The World's Easiest Snowflake Ornaments

Lace. Lace. Lace. I love lace. Always have. Granny crochet lace in particular.  That Duchess gal is doing a good job of making Chantilly lace popular again, which I am rather enjoying, although I fear it will never become massively popular because the good stuff is so darn expensive to make. Even when you buy it by the yard in the fabric store, it ain't cheap. The good news is you can salvage great lace materials from old doilies in your Granny's attic, or by taking apart garments from the thrift store. The number of early 90's prom dresses featuring lace patches is nothing less than astounding.




Above is a sampling of my lace collection. Most of it would never be under consideration for this kind of project, but I have a few scraps that are too tattered to display. Not that I display a lot of lace in my house. I just like to burrow it away. Like a squirrel.

Like a granny squirrel.

Like a granny squirrel in an early 90's prom gown.

Yeah. 







If you already own a jar of Mod Podge and have an old doily in the attic, you probably already have the materials to make these in your house. Even if you did have to buy all of them, you can still obtain all the materials for this project for well under $5. In my case, one $2.00 lace runner made 60 snowflakes. Yowza!



These require no special skills what-so-ever. Just mix the Mod Podge with water, dunk in the lace and let it soak up all the gluey Mod Podge wonder, then lay it flat to dry on wax paper. It is going to take a while to dry, especially if you are using a thick crochet lace (after it looks dry, you may need to flip it over and give it a few more hours to be sure).  Then, all you need to do is snip it apart, insert a hook or a loop of ribbon, and hang away!



Except for a little glitter, I didn't dress these up at all, but you certainly could add some paint or beads or glue on some feathers...or....oh why didn't I think of this BEFORE I took the pictures? What a fun project for a bunch of kids on a cold afternoon?

Okay, I know someone is going to ask this; Can I use regular white glue or starch instead of Mod Podge?

Yes. Sorta. White glue works fine but I like the mild gloss I get from using diluted Mod Podge. More important, Mod Podge has a varnish like quality that makes the final surface semi-water-resistant. If you want these ornaments to last for years and years, it's worth the extra couple of bucks to buy the Mod Podge. Liquid starch is surprisingly hard to find these days (you can make your own), but it's a no-no for ornaments that will hang on natural trees that get misted with water (the water is good for the tree -- bad for the starch). Just the same, I'll admit, there is a charming authenticity to old fashioned starch lace. You make the call!

So, who has granny with an attic full of tattered doilies to raid?