung side) and laying each side so it touches the bottom glass ... then pinch the corners tightly, and cut them off with scissors (...gently smoosh the clay smooth)..... do the same with the top (sometimes the top gets too high so i use a blade to trim).... then put the cap and hanger back on ...remove any lumps...and bake ...sandie

GLUES & MISC:

...if covering the balls completely, you can use an adhesive underneath, or not
.....coat with white glue (Sobo, Weldbond is especially strong, etc.) then let tack up if you need to give a little more tooth to the ball, then add the clay and bake
.....or use "sizing" (a white glue that remains tacky after drying)
......I would use a light brushing of liquid clay to secure raw clay to glass if I'm not going to get a mechanical grip, and it works quite well...Sue
.....Marie S. also suggests using a little bit of E-6000 (?) under raw clay before baking in a Michaels lesson
.....however... if you're only partially covering the balls (with pieces that aren't connected), you can glue the UNBAKED clay on with liquid clay or superglue and just see if it sticks well after baking
...... if it doesn't stick well, bake the pieces in place (esp. if large so they'll be properly curved), then pop them off the glass after baking, and glue back on with Goop/E6000 or 2-part epoxy glue, etc.

There is no problem baking the balls since they are glass... you can take out or leave in the metal cap while baking.
.....can also paint the metal caps, or cover with clay
.....or you can make a clay stopper for the neck hole... but it the stopper is solid, it will pop off during baking because the air inside the ball heats up and expands...so leave a tiny hole in the top or bake it separately...see more on making lids for bottles in BOH > Stoppers)

for the hangers, I glued on jewelry caps. Teri
...Gay's lesson showing how she adds a wire "hanger" around the neck of the bulb which allows a light to be suspended inside it
http://www.pbase.com/zudagay/wire_hanger_for_ornaments (where is more on hangers?)

You can cover the entire thing, or you can cover only parts
....options for covering the whole ball would include everything from a single cane slice (maybe centered, at several places around a clear or colored ball), to ropes and vines, to molded shapes, images impressed with stamps, or cutouts . . . to ANYTHING!).
...using metallic powders or waxes is an easy way to get a holiday look

Linda Geer's many covered glass balls (various techniques used
...including openwork, Balinese Filigree, wrapping with thin snakes, etc)
http://home.comcast.net/~caneguru/ornaments/ornaments.html

Chicago Area Polymer Clay Guild's AIDS donation ornaments
....onlay, partly covered, whole-ball Santa, etc.
http://www.capcg.org/orn01.htm .... and http://www.capcg.org/orn99.htm

Marie S's cane slices only on top portion of glass ball ornaments
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-03/pages/finalorna.htm ... http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-03/pages/groupbest.htm

BASIC COVERING
...Bev's excellent lesson on covering a glass ball ornament
......she first covers with a base layer of clay (by pinching 4 seams top and bottom in a wrapped-around cylinder of clay, then slicing off the excess, and smoothing)
(where other lessons, ways?)

COVERING with SLICES
.... (see Bev's lesson just above for making a base layer)... for this lesson, she uses more than one cane, and slightly overlaps some
.........then she adds lots of cane slices to about 70% of the available area
.......... then she adds her favorite or more complex cane slices to the remaining areas, partly overlapping or actually centered on top of others slices . . . hand rolls, bakes and sands.
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/ornament.html
Peggy's almost completely cane-slice covered glass ball ornaments
http://www.craftsonline.com/americancraftsonline/amoror.html
Jeanine's large cane slice on the front of an egg, surrounded with background-cane pattern like a "frame"
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1175021&uid=527261&members=1
Cynthia S's cane slices grouped here and there in star-like or other patterns on the surface of a colored glass ball ornament
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions/article/0,1789,HGTV_3268_1393087,00.html (click on purple ball)
Anna's cane slices and other pattern bits ... here and there on colored glass ball ornaments (website gone)

SCENES
...Marie R's lessons on making a log cabin bas relief scene on a glass ball (or on a votive, or anywhere) with snow, icicles, and snow-covered mountains ... are above in "Sculpting")
...cover the bottom 1/3 of a glass or wood ornament with white clay.....cover the top 2/3 (or 1/4 and 3/4, your choice) with the sky blue clay... then make trees out of the green(s) in all different sizes and place on ball with their bottoms resting somewhere on white clay. .....make a bunch of small cones of white clay and place on tips of trees for snow dripping down. ....Add a layer of TLS to (either) half and sprinkle glitter over it.....cure, add TLS to the other half and glitter it. Kim K.

TORSOS & HEADS

.....a glass ball could be used just as a torso . . . e.g. for a reindeer or Santa, etc., and have head and limbs added separately if needed, or be used as a form for a round head
Personalized's figure (snowman) made using ball as torso ... "shirt" is cone-shaped and wider at bottom to grab around the top 1/2 of the ball (then head and arms added); feet or shoes are pressed to the bottom of the ball
http://www.personalizedfree.com/Pages/ornaments/sp_bask_so.html
Consuelo's fancy fish body covered with large cane slices, with dimensional clay bits for fins, lips & eyes
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_Consuelo.htm
snowmen (or any face) made with white or silver glass bulbs (eyes,nose,mouth & earmuffs, head covering added) (could all be polymer)
http://www.thefamilycorner.com/homegarden/crafts/glass_snowmen.shtml
snowmen, Santas, figures made by heavily sculpting clay around glass balls, baking, then painting afterward (bas relief)
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/Christmas.htm#Pet
tallmouse's snowman, reindeer, penguin eggs ... onlays on egg with many materials, but could be polymer
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/xmaseggs/index.htm
more of tallmouse's projects... could be done with polymer instead
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/main.htm
Josh's Santa face lesson with hat & tiny legs,feet; face is onlaid over most of the ball (don't need to use use plastic ornament... there are small colored glass orn's available)
http://joshclay.com/santa.html
Shandell's glittered glass ornament torsos, with feet and large heads (moose, snowman, etc.)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/Gallery?id=65464&pageNumber=6
Shelly's cute moose head, with holly sprig under forelock as head atop a knitted, stuffed body
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_shelly.htm
*Karen's lesson on face-and-body wood egg figure (Santa, etc.)
~my little guys are made from a wood egg, covered with floral tape (it makes the clay adhere better to the wood). Karen http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_WoodenEggSanta.htm
...Lynda's Santa lesson, based on Karen's lesson
http://www.hecht-haus.net/lynda/lsart/santa.htm
Linda's figures with torso of glass ball (some completely covered, some with just head on top of uncovered colored ball, etc.)
http://www.itsjesterclay.com/ornamentalbum.htm
Pam A's many figures made over covered glass balls (using paper clay)
http://www.ornamentalley.com/mainframe.htm
Garie's kids' Santa figure made with plastic ball .. with long clay legs/arms and head added to ball
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/more_greetings.htm
Merri Beth's figure formed over xmas ornament or light bulb? ...with jointed arms made from beads and jingle bells... bottom covered, top has slices only here and there http://www.nwpcg.org/ravensdale/rave/rave00/hill.shtml
katbyte's Grinch, snowman, witch, on glass balls etc. (website gone)

MORE COVERING + ITEMS

...Marcy's teapots made from glass ball ornaments (hers covered with clay first, then spouts, handles, lids and bases added)
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/teapots/teapots.html
...Lonnie's mini-lesson on making glass ball teapots in which acrylic paint had been swirled to create a glassy "pot" that resembles ceramic...
......then added polymer parts to the outside: .....added a ruffled collar around the neck as her lid, and a molded ring as a base on the bottom so it could stand independently.... then a fat rope for the spout (mostly pressed to the ball) and a handle (make sure that the handle and spout are lined up the same... and also that they have plenty of contact with the glass -- or use a bit of liquid clay, or white glue underneath . . . .then she baked --could also pop some parts off after baking, then reattach with glue (she also added an xmas themed rub-on to the center of the outside)
http://www.geocities.com/happycraftinginwi/teapots.html
http://www.geocities.com/happycraftinginwi (more examples)
....cute teapots can also be made with standard lightbulbs (with the break-out-the-bulb-after-baking method) and there are a lot of other fun shapes available. Jody B. (see Jody's video... and see Covering > Glass > Lightbulbs)
...see also teapot made with blown egg in Eggs (Treebelly)
(...more teapot inspiration in Miniatures > Dishware, and in Beads > Other Types & Shapes)

a tiny house (with the neck hole used as the door, a chimney, window, vent pipe, etc.) could be made with a covered glass ball
. . . fantasy type, even themed as for Halloween

I use a twisted square rope of mica clay to coil around a form like Mike Buessler's "Bee Hive" technique
....this can be left dimensional as is, or rolled smooth(see Mica > Mike Buesseler > twisted ropes, for details)

PARTIAL COVERING
LeeAnn A's cut out stars, spirals and strips, etc., on clear balls (can see through to other side a bit)
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1178798106051149783DuoBkP
Diana C's frosted glass ball, partly covered with flowers and vines
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44/album/576460762327065043/photo/294928803358724745/16
....Marie S's green glass balls ornament, partially covered with ropes of clay in spirals, loops, etc.
.......clay is black(!?)... could also cover raw clay on ornament with metallic powders before baking
.......prob. used bit of liquid clay or white glue under raw ropes, but maybe could cover whole ball with clear acrylic sealer to give some tooth for atttaching?
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_Marie.htm
... Shaneangel has beautiful glass balls (and also bottles) partially covered with leaves, vines, etc. (applied to glass with superglue or liquid clay) ... leaving lots of glass to show through
...http://members.aol.com/shaneangel/index2.html (gone...phooey!) and not at new site http://shanesangels.com
...(for lesson on partially covering a drinking glass with translucent clay cutouts (reindeer, branches), or first covering glass with translucent clay, then applying cutouts from white clay, see above in Cutouts)
...Michaels' lesson on putting clay tree cutouts onto a glass ball (they use an air-dry clay though) .. large ribbon top of ball
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e02693
...Marie S's lesson on partly covering a glass (vase) with a long strip of clay (to which letters and embellishments are added)... she also uses a bit of E-6000 glue under the strip if needed before baking! (?)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=c00178
...Karen's lesson on applying fabric shapes embedded with solid clay (#2 thickness sheet), to a glass ball ornament ... she cuts out the shape with scissors, sometimes adds rope frame, then applies to ball over some dried white glue and flattens edges of frame... then bakes
http://pcpolyzine.com/0205may/fabric.html

Elise's partial coverages, with beads-dangly inside
....and Balinese Filigree at top ..like jester-collar top and bottom ... encircling vertical lines in 2 directions) http://people.delphiforums.com/drelisew/ornaments2.jpg (gone)

Diane V's hot air balloon ornament ... balloon is a glass ornament (not perfectly round, but could be)
...she partly covers the middle of the ball with X's of clay strips as the "ropes" (+ small medallion over each join)
...she connects the top and bottom of X's with rows of scallopped +leaf-cutter holes cut out, and twisted ropes
......also adds on the top row four larger, dimensional, 4-loop bows (each loop a pointed oval cutout, pinched at each end... each folded over (a tube of paper, etc.to hold shape in baking) so that pinched ends stacked... all 4 pinched tips joined tip-to-tip in a "plus" shape ...tiny flattened ball placed over the join area to hide it
....then she hangs a clay basket underneath (thin rope of clay coiled around removable form as base... twisted ropes (2 of same color?) coiled around that... another strip of scallopped, cut-out clay near top, etc.
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_Diane.htm

can cover a ball with clay, then use sharp cutters to cut out multiple shapes (could later light from inside, or could do over swirled paint inside, etc.)
... or cover or partly cover sheets or strips, etc., with the shapes already cut out

a "display window" can be created by mostly covering a glass votive, leaving one area blank
.........Kara mostly covered a jar and put a baby inside http://www.kasa.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk//57.jpg
....I tried cutting windows intoclay covered ball as cells for stained glass, etc., and also trying to figure out how to make Art Nouveau style designs. Diana
....some glass balls look as if they are frosted, with a window area that's unfrosted for seeing inside
........might be a fun thing to do with fine glitter held with glue/waterlike Elmers, or glass etching cream

OUTSIDE

Add clay on top of or around the balls:
...lesson: snow-like cane slice tops for glass balls (syndee)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_other/article/0,,HGTV_3239_1379885,00.html

Add small sculpted clay figures or heads or anything to the top of the balls (or anywhere)
.. but be aware of the balance of the ornament when you complete it so it isn't out of "plumb".. my angel made the ornament top heavy and it didn't hang correctly. Patty B.
...Becky Meverden has a lesson on Carol Duvall showing how to make a snowman with cap and sign, then glue it on top of a glass ball ornament with cotton balls inside ("snowballs for sale").. some holly is glued to the outside also
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1567322,00.html
...Dianne C's snow people on top of ornaments
http://www.pbase.com/artintheattic/christmas_year_round
...Ria’s figures on top of ornaments, presents
http://users.bart.nl/~creation/new.htm (find new URL)
Diana's balls with large rose, leaves and bow on top of ball (could be just swirled paint inside instead)
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44

for kids (of adults)... could also put small clay representations of things that happened during the year, or favorite toys, characters, hobbies, occupation, etc. ....inside or outside balls

SINGLE SMALL ITEMS (outside)
...individual raw cane slices or molded shapes or strips of clay, etc., can be placed on a bare ball (or on a interior-swirl-painted bare ball, or on a base of clay) --with or without white glue, super glue or liquid clay-- then baked in place ...I've decorated some balls with as few as 4 small cane slices (on the "equator" at 4 points)
......if the balls won't receive too much handling, the pieces may stay on fine especially if they aren't heavy or projecting
......to attach more firmly though, pop off and glue back on with E-6000, 2-part expoxy glue, etc.
(pre-baked single items can be added to balls too, but larger ones may not be curved enough on their back sides to fit well (so could bake on ball first or on something with a similar curvature)

MORE OUTSIDE

glitter overlay...
...after smoothing your cane slices or marblized clay, etc., over a glass ball (or pen, etc.), pour some ultra fine glitter into the palm of your hand and roll the ball around in your hands to stick a light coating of glitter all over. ... press it into the clay so that the surface is quite smooth... bake and when it's cool, coat with Varathane or Future. Jody Bishel
(DB: or use Pearl-Ex??)
...example of this on a pen at Kim's page with snowflake cane
http://www.tlcnet.com/~polyclay/canes2.html

You can also draw designs onto the outsides of ornaments with bottled glitter or other paints which have a fine tip --in several sessions to avoid smearing (see above for holding balls while drawing or drying) ... can be baked after drying as well?
... or use liquid clay (drizzled, painted, etc.), tinted or with inclusions
... or use paint pens

transfers (esp. decal types) could be added to the outside of glass balls, then frames or other embellishments added (see Transfers, esp > Liquid Clays)
.... these could be transferred images of people, clip art, or any xmas images (from favorite Chrismas cards, for example)
...Christmas graphics from Thomas Nast & Coca Cola's Santa http://www.geocities.com/jcconfer/christmasgallerypics.html

INSIDE

Add clay things inside the balls...clear or lightly tinted xmas balls can also have small pieces/figures or polymer scenes inside them...with long tweezers, or forceps?
..........I have a great gripper tool (to place the items into the ball with), courtesy of my job. :-) I am a surgery nurse ...this one is about 14 inches long with scissor type handle at a 90 degree angle to the rod with a gripper device at the end. It can also be rotated from the handle. Very useful. CC Cathi
...since I started shipping the ornaments, I realize that some of the clays used as a base inside the glass balls (which attach to the figures, etc.) have become dislodged...so now before I add the clay to the bottom of the ball, I add a few drops of crazy glue first. So far this has seemed to work.
....pignstuff's glass balls with scenes inside (the pieces are baked first, then raw Sculpey is placed inside on the bottom of the glass ball, the baked pieces are added and then the whole piece is baked again)...Teresa
http://www.pigsnstuff.com/index.html  
....Cathi's scene in glass ball with trees, polymer snowpeople frolicking, and snow drifts around perimeter of aluminum foil lake.
...lesson: "I put heavy aluminum foil inside the bottom (not completely smooth), shiny side out, and secured with a small square of two-sided tape ....I rolled a circle of clear plastic (cut from the flat side of a blister pack) around my finger enough to get it through the top, then it sprang back into shape & fell flat on the foil, using a small sponge-tipped paint stick to move it ...since I couldn't bake the plastic, I formed the snow in segments which could fit through the top, baked, then glued them and the trees (stems of green dried freesia from Michael's) in place with E6000 ...same with the snow people. . . . I am putting a gingerbread house scene in the next one." CC Cathi
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=3208040&uid=820896
...a cute idea for the inside of a ball might involve making a little scene inside on cotton with a truck, or just the truck, etc. .... then add clay around the top outside area of the ball to hide the mini-light you'd drop into the top? Diane B.
....for that Carol Duvall show ball, you make polymer clay fish, hang them in the inside with string, and place a kitty cat on the top of the ornament.
....Kathy W's fish dangling inside glass ball (cat on top of ball)
NOW AT? ... http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4153008hyweinberg/1016048179-001425.html (gone)
...lesson on making a real terrarium in a glass ball ornament (could add clay figures or clay structures to it... or just use plastic greenery, moss, etc.)...for the terraium, a baked clay lid could be glued onto it to keep it going for a long time
http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/gardens/article/0,21135,785211,00.html
....for a "California Snowman" inside a glass ornament, make a little carrot nose, 3 lumps of coal, a couple of sticks and a "scarf,"then drop those items inside with some sand, and let it rattle around. Kim K.

clear plastic balls available at Michaels etc., can be opened in halves, then re-sealed (be careful of the orientation though for hanging)

lesson on printing a photo, etc., onto transparency (.005 acetate, overhead?) film with an inkjet (or must be made with a laser copier?), then cutting into a circle which is rolled up around a pencil and inserted into a clear glass ball (on Carol Duvall)... of course, clay embellishments cold also be added
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_1382715,00.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions/article/0,,HGTV_3268_1382884,00.html
Carol Duvall also has a lesson on cutting and decorating a .005 acetate sheet before rolling it around a pen to allow it to be inserted into a clear ball (instead of the acetate, we could use some of the decals?TLS clings? tattoos? or other transfers?) . . . for her disk, a drawing can be made with paint pens or permanent markers, or color laser copies can be attached to one or both sides of the disk using a glue stick; nudge into place with chopstick, etc.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_occasions_december/article/0,,HGTV_3472_1371450,00.html

Daniel Rowland's "memory" ornaments on Carol Duvall
..each year he decorates a glass ball for each of his grandchildren
.......makes notes of all the cute things the kids say, dates the notes, then puts them inside each child's ornament
....also writes down special events, what each received for Christmas, etc...he hopes to sit down with the kids once they're teenagers and have a good laugh over them.

...SWIRLED PAINT INSIDE

swirling acrylic paints inside of clear glass balls to create glossy ceramic look
.....can be either a solid covering of single-color paint, or could be marbled or streaked, etc...
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=99173
http://www.deltacrafts.com/projects/seasonal/ceramcoat/marbelousornaments.asp
...since the exterior is glass, the result is a high gloss finish resembling ceramic
...white glues (dry clear) can also be used, and have inclusions like glitter, etc, sprinkled on them (wh.would show from the outside when dry)
...Tim Holtz's lesson on using gold leaf sizing (a white glue that stays tacky after drying.. he used Duo Embellishing Adhesive) instead of paint, then put in different colors of metallic powders (he used Perfect Pearls pearly embossing powders, but others would work fine) which he applied by tapping off a brush inside....when that dried, ball was filled w/ black paint diluted 50/50 with water & drained... he used various natural metal colors (silver, copper, gold) to make a numbeer of balls for a wreath, etc.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions_december/article/0,1789,HGTV_3270_2398680,00.html
...I used fabric paint, it was shimmery and worked great. kristal
...I paint the insides of some with BOTH glass paint and acrylic paint...gallery glass and glitter first (used a soda straw to blow the paint where I wanted it.) Turn upside down and allow most drip out. Hit it with hair dryer if needed. The finished piece will have a thin coating of paint, and look like a soap bubble with bits of glitter. When that's dry, then use the acrylic paints (either "Gleems" or pearlized paints) as the second layer. Turn over & drain. Mary
...these painted balls could have added bits of polymer on the outside, or the ball could be partially covered with clay in the usual ways leaving less of the paint showing
....Genevieve first soaked the color off her colored balls, then put some red paint inside and swirled it around to coat ...she had to wait for it to dry before putting them in the oven. kellie
...before adding the paint, be sure you rinse the inside of the ornament out with rubbing alcohol or vinegar and let dry COMPLETELY!!! I did have a few where the paint didn't stick in some places, but not much ... I had also tried a different paint (Plaid) and that may have been the problem. Lisa
...The paint swirled inside the ball worked really well--except for the one in which the paint hadn't dried long enough. It takes several days to dry thoroughly. Genevieve . . . .a hair dryer or possibly baking at less than 250?, can speed up the drying.
...I used Folk Art acrylic paint - it's pretty thick. I just dumped some in, kept turning the ball - kept having to dump more in. When I felt it was throughly covered I just let it sit an hour.... then I tilted it up side down over a cup and let it drain out
...try using a straw inserted into the neck of the ornament to blow the paint around...or drop a small bead into the paint and swirl it around the inside
... since you had a problem with your paint looking streaky rather than giving solid coverage... maybe your paint was a little thin - or maybe you should just wait a while for the paint to set up a little before trying to drain it out. .
.....I only had frosted ornaments, but the frosted look went away when I put the clear glitter paint (inside?) Tomah
.... I think that if you add a metallic or a pearl paint to the mix, it really helps to keep it from looking flat. Lisa
... Iridescent Glass Paint (Delta Air-Dry PermEnamel) can also be used in the ball (to see some effects using these, click on http://www.deltacrafts.com/Search, then search for glass balls)
....I poured clear-drying glue (like Elmers white glue) on the inside, rolled it around so it covered only half of the inside of the ornament... and then added blue glitter so it looks like water for the dangling fish inside. soapy
... Lonnie swirled acrylic paint inside glass ball to make teapots (by adding polymer spout, handle, base and lid to the outside of the ball):
...added a ruffled collar around the neck, and molded ring on the bottom so it could stand independently.... then a fat rope for the spout (mostly pressed to the ball) and a handle (make sure that the handle and spout are lined up the same) . . . .then she baked (she also added an xmas themed rub-on to the center of the outside)
http://www.geocities.com/happycraftinginwi/teapots.html
http://www.geocities.com/happycraftinginwi (more examples)

BULBS BROKEN OUT:
Glass balls could be covered or partly covered, then have the glass broken out after baking, as below ....leaving just a hollow clay ball
...The other day I was playing with an idea for a broken out ornament ball.... I hit on the notion that windows could be cut out of the clay. I oriented them 'on point' and put a small hole at the top of each window. This is so something can be hung in each window (after the bulb is broken out).... I have thought of small brass charms...or polybeads that match or contrast with the ball. Diana
...stained glass effects?
....Kim's round Christmas ball ornament with glass ball broken out, leaving only latticed clay
http://www.beadyeyedbrat.com/leafcane.html
caneguru's many techniques on glass balls (some balls broken out) (website gone)

(for much more on possible looks when doing this, see below in Light Bulbs
... and also see Eggs > Vinegar for blown eggs covered partially with clay, then shells dissolved out after clay added and baked, leaving "hollow" clay egg shapes

LIGHTED

Gay's lesson on lighting a covered glass ornament from inside the bulb (to hang on the tree)
http://www.pbase.com/zudagay/wire_hanger_for_ornaments (see more on lesson in Christmas > Glass Ball Ornaments)
...my goal is to have a bowl full of covered glass xmas ornament balls using see-through layered canes. If it seems safe, Id like to put a tiny string of lights inside the balls to make them glow. Kind of an alternative to candles..
...I made two different types using translucent clay which allowed some of the light to show through..
...The second balls were done with a single layer of cane slices that have a lot of translucent in the cane. Slicing the canes very thin make it a lightweight ornament and lets light glow thru the translucent parts. I also took a razor and shaved any thick parts down to make the final sanding easier.
. . . looks really pretty to create a darker base layer first... then cover it with a top layer that's a thin sheet, or cane slices of translucent with small bits of gold clay barely mixed in (silver should work too) so the the metallic bits seem to float over the design.
...(The first try had been an attempt to make several layers; these turned out sort of heavyweight. Using your pasta machine and mud cover a ball neatly and bake (this is a step you can omit but it does make working with the thin glass easier later.) The first layer was applied, it has a lot of transluscent stripes in it so the mud shows thru it a bit. It was baked and then sanded and buffed... .For the second layer, I made a simple cane of translucent slabs and thin white sheets. I cut thin thin sheets of that cane (lengthwise?) to lay on the baked (mud-covered) ball and let it smoosh and wander all over the surface. Smooth and bake again. Sand sand sand and buff buff buff! A coat of Future and its done.) Diana C.
...(see more on translucent canes and see-through effects in Canes-Instr. > Translucent Canes)
....could cover a ball with clay, then use sharp cutters to cut out multiple shapes ... or cover or partly cover sheets or strips, etc., with the shapes already cut out (then later light from inside)
...mini Christmas lights
......to use these, I just pop off the metal top from the ornament .... place one or two bulbs from the string of lights inside... then, very carefully, I replace the metal top, taking special care to not slice into the plastic covering on the wires of the string of lights (in all honesty, it's probably not the safest thing to do_.
.......the metal caps have 6 or 8 individual segments that form themt - I bend them out a bit to give more room for the wires.... I've seen some where the cap is all connected though, so in that case, you'd probably have to snip away part of it to make room. Claire (website gone)
...Gay's lesson showing how she adds a wire "hanger" around the neck of the bulb which also allows a light to be suspended inside it
http://www.pbase.com/zudagay/wire_hanger_for_ornaments
..... I begin with about 7" of wire. . . Leaving a short tail, I use the handle of a paint brush to wrap the wire around and then twist it to form one loop, and then make another loop with about an inch between them (the diameter of the glass bulb neck will determine the distance between the two loops since they should be exactly opposite each other on the neck). . . . Leave enough wire tail at both ends to overlap each other a bit. . . .Then I cover the bulb with clay, including the neck and inside the neck a bit, and bake the ornament..
.......To attach the holder, I use just enough superglue to hold the wire in place on the ornie so that I can get a clay covering on it without it moving out of place . . . I put one light bulb into the hole (the electric cord lies between the wire loops). I then thread a ribbon through the wire loops and tie it around a branch on the tree... it is on very secure.. . .I can then add embellishments such as leaves around the neck if I want and rebake.
....... I have never had a problem with there not being enough light in the ornie to make the whole thing glow. The only problem I can see is if there isn't enough translucency to the clay. Gay
..a cute idea for what you want might involve making a little scene on cotton with a truck, or just the truck, etc., and putting it inside a glass ball, then add clay around the top outside area of the ball to hide the light you'd drop into the top??? Diane B.

for larger blank strings of lights which can be completely covered with clay, see party lights in Covering > Glass (could also cover those plastic ropes of lights, just over the light parts?) ...these have mini-xmas lights inside

(see also below in Other Ideas for more lighted interior ideas)

SMALL XMAS LIGHTBULBS

small xmas lightbulbs can also be covered in a similar way
...Lynn K's lesson on covering & decorating a small xmas light bulb for ornament
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_BulbOrnament.htm
...Babette's version
http://www.babettecox.com/polymerclay.htm (click on Santa head)
...Kris Richards' lesson on making a Santa head with a larger xmas lightbulb (could be done with smaller bulb as well) http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_santalb.htm
...a Christmas pin I make is out of the larger Christmas tree light bulb ... they make figures (beautiful angels, etc.) ...the threaded part is the feet, and I use moss for the hair .....the clay will stick right to this type of bulb, and the E6000 will hold a pinback on if you want to make it into a pin
...Terry Lee's covered xmas bulb, with head & ruff added at top (as stopper?) ...and bottom tail curled back to body
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swap_vessel97.html (top row)
...Jan’s xmas lightbulb-covered pendant containers http://members.delphi.com/Jruhnow/BULBS.JPG (gone?wrote)
...Cheryl's babies in bunting ornaments (small xmas lightbulb)... a molded face-hood is added to the top front area of a clay covered bulb
http://members.tripod.com/~ctrottier/Babyfacelarger.html (can't find at http://ctrottier.tripod.com now)
...can also use Balinese Filigree to completely (or partially) cover balls or bulbs (see Clay Guns > Balinese Filigree)
For more on covering Christmas bulbs, see Covering > Glass > Lightbulbs > Small Bulbs
.... also on that page under Light Bulbs for covering them then breaking out the bulb... including this:
.......using the small Christmas or night light bulbs, you don't have to break the bulb with a hammer. . . just squeeze the metal end with pliers and it breaks right out! I do take a bit more care removing the glass at the opening, though. I found that I got cracks if I didn't use a tool to loosen the fractured glass for about the first quarter to half inch. After that part is gone, I can go back to the squeeze and dump method. Jody (also see Vessels-Rock)
...some of the painted bulbs may bond to the clay...for those remove the paint first

as REMOVABLE FORMS

....igloo ... could make a hollow igloo by covering one half of a glass ball or lightbulb with a sheet of white clay, the cutting out a U shaped door hole in one side
......(could impress lines in raw clay for snow "bricks," or cover with pearly or iridescent Pearl Ex, or paint with acrylics after baking --possibly adding a bit of glitter)
......remove clay from ball or bulb after baking cooling... make tunnel "door" with thick strip of clay placed as an upside down U in front of door hole
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=20178 (igloo with penguin family)
...or could use to make Christmas bowls (see Vessels > Bowls)

NON-REMOVABLE FORMS --other

many wonderful things can be done with blown eggs as ornaments or table top decorations too (see above in "Sculpting" for putting little things in eggs (with windows) or using in other ways... and also in Eggs)

Pat's lesson on covering a round or egg-shaped papier mache ball with slices from canes for an ornament
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions_december/article/0,1789,HGTV_3270_4155708,00.html

ping pong balls covered with decorative clay might make good Christmas ornaments for the tree too, especially with bead dangles (or a tassel) hanging from the bottom (for more on covering ping pong balls, see Covering > Plastics >Other Plastic Items)

glass or acrylic ice cubes can be fun to use with Christmas ornaments (put figures on top of, or use in scenes)... may have flat surfaces or nubbly surfaces... often found in bags of 8 at craft stores, dollar stores, floral or candle supply, etc?... can also glue 2 together to make a "snowman"
http://www.christmasespast.com/cubes.html (acrylic... various)

MISC.

Actually any of these techniques can also be combined with:
...glass paints (Pebeo Porcelaine 150, e.g.... this brand , at least, must be set in the oven at around 300 degrees for 30 minutes, which is probably close enough to our 275 to work fine)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_furnishings_accessories/article/0,1793,HGTV_3436_1372921,00.html
...acrylic paints or clear drying glues like Elmers swirled inside (with glitter or other inclusions)

might also do a web search with the phrase:
"polymer clay" & glass (& ball OR ornament) . . . etc., ...might turn up some other examples or ideas?

CANES

Candice's lessons on making moose face cane (using the component method)
http://www.velocity.net/~cam/moose/moose.html

Kim K's lesson on making a patchwork angel cane ... (using the component method)..she creates a multi-cane patchwork cane by combining 5-6 square, fabric-looking canes, from which she then cuts a dress cane (using a papertemplate).. she then cuts in from the sides off her multi-pattern cane to create an opening for inserting a sleeve cane and a hand cane.... wing, foot and head canes are added to outside areas.. then background is packed all around to create a round cane (....all of the component canes are wrapped with a contrasting color before being added)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid4547199

Kim's lessons for 2 snowflake canes
http://www.tlcnet.com/~polyclay/canes4.html
http://www.tlcnet.com/~polyclay/canes2.html
Irene & Rachel lesson at PCH on making a snowflake cane (applicable to other types and color combos)--they use translucent, translucent and blue (light blue), and white
http://www.thewildbunny.com/snowflake.htm
(see more snowflake canes in Canes-Instr. > Kaleidoscope > snowflakes ... including Kerstin's icy snowflake)

the Mitchells' openwork grid of thick slices, strung together with small beads as separators
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_AnnKaren.htm

Candy's lesson on making a Christmas (pine) tree cane http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/tree.htm (gone)
other suggestions:
...if you want to make it an xmas tree and add decorations:
1. you could add decorations to the surface of each slice with tiny ball ornaments of clay (pre-baked or not), garlands, a star on top etc.; these could be added before baking if the items can be put into a 275 degree oven
2. or you could add ball ornaments into the cane by removing cylinders of clay from the tree by pressing down through it with a drinking straw; then add small logs of clay into the holes created (press logs down until they fill the hole); make your cane wider and flatter in the first place to make this easier
3. add a moon to the sky by substituting dark blue clay for the top half of the background clay (white could stay on the "ground," or be eliminated completely). . . cut out a circle (cylinder) of clay from the cane as in # 2 above, but insert a log of white for a full moon
4. make a falling-snow background by making large and small ropes of blue, then inserting tiny white ropes in among them before pressing them all together; stand them vertically and cut this sky-with-snow background into whatever pieces you need to surround your tree.

Monica's lesson on an outdoor, nighttime Christmas tree cane made by accordion-folding a long Skinner Blend strip (lighter part to the bottom for snow), then shaping into a triangle and adding a trunk/ornaments/snow/background; she cut this cane into three lengths and reduced two of them smaller, then stacked them and added another triangle of background clay to create the cane
http://guide.supereva.com/hobby_femminili/interventi/2001/11/78349.shtml

Mia's amazing Santa and helper cane, with large background (complex cane)
http://bussola.supereva.it/italyclay/book/foto/mia1.jpg
Janet P's Christmas canes (slices)... Santa face...reindeer...snowman...glove...ornament...lightbulb...package?... for necklace
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions_december/article/0,1789,HGTV_3270_3313697,00.html
*Wanda's Santa face cane (website gone)
Candy's somewhat simple Santa face cane (website gone)
Kathy W's necklaces made from thick Christmas-theme cane slices http://www.kathyweinberg.com/s_jewelry.html
http://www.kathyweinberg.com/s_jewelry.html

Anita's various somewhat more realistic Christmas theme canes (some made from cane components put together after caning)
.. old World Santas, cats in stockings, angel with horn, poinsettia, jointed Nutcracker, pine tree, penguin, etc.
http://www.thumbprintsartwear.com/tier_3/winter_artwear/winter_artwear.html

various Christmas and winter complex canes (her Sillie Millies for sale)
http://www.claysquared.com/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=104451.31077*r88158&product=Holiday

Tamara's tiny canes (gingerbread house, Santas, snowman, gingerbread person)... these are made without a surrounding background which would make them round, then baked and sliced afterwards with single-edge razor blade, while warm or not... can use as onlays or stand-ups in scenes, etc..... or can slice thickly (3/16") drill a tiny hole through with small bit and use for jewelry
http://www.designcanes.com/xmasstuff.htm ....http://www.designcanes.com/sweetchristmas.htm

my many candies --some are canes (see also Houses-Structures > Candies for some candy lessons)
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter/1681.jpg

For my quilt group's annual Christmas block exchange, I once appliqued (or maybe just used adhesive webbing since it was only for the wall?) a large "pine tree" of green-on-green fabric, onto a background (of 3 joined fabrics --white for snow on the ground, and sky-with-stars and planet fabric above)
....I then attached about 20 quilt-theme cane slices to the appliqued tree as "ornaments" ...think I put a short eye pin in the top of each (somewhat thick) slice, or had put a hole in the top front of each; then I sewed each to the fabric so it would dangle a bit ...could have glued them on instead I suppose, especially if I'd used a strong white glue like one for attaching jewels to fabric like Gem Tac, Jewel-It/etc. Diane B. http://beadyeyedbrat.com/clayquilt.html
(see more ways to use clay on pieced items, in Canes-Instruc > Quilt
....I also made quilt-pattern cane slices into ornaments to hang from a small artificial Christmas tree (around wh. I also added a tiny-pearl garland)--see website just above for photo. Diane B.

nora-jean's holly leaves made from canes which are manipulated into holly shapes after slicing (search at norajean.com)
. . . (instead of manipulating each slice as in the photo below, the whole cane could be indented lengthwise with a paintbrush handle between the green veins before cutting the slices --then each slice could be indented on the veins with a toothpick etc., to help it ruffle)

(see many more canes in the 4 main Canes categories here at GlassAttic: general cane-making info... instructions & types... reducing... faces)

Christmas, Santas, & winter figures & backgrounds (appliques, but inspirational for caning)
http://www.countryappliques.com/ (click on Patterns, etc.)

I also use the memory wire to make Christmas ornaments and hang beads off of it, then at the very end I hook a pretty tear drop type bead, and it coils beautifully on the tree. (I used to be in floral arrangements and I used to use those at Michaels in California for decorating trees) Really pretty and inexpensive to make... just keep on putting beads on it and when you have enough presto you hang on the tip of the tree branch really elegant. Mercedes

sunni's dog "necklace" collar --maybe with a Christmas theme? --be sure the collar is for adornment only & that the recipient pooch isn't one who eats everything! (the cording is that stretchy clear plastic fishing line looking stringing material)
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/collars.html

pine cone ideas:
...besides cleaning the pine cones, you would also need to sterilize them in the oven to get rid of any lingering insects. I made a very nice twig frame once, only to discover, a year later, little piles of sawdust on the floor under the frame. At that point I couldn't sterilize it in the oven because of the hot glue involved, so I had to junk it
...I knew I had seen a segment on Martha Stewart about drying pinecones (and getting rid of the sap) and I finally found the info. This advice is from a pinecone retailer in Wisconsin (Rose Hunsbuscher of Winter Woods) who supplies MS with a lot of the pinecones she uses in her segments on the show so it should be very reliable. She says:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminum foil?)
2. Place your pine cones on the baking sheet in one layer.
3. Place the baking sheet in your oven at a very low temperature (less than 200 degrees) for approximately 3 to 4 hours. Be careful!! Pitch ignites at high temperatures, so make sure you use the lowest setting on your oven. The slow heat will dissipate the pitch, leaving a shiny, shellaclike coating.
The smell of the roasting pinecones acts like a natural air freshener too!"
.... Perhaps with the cones you could have little Santas or elves climbing up the side. They could be carrying, or dropping (I like whimsy) tiny wrapped presents (cane slices would work) here and there. ... Or angels dropping snowflakes. Or halos. :-) These could be either centerpieces or ornaments, depending on the size of the cones. If you were going to bake the decorations *on* the cone, that would take care of sterilization, all in one baking. LynnDel
How about making them into little Christmas trees with polymer decorations? ( you could ) spray paint them green or white first. . . . .Or add a head and arms for little elves or angels? If you've got a lot of them, make a wreath embellished with polymer baubbles. Jody B

This works best on a smooth surface like a Christmas ornament or a stick pen. . . Let's say you have covered a glass Christmas ball with pretty cane slices or a nice marblised sheet of clay. Once you have it smoothed as much as possible, pour some ultra fine glitter into the palm of your hand and roll the ball around in you hands to stick a light coating of glitter all over. The idea is to press it into the clay so that the surface is quite smooth. Now bake it , wash off any loose glitter with soap and water and then give it a couple of coats of gloss flecto or future.. looks like iridescent glass. Jody B. (DB: or use Pearl-Ex???)

Jenny D's lesson on covering a CD with cutout paper image(s); she adds glitter, powder or other embellishments around the edges, bakes under a slick tile, and often antiques it for an xmas ornament
http://pcpolyzine.com/november2001/xmas.html

When making snowmen, you can pre-bake parts to make them easier to insert into a raw-clay body if you want; things like stick arms, carrot noses, coal eyes or buttons, boots, etc. DB
...I made snowmen the year before last and I use actual tree branches, tiny ones.
...Dianne C’s "dirty snow man" – make snakes of translucent (Fimo Art 00), white, & glow-in-the-dark clays....bundle the snakes randomly so your bundle has translucent, white,and glow next to each other. Reduce, put the bundles together; reduce, put the bundles together--do this until you can make 3 x 3 inch squared cane….cover snowman with cane slices.
......I made the same as Dianne’s except I made a lace cane out of white and translucent 06 and put the glow in the dark clay base under the lace cane slices…Dawn

glass or acrylic "ice cubes" can be used with clay to create snowmen, other decorations, ornaments, etc. (for those see Misc. > Marbles > Ice Cubes

Bonnie W's lesson on making a snowglobe with a (Christmas) elf and penguin inside
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_CandyElfSnowGlobe.htm

I've made a whole passle (Hey, how do you spell passel?) of elves
. . . they're dressed in green metallic Premo, rolled on 7, ripped into "rags", and draped strategically over their little bodies. I cut just a small piece of wool (from sheepskin scraps I got cheap once from a sheepskin store) to put on their heads, so their hair sticks out in all directions.
....some have on acorn shell caps ... some are holding gifts or candy canes
(.... I even made a little red flyer sled for one of them --painstaking--I don't recommend polyclay as the medium for that project.) author?

any figures or faces can be made by attaching only parts to glass or plastic bottles, or to lightbulbs, glass balls, etc. (e.g....eyes, nose,hands/gloves, feet/shoes, wings, scarves or other accessories... or whole heads etc.) (to make snowmen, animals, elves, etc.)
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts__penguin.htm (making a penguin from a soda bottle this way)

I used the angel wings Push Mold and a "dolls" face (mold?) on a glass "ornament" that turned out just cute as can be. The class is clear, flat, hexagon-shaped. With a festive green & gold ribbon they look right in with the holiday spirit, but they aren't necessarily just for the holidays. Cheryl?

A Christmas pin that I make is out of the larger Christmas tree light bulb. They make beautiful angels, etc. The part that screws in is the feet, and I use moss for the hair. The clay will stick right to this type of bulb and the E6000 will hold the pin back on. (see above in Glass Balls and also Covering/bulbs for more & lesson)

for lots of Christmas tags or seasonal card ideas, see Cards
...Patti's lesson on making a flat mold from a stamp, which can be run through the pasta machine with clay (she made a holiday gift tag with reversed lettering)
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/gifttag.htm

for xmas (ornament or package decoration, etc.), I've long wanted to use a walnut half-shell as a bed/cradle to put a baby or baby animal like a mouse in, covered by a blanket or a *tiny quilt*, maybe with the feet or the tail hanging over the side, or a nightcap perched on the side
....or a border of holly leaves around the edge... a child's name on, etc.. . . or add a handle for a tiny basket
http://rubyglen.com/articles/craftwreaths.htm (bed, toys)
... boat (put bit of clay in shell half with white glue), stand toothpick with rectangular sail or flag attached in clay with white glue... or make a turtle, spider, bird
...half shells could also be used as round forms/armatures, and wouldn't have the problem of splitting, I think, like the whole shell (which isn't fully dried out?)
...they could be used as Santa or other kinds of faces (convex or concave) ... or maybe several strung together for a snowman .... or used with fancy cane slices... or stamped/powdered (... since the shell is has convolutions similar to a human brain, highlighting with metallic Rub 'N Buff, etc., or "antiquing' the crevices with white or gold acrylic paint, e.g., might be another idea).. Diane B.
....Mary's tiny polymer rabbit on a large polymer leaf which is sort of laid down inside a halved walnut shell... little like a liner
http://www.sculpturefromtheheart.com/FromMaryGail.jpg
..whole .walnut shell with hinged double doors which open to reveal a tiny-tiny fake xmas tree decorated with many tiny-tiny (probably) polymer candy canes, etc.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasions_december/article/0,1789,HGTV_3270_3313725,00.html
… English walnuts are easily avilable and easiest to crack... originated in Persia but came to be known as English because the British merchant fleet carried them around the world in trade...grown mostly in California
.....black walnuts are harder to find and hard to crack (...taste wonderful but tree grown mostly for wood... native to the US, mostly in East...black walnuts leave black stains)
.......older (less fresh) walnuts do best...these seem to take on the smell of paint and taste is preferred by some)
.......soaking walnuts in water for 1/2 hour first may help
....... hold 2 in the palm of hand & squeeze against each other ...or use a nutcracker
.......OR cut easily with a band saw or Dremel cutting wheel
......or hold in vise, and cut with small hand saw
.......or squeeze in vise, or in a trigger-type vise
.......several cutting methods, most are complicated? http://tomclothier.hort.net/page21.html
.....my Greatgrandfather had a black walnut tree ...he would put us kids to removing the husks from the black walnuts.... What he did was to give is a board with a hole in it just slightly smaller than the walnuts with the husk on... we were also given a mallet or hammer ...the trick was to put the nut over the hole and hammer it through the hole.... I was amazed the first time I did it. That nasty greenish black husk just came right off..... (but if you leave the nuts lying around, the husk eventually splits and can be peeled off, at least that's what is happening to the nuts out in our parking area). J. Smith

"frame" ornaments... for holding a child's photo, etc. ......(but could also be a freestanding frame)
......lesson on making a frame for a photo with red & white candy stripe pattern + added holly leaves)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=99217&categoryid=10
...my various frames for photos, etc... over wood drapery rings, and freestanding twisted ropes ones, etc.
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/Christmas-winter
(lessons and most others like this are in Frames-Mirrors > "School or other photo frames" and "Twisted frames")

Susan Hyde has a technique for making sleeves for twinkle lightsin my book "Creative Ways With Polymer Clay" (p.79). ...these are little polymer clay sleeves that slip over mini lights and make them glow beautifully. The neat thing is that you can make them in all one color, a rainbow of colors, or in shaded colors. The design is by Susan Hyde...I found them extremely easy to make, fast, and fun. Dotty
.... rectangularsheets of clay (from sheets, or from slices of rectangular canes, which have been created with translucent clay or with tinted translucent patterns)... width of rectangle should be just large enough to wrap around a pencil lengthwise, and overlap at the bottom to join... top clay is flared back a bit so that it resembles an Easter lily..... baked... then stuck over mini light bulbs)... Susan's cane is a pastel translucent version of her "faux fabric" Skinner blend cane

tree toppers could be anything you want to put on top of your tree
... traditional star of some kind (or other shape), a figure or angel, a spire or finial of some kind, etc.
...use any clay pattern or decorative surface... but remember that toppers are usually an item which attracts the eye, and contrasts with the dark green of the tree (so a light color, or something sparkly-shiny, or something outlined with one of those, etc.) giving a visual "stop" to the tree, or it may not show up much... should be bigger or taller than other ornaments used?
...could be opaque or translucent (especially if light underneath)
...could be polymer covering something entirely, or just a shield of some kind
to hold the topper on the tree
.....slipover...anything which will fit snugly over the top branch, and also be long enough to hold your particular size and shape of topper straight up and down
.......could use a permanent armature (bakable or glue on later ) to attach the clay to
..........e.g., a purchased glass ornament topper shaped like a spire, etc,...a length of PVC pipe... cardboard tube from plastic wrap or toilet tissue, etc,
..........or make your own slipover from clay or cardstock, wood or balsawood ...even a tall thin box (open at one short end)
.......wire the topper to the tree... or attach something to the back of the topper which can be used to wire it on
..Laurel's lesson on making a cone-shaped armature base for a (star-shaped) tree topper (2-sided because visible from the street as well) from a manilla folder formed into a cone (small hole at top, if desired, for light/etc.)
.....she covered her base with a clay sheet (thickest on pasta machine), then trimmed excess... created enough decorative clay sheet (in this case, mokume gane) on #3 pasta machine to be able to cut out two same shapes (star, etc.) with a cutter, template, or freehand...laid cone on one shape to attach, then turned cone over and attached second shape.... she then pressed the extending parts together (except at the bottom) ... filled in any blank areas needed with more clay and smoothed.. placed cone on bottle for stability, and did final shaping/smoothing.. let sit overnight for some stiffening.... baked on its side on polyester batting beginning with cool oven, the cooled in oven
......could use translucent clays if lights are underneath.... could cut holes or shapes for lights to protrude or light to shine through, etc.
http://www.artistcrafts.com/polyclay/treetopper.htm
...to make an angel out of your star topper, you could put a clay-covered glass ball ornament on top of it (as a head), and maybe a big heart-shaped pice of clay on the back (for wings), and voila! A christmas angel tree-topper :) Cathy
...... or a small Christmas lightbulb would also make a good "head" for the angel. .....so start w/ the cone, but drape the clay around the armature to simulate "fabric"... use a heart shaped cutter to make the wings (cut the heart down the middle), add the light bulb as a head...and maybe a wire halo? Laurel
(...see more ideas on objects which could be used for toppers, light covers, or other winter or Xmas themed objects in Covering >Glass >Nightlights..Shields-Screens...Lamps... some let light shine through)

Patricia K's freestanding, hollow ornament (4 sided, orange-peel shaped)... also carved and backfilled?
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_ornamentinspirations_Patricia.htm
...Ai Ping Yeh and Jeffrey Dever also make hollow forms which would make good ornaments

For much more info on the various ways to make hollow items --from beads to boxes-containers to odd shapes, see these pages, since the methods could always be generalized to ornament-size:
...Beads > Hollow ...Vessels > mostly Boxes ...Rock Vessels ...Armatures-Temporary ...Armatures-Perm.
(in addition to covering glass ball ornaments, light bulbs, etc.)

some brands of ping pong balls (Wilson, at least) can be covered with clay and baked as long as there is a hole for the air inside to escape... Dotty made some with bead tassels on the bottoms which sounded like good xmas ornmanets (see Covering > Plastic > Misc.Plastic for details)

(heavy duty?) aluminum foil can be embossed by drawing into it with a ball-ended tool (embossing tool) to create texture molds. Jody Bishel . . . these tinted Translucent Liquid Sculpey sheets can be removed from the foil?
.......and/or the embossed foil can be brushed with tinted TLS and the topmost area wiped before baking to reveal the aluminum foil highlights (in this case, the TLS is left in place, creating a stained glass effect, with the aluminum foil shining through the lower areas?)

I don't know if Michaels would have it at this time of the year, but when you make those christmas villages, they have a product that is sorta like foam that you use for snow, you spray it on, and then it sets, it's matt white and then if you like you can sprinkle the very very fine glitter powder on it for a very subtle effect. Other wise use the Acylic modeling paste, or a product called form-it, a plastic mousse. It's perfect for light weight sculptures and landscapes.
~I once used the white liquid Sculpey--not the translucent for a snow look. It was amazingly real looking. It has been a long time, but I think I let it set out for awhile painted on the item and used some kind of stenciling brush to pounce on it for a snow like pattern. Hope this helps. Jeanne

some basic ideas:
....use items relevant to the interested or theme but decorate them with Christmas-y colors
....use materials relevant to the interest, etc, but use them make items which look like Christmas things
....use Christmas items to make items associated with the theme

A state ornament (from Huntsville Alabama).... various things/symbols are placed on an Alabama state shape... near the top is a space shuttle and a rocket for Huntsville, in the northwest is a paddle wheeler ....Tom Bigalow waterway... flying eagle for the Wheeler Wildlife Preserve.)

my computer-puns tree
http://dianeb.smugmug.com/gallery/3979101#231342712

(for some people who are reluctant to have or to "decorate" a tree for themselves) I find out their hobby/hobbies (maybe not their work, so it is more fun) and encourage ornaments that are ONLY themed to that.
...actually the hunt for those ornaments can be half the fun ....for example, one gentleman loves to shop in thrift stores so we went to the thrift stores together and he bought a dilapadated tree ...it had some ball ornaments on it (but those are coming off for possible use later, re-painted to his theme)
......he had previously bought a cookie tin which had also contained blue ornamental balls and glass pinecones ...he loved them and decided on an "all blue ornament" tree.
......he is a painter/wood sculptor/photographer (so we ended up with a double- themed tree)
......the tree-topper will be a small wooden easel, painted irridescent deep-turquoise and topped by a modern-shaped silver star
..... for ornaments, the blue glass ornaments will base-theme the tree
.......other ornaments are two paint brushes I made into seperate ornaments with blue-ribbon hangers .... actual "Blue Ribbon" for awards....a pale blue colored art pencil, hung from a different blue ribbon... an artist eraser [blue ribbon hanger]...a squeezed tube of Ultramarine Blue oil paint [ribbon-hung]... a miniature funfoam camera with blue sequins in place of knobs and lens... a mini-sanding block [ribboned]... I made a mini-chisel with wooden bead handle with his name in blue and a matching mini-gouge... scrolled-copper-bead handled mini-wood carver's knife.... mini- blue T-square..... we are also going to decorate some film canisters in blue, and are looking for the old-fashioned flash bulbs and/or cubes to decorate as well.... he also found a small insta-camera with a blue label.... some mini-picture frames for photographs he took
....He was thrilled with the gifts I have him and the hunt and will have his own personal Christmas tree from now on. I had fun too with the making and the hunt...
....It's a good idea too to save the box the tree came in if you can, and put it away each year fully decorated. LFCMamoAZ

also, in the past I have done other themes for trees
...a re-enactors' tree from St. Augustine Fort.... a scale-modelers train-related tree.... a Mule/donkey/WY tree... my 2 own bird table-top tree. LFCMamoAZ

my "Santa Flamingo" ornament was inspired by a neighbor who has a collection of flamingo stuff.... I thought this might be something she didn't already have...I took a basic flamingo, added a Santa hat... added the beard (plus boots and wreath around neck). Laurel

Carol Beebe made some wonderful, tiny gingerbread houses which she lighted from the inside with a string of mini-lights (one under each house). They were displayed across her mantle on angel hair snow. The little 3" houses had tranluscent yellow clay in the windows, so that the light shone through, making them look warm and inviting. She glued together the walls and, then decorated with white (dimensional) fabric paint --scallops on the top and edge of the roof, and windows outlined.

printable patterns for 5 Christmas Village buildings, which can be colored and folded to make 3-D buildings . . .could use these as a guide for polymer instead, or drizzle on Liquid Sculpey and fill in, etc. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7134/Christmas/chrvillage.htm

a tiny house ...maybe with the hole as the door, a chimney, window, vent pipe, etc.) would be cute made with a covered glass ball (or an egg vinegar-dissolved or not) . . . fantasy type, even themed as for Christmas, Halloween...(see below for Gay's lesson for lighting larger bulbs)
...Treebelly has many creative ideas for eggs, including egg houses, mosaics, and many more.
http://www.treebelly.com/art/eggs/eggs.html (click on each photo for many more photos!)
Tamara's lesson on making a tiny (gingerbread) Christmas house (2-storey) with decorations, plus tree etc, on a base mostly with slices from tiny canes... she cuts two thick slices from house-shaped logs (one smaller and cut thinner than the other) ... lays a sheet of white clay on roof of each ...puts the smaller one on top of the larger one as a 2nd floor ...adds cane slice decorations ...places house on disk of white clay and adds a tree, bushes, etc. in "yard"
http://www.designcanes.com/christmas.htm
... NoraJean's tiny gingerbread house plus path and yard-scene on top of Altoid box!
http://www.norajean.com (click on Mini-Food at top... then click on Gingerbread-3 on left)
Elizabeth's lesson on making mini-gingerbread house fronts, and many candies (LS and TLS)
http://polymerclayexpress.net/dece2002.html (be sure and click on Templates, and the last houses photo for a larger version)
Gingerbread House and Christmas Ornaments, by Maureen Carlson

Oscelyn's winter houses (white) decorated like gingergread houses.... often have yards with figures, trees, etc.
...some houses chalet type, some square with pyramidal or cone shaped roofs, some "barn" shape (roof flat-sided dome)
http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/Gingerclayhouses.html

Hanukkah theme house and yard http://www.oconnellfamily.com/hanukkah_house.htm (gone)

(See Houses-Structures for gingerbread houses and also Christmas candies)

(for bas relief houses and scenes, see above in Bas Relief)

WEBSITES & info on Solstice, Hanukkah & Kwanzaa

I need help with appropriate symbolism for the Winter Solstice. Anyone want to give me some guidance?. . . I'm looking for symbols that were not borrowed by Christianity, as were as evergreens (trees, holly, mistletoe), yule logs, etc.
.....On this the longest night of the year, one makes noise, particularly blowing horns and ringing bells and whooping it up---often around a bonfire--so that the sun will know it is welcomed back, and will know how to find the world. . . . Bells are the big symbol as far the historical aspect, also snowflakes and suns. Its about the dividing line between Light and Dark, and the ever turning cycle, while we go on towards the New Day. . . "Ring Solstice Bells" (from Songs from the Woods, Jethro Tull) is a Solstice song. Sarajane
... a little bit after the solstice but part of the celebrations is called Wassailing.... you get a group of people together, and go out and sing to your apple trees. ...the idea is that you make as much noise as possible. You don't always have to sing tunefully or harmoniously, and sometimes people even take out old tin lids and dustbins and bang on them ... very jolly ceremony.... supposed to be driving out any evil spirits that might have been hanging around your trees to make sure that your trees will give plenty of fruit in the coming year. John Matthews
...other Winter Solstice symbols of Pagan origin: the giving of gifts, magical reindeer,

lights, candles (anything representing the light/sunlight that's hoped for)... feasting... celebrating the return of the sun

WEBSITES --all winter celebrations

*Sculpey's many many xmas project ...lessons
http://www.sculpey.com/projects.htm
many xmas project lessons (mostly figures, items) using Makins' air dry clay, but pretty much the same for polymer clay
http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/project_gallery/christmas.htm
*Marcy's galleries of Christmas ornaments... Santas, candy cane, gingerbread man, etc.
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/christmas/christmas1.html
http://marcysclaypen.com/index.html (click on Christmas galleries)
*Christel's xmas pins & magnets (Santas, snowmen & scarf, penguin, gingerbread person)
http://home.online.no/~raje/Polymer/pins/christmas.htm
PCC's variety of Christmas items (bowls, votives, switchplate, ornaments, figures holding long rods with coiled wire at end to hold a photo or memo)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_holidaydecor.html and http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_hol_stuff.html
Polyzine's gallery of various Christmas ornaments, figures, etc .
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0212dec/0212holidayart.html (plus 2nd page)
Kathy W's decorated tree cutout, gingerbread men, Christmas slice necklaces, and 2 candy canes back to back held together with red bow & holly on knot
http://www.kathyweinberg.com/s_jewelry.html
Jan's many small Christmas themed items for pins,pendants... including gingerbread house& people, snowpeople, mittens, etc.
http://drumdiver.com/janmade/fall.htm
katbyte's many xmas items (Santa chalkboard, penguins, poinsettia, characters, etc.) (website gone)
*Oscelyn's figures, etc.,
http://www.oscelyn.homestead.com/holidays.html
**Cathy's many excellent xmas ornaments & figures (for sale)
http://www.cathyscreations.com/christmas.htm
Tallulah 's Christmas ornaments swap
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1175021&uid=527261&members=1
Elayne Watrus' Little Street xmas figures, animals, scenes (for sale)...
http://64.85.6.134/shop/browse.asp?cat=118&path=112,118
http://www.fishmangifts.com/littlestreetcatalog.html
tri-color candy cane
http://home.earthlink.net/~firstimpress/index-15g.html
*tiny petal-body fairy, Sue Heaser's instructions
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/suefairy.html
one-piece-body angel with wings
http://home.earthlink.net/~firstimpress/index-15.html
Sarajane’s bear and star cutouts+, other projects
http://www.polyclay.com/bear.htm
Jean’s cutter shapes colored with fabric markers (website gone)
various Christmas items (PCC challenge Dec 2003)...sculpting, caning, etc.
http://polymerclaycentral.com/chall_dec03.html
Icechic’s xmas ornaments
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Veranda/2369/xmas.html
Bunny's Grinch coming out of chimney
http://www.thewildbunny.com/sculpture.htm
keepsake's angel ornaments (flat-backed)
http://www.geocities.com/pckeepsakes/angelorn.html
Icechic’s nativity figures
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Veranda/2369/Nativity.html
keepsake's simple nativity figures
http://www.geocities.com/pckeepsakes/nativity.html
Oscelyn's owl and penguin (Nativity figures), next to stable
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4153008&a=31266991&p=68352143
Cathy L's simple figures/clothing & animals in Nativity scene (piggie) (website gone)
Ria’s figures on top of ornaments, presents
http://users.bart.nl/~creation/new.htm
http://users.bart.nl/~creation/english/pooh_page.htm
pigsnstuff's scenes in ornaments with piggies (nativity, Santa/etc., carolers...)
http://www.pigsnstuff.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.cgi
Renee's Santas, reindeer, snowmen, nativity figures
http://www.hopscotchcreations.homestead.com/Christmas.html
Oscelyn's snowmen, Santas, accessories, penguins, nativity figures,
http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/Winter.html
Michele's Santa head using upsidedown clamshell for beard
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/clay/gal1115130020326.html
Nf's dressed Santa formed over bottle (sort-of lesson) (website gone)
Ruth's whimsical snowmen
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4218486&a=31279335&p=68441889
Marcy's cute simple snowmen with earmuffs (over bulbs, or just teardrop clay bases?)
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/christmas/christmas3.html
Jack's many Christmas figures (sort-of elfish ones, etc., The Three Wise Guys) & accessories
http://jacksworkshoppe.homestead.com/page2.html
chellebeadz' simple snowmen and penguins, and other characters, with hats, etc.
http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc289/chellebeadz
Laure's lesson on penguin with hat and scarf, holding sign
http://pcpolyzine.com/0212dec/esteppenguin.html (3 pages, photo of completed sculpt on page 3)
Bonnie W's lesson on making a Christmas penguin
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_CandyElfSnowGlobe.htm
Kirs R's lesson on making a Santa penguin
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_SantaPenguin.htm
penguin with cane sheets & inclusions
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/dn537/images/penguin.jpg
penguin in covered Xmas matchbox:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/polymerclay/messages?msg=21691.1 (click on "Guest")
Oscelyn's penguins dressed as bride/groom/gridesmaid, nativity, wizard, graduate, etc.
http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/Penguins.html
http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/WhimsicalToo.html
Tracie's santas, penguin, horse, etc (website gone)
*sensewhim's almost flat Santa (website gone)
Helene's mini xmas items & characters
http://hgdesign.tripod.com/id28.htm
nora-jean's holly leaves from canes (website gone)
Bas relief sculptures of bears, snowmen, gingerbread houses, etc.
http://www.personalizedfree.com/
...Treebelly has many creative ideas for eggs, including egg houses, mosaics, and many more.
http://www.treebelly.com/art/eggs/eggs.html (click on each photo for many more photos!)
Marcy's Old World Santas .... figures with dark red robes, trimmed with checkerboard strips of black and light brown
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0212dec/marcysanta.gif ...and http://www.marcysclaypen.com/santafigures/santafigures.html
Kevin Buntin's fully dressed Yule sprites figures ..and Yule Tiders (white-bearded faces with pointed caps)
http://www.kevinbuntin.com/holidaygallery.html
many xmas ornaments & Nativity stuff for inspiration
http://www.bronners.com/ornaments.html ... http://www.bronners.com/nativityscene.html
Jean’s santas (website gone)
*Pat R's "Chunky" Santas (& other Santas) (website gone)
Santa and reindeer from Tiny Swap http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/PCHSwaps/tiny2.htm
*HelenClayArt's xmas animal earrings, Santas, etc.
http://www.homestead.com/HelensClayArt/page3jewelry.html
Jean‘s misc. ornaments (website gone)
Claire's covered ornaments (can be lighted from inside) (website gone)
Dawn's Dolly Dangles (website gone)
*Adorables' xmas theme jewelry (tiny package earrings, MrMrs.Claus faces)
http://www.lavendera.com/Adorables/adorables%20front%20page.htm
Marty W's snowman relief on matchbox covered pendant (website gone)
Dianne C's snow people
http://www.pbase.com/artintheattic/christmas_year_round
tallmouse's snowman pine cone (could be polymer head and snow on cone) & many other snowmen
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/pinecone/index.htm & http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/index.htm
Sally H's angel (and another angel) (website gone)
My twisted-frame & other xmas ornaments (website gone)
my gingerbread house and candies (see also Houses/Structures) (website gone)

see also these category pages here at GlassAttic:
Canes
Sculpting for more xmas items & websites
Kids
Liquid Clay for 2 kinds of window decals
Houses/Structures for gingerbread house & many candies
Gifts (men, teachers, other)

(NOT-NECESSARILY-POLYMER xmas ideas ...but many could be polymer )
Christmas mini's
http://www.suite101.com/linkcategory.cfm/dollhouses_and_miniatures/2934
tallmouse's many Christmas and winter lessons
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/index.htm
Family.com's many seasonal crafts/activities!
http://family.go.com/crafts/ (click on Seasonal)
(Craft Central Station-xmas)
http://craftcentralstation.com/dbchristmas.html
Amazing Moms' Christmas projects, info about holidays, etc.
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_page.htm
Child Fun christmas (lots of adult ideas, support, too)
http://www.childfun.com/ch.shtml
make window frosting with beer & epsom salts
http://www.makestuff.com/jackfrost.html
make your own outside xmas decorations
http://www.theshop.net/sled/
Carol Duvall -- LARGE ornament for outdoor trees
http://www.hgtv.com/shows/CDS/cdw-201.html
winter house and large scene
http://www.oconnellfamily.com/holiday_gingerbread_house.htm (gone)
Caryn's xmas and solstice
http://www.candlegrove.com/home.html
Winter Solstice --Past and Present
http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=98-P13-00052#feature1
some ways to celebrate & decorate for Soltice
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/9666/solpage.html
Hanukkah theme house and yard
http://www.oconnellfamily.com/hanukkah_house.htm (gone)

Home