Make a Wedding Bell to Celebrate Your First Holiday

By Annabelle Keller

Create an elegant keepsake for a special couple's first Christmas, with a photo they'll treasure. For a special touch, use flowers and ribbon colors from the wedding day.

Use a photo from the wedding to make a special keepsake.

Materials:

• Styrofoam Bell, 4"
• Styrofoam Sheet, 1" thick, scrap
• White acrylic paint
• Textured snow medium
• Pearls: 20mm, one; 4mm bead string, 6" length
• White ribbon: wire-edged sheer, 5/8" x 1-3/4 yards; picot-edge, 3/16" x 1/3 yard
• Artificial greenery picks, two to three each: pine branches; small, white flowers
• White cloth-covered floral wire, 8" length
• Ultra-fine iridescent glitter
• Photo or color photocopy, 2" square
• Waxed paper, 2" square
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Wooden skewer
• Metal utensils: tablespoon; teaspoon; heart-shaped cookie cutter, 1-1/2" across
• Palette knife
• Water basin
• Paper towels
• Scissors
• Large-eye sewing needle or awl
• Wire cutters
• Thick, white craft glue

Instructions:

1. Using the graphic of the finished project (above) to guide placement, position cookie cutter and push firmly into side of foam bell. (Leave the cookie cutter in place for now.) Twist teaspoon tip into center bottom of bell to make 1/4"-deep indentation for pearl clapper. Insert wooden skewer into top of bell for handle.
2. Remove 1 tablespoon snow medium from jar and replace with 1 tablespoon white paint; stir well. Hold bell by skewer. Use palette knife to "frost" sides of bell around cookie cutter with snow/paint mixture.
3. Holding bell at top and bottom, carefully remove cookie cutter. "Frost" top and bottom of bell. While bell is still wet, sprinkle surface with glitter. Stand skewer in foam scrap; let bell dry overnight.
4. Remove skewer. Use the needle to poke a hole in the center bottom of bell and to enlarge the hole at top of bell.
5. To make photo pattern, gently push waxed paper square into heart-shaped opening in bell. Trace heart with fingernail; cut out. Place pattern over photo and cut out. Glue photo into opening. Glue pearl bead string around inside of opening.
6. Cut floral wire in half. Thread large pearl bead onto center of one wire length; twist ends together to secure. Glue wire into hole at bottom of bell.
7. Fold picot ribbon in half; knot ends together. Glue knot into hole at top of bell. Use needle to poke hole in bell, next to hanger.
8. Cut 1/2 yard from 5/8"-wide ribbon for tails. Make six-loop bow, with center knot, from remaining ribbon. Secure bow and tails with remaining length of floral wire. Glue wire into hole beside hanger. Curl tails around finger.
9. Glue ends of greenery and floral picks to bell under bow.

© The Dow Chemical Compan