A bauble is a spherical decoration that is commonly used to adorn Christmas trees.
The bauble is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and
they have been in production since 1847. Baubles can have various
designs on them, from "baby's first Christmas," to a favorite sports
team. Many are plain, being simply a shiny sphere of a single color.
The Origin if Christmas Baubles
The
origin of Christmas Baubles relate to the custom of decorating indoor
Christmas trees. This custom became extremely popular during the
Victorian era when homemade baubles and trinkets were made to decorate
the tree. At first the tree was hung with small toys, cakes, bags of
sweets tied with ribbon containing bonbons or candies like sugared
almonds or other bonbons.
Invention
The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn,
white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and
flowers. In Germany the tradition and Christmas custom
of decorating the tree extended to commercial decorations like silver
wire ornaments, glass baubles and ornaments. Germany were extremely fond
of decorations and as early as the 17th century real wafer thin silver
tinsel had been machine-made by German manufacturers. These soon became a
popular trend and tinsel, glass baubles and ornaments were exported to
England and the US. The fashion for decorating Christmas trees with
glass baubles and other decorations was brought to England by Prince
Albert, the German prince who married Queen Victoria. In 1841 Prince
Albert set up the first tree at Windsor Castle - this custom soon became
all the rage in fashionable, wealthy households. In 1850 Charles
Dickens described trees as being covered with small dolls, miniature
furniture, tiny musical instruments, costume jewelry, toy guns and
swords, fruit and candy.
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| An early Christmas bauble | | | | |
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| A Christmas tree hung with and-made baubles and candies |
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The first American made glass ornaments and
baubles were created by William DeMuth in New York in 1870. Christmas
Baubles and decorations were then adopted by the masses when, by 1880,
Woolworth's sold inexpensive, commercially produced, Christmas baubles
and ornaments. F. W. Woolworth had discovered the Lauscha baubles during
a visit to Germany and made a fortune by importing the German glass
ornaments to America. As time went by the glass baubles were commonly
replaced by plastic baubles.
Post World War II
After World War II, the East German government turned most of Lauscha's glassworks into state-owned entities, and production of baubles in Lauscha ceased. After the Berlin Wall
came down, most of the firms were reestablished as private companies.
As of 2009, there are still about 20 small glass-blowing firms active in
Lauscha that produce baubles. One of the producers is Krebs Glas
Lauscha, part of the Krebs family which is now one of the largest
producers of glass ornaments worldwide.
The modern Bauble
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| A Christmas ball (American English) |
Although glass baubles are still produced, baubles are now frequently made from plastic
and available worldwide in a huge variety of shapes, colors and
designs. There is a large number of manufactures producing sophisticated
Christmas glass ornaments in Poland.
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| Common thin blown glass ornament empty inside, a typical frosted glass bauble |
DIY Christmas Bauble Decorating
ReplyDeleteTo do this craft you will need:
* Baubles (you could also use styrofoam baubles for this)
* Craft glue
* Glitter
* Paint brushes
* Glitter paint
* Other embellishments as required
What to do:
* Set up glitter into bowls
* Decorate baubles with glitter/paint/embellishments
* Allow to dry
* Spray with hairspray or a clear adhesive spray (so glitter won't fall off) and allow to dry.
The Christmas tree as we recognise it today, hails from Germany. Christmas decorations, similarly, are generally accepted to have come from this part of the world where the fashion for decorating the Christmas tree with simple white candles became very fashionable (though fairly dangerous by today's standards). Over several centuries, baubles have evolved, spanning an amazing range of materials and designs. Christmas baubles are simply irreplaceable in decorating the Christmas tree. Whereas a tree can look wonderful without lashings of tinsel, beads and lights, Christmas baubles are the one thing it just can't do without.
ReplyDeleteHow to make pom-pom baubles
ReplyDeleteHow long will it take?
20 minutes per bauble.
What you need
Thin card
Wool
Hanging loop
What to do
1. Take two pieces of card and draw out a doughnut shape on each one (I used a pound coin and small glass). Cut out the templates.
2. Put the templates together and start to wrap the wool around them. Use two different coloured bits of wool, if preferred.
3. Keep wrapping until you can't push the wool through the middle of the cardboard doughnut.
4. Cut the wool around the outer edge of the donut.
5. Split the two bits of card and tie a piece of wool around the middle.
6. Tear off the card and attach the loop (or a piece of ribbon.
7. There you have it, a fluffy Christmas bauble! Do trim it if it looks slightly uneven - but that can be part of the charm.
How to make paper baubles
ReplyDeleteHow long will it take?
5-10 mins per bauble.
What you need
Paper (magazines, old wrapping paper, leaflets, coloured paper or even junk mail)
Needle and thread or sewing machine
What to do
1. Take eight squares of paper and place them in a pile.
2. Stitch down the middle of the pile, holding the pieces of paper in place. Leave about 10cm of thread.
3. Draw a circle on the top piece of paper and cut it out.
4. Knot together the extra thread you left, and hang the bauble on the Christmas tree.
How to make felt baubles
ReplyDeleteHow long will it take?
10 mins per bauble.
What you need
Felt
Glue or a needle and thread
Ribbon (try trims on old dresses and pieces used to wrap presents)
Hanging loop (the kind found in tops and dresses)
What to do
1. Draw out a circular template on a piece of felt (I used the bottom of a glass).
2. Cut out strips from another coloured piece of felt or ribbon.
3. Glue the strips in place on the bauble.
4. Sew or glue on the loop (used to hang the decoration).
5. Place on the nearest tree!
Fabric Balls
ReplyDeleteTools and Materials
Fabric balls template
2- and 3-inch Styrofoam balls
Fabric
Ribbons, rickrack, and or cord
Straight pins and pearl-head pins
Pearl beads, tassel balls and tassels
Craft glue
Sewing shears (for cutting fabric) and embroidery scissors (for cutting trimmings)
How-To
1. Using our template as a guide, cut out six sections of fabric for each ball on the fabric's bias (diagonal to the grain).
2. Place a fabric section on the ball, stretching it pole to pole, and secure it with one pin at each pole. [See image 2 above.] Place the second section directly opposite the first, and pin it at each pole. Sections should meet or slightly overlap at poles. Pin remaining four fabric sections so that the ball is completely covered. Trim any excess fabric trim with embroidery scissors.
3. With ribbon on its spool, pin ribbon's end at top pole, wind it around ball to cover seams, and pin it again at top pole; cut loose end. [See image 3 above.] Repeat two more times, covering remaining seams. If ends of trimmings fray, apply a dab of craft glue. You can use the same wrapping method to add strips of silver twine to the ball, one centered on each section.
4. To finish the top, stack a pearl or bead on a pearl-head pin, then add a loop for hanging. Cut silver twine to desired length, dab glue on ends, and run pin through both ends of twine. Dip tip of pin in craft glue, and insert in ball; let dry before hanging. To finish bottom, add beads, pearls, or a tasseled ball to a pearl-head pin. You can embellish the sides by attaching beads and sequins with more pearl-head pins.
Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany, by Hans Greiner who produced garlands of glass beads similar to the popcorn strands and tin figures that could be hung on trees.
ReplyDeleteHomemade Christmas Tree Dough Decorations
ReplyDeleteInstructions
1. Preheat an oven to 250 degrees.
2. Stir together four cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 1/2 cups of water into a mixing bowl.
3. Mix in an electric mixer, adding small amounts of water or flour until the dough is mold-able by hand.
4. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface just enough to cover it, and place the dough on the floured surface.
5. Add drops of food coloring to the dough, and mix it with your hands, if you desire you decorations to be a color other than beige.
6. Roll out the dough until it is at least 1/4-inch thick. Do not make the dough any thicker than this, because it will crack when cooked.
7. Cut out designs from the dough using Christmas cookie cutters.
8. Place your ornaments on a cookie sheet, and bake them for 45 to 60 minutes. Once they have hardened and turned a slight golden brown, they are done. Do not overcook.
9. Allow your ornaments to cool.
10. Use craft glue, sparkles, craft paints and a paint brush to add color and designs to your decorations. Allow the glue and paint to dry.
11. Place a dab of glue the size of a pencil eraser on the back of each ornament at the top.
12. Cut a piece of 1/4-inch ribbon to a length of 3 inches.
13. Fold the ribbon in half, making a loop if hanging, and place the two ends in the spot of glue.
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ReplyDelete