Upcycled Baby's First Ornament

A couple of years ago, I made my son a baby's first ornament. I went to a big retail store, bought a fancy ornament, and followed the process I'll write out here. I love seeing it on our tree.

It's very pretty, but this year, I just don't have the will to pack up 2 babies and head to a retail store if I can at all help it!

Upcycling to the rescue!

I have some old ornaments that are pretty beat-up. My husband is an artist, so we have acrylic paint in the house. I painted the ornament in white, using an old jar candle's top as a holder

Next, I mixed up red, blue and white paint until it was a pretty shade of purple. (Check out my awesome palette.)

With my 14 year-old holding my 5 month-old, I used a paint brush and painted her little foot, then pressed it onto the (dried) ball. You may have to roll the foot down a bit to get the whole thing on the ball. There will be smudges, but it just adds to the character.

And a clean baby foot afterward (if a tad purple, still, oops!)

Next, I simply took a permanent marker and wrote the year where I liked.

And I added this to the back:

You could put just the name, initial, birth info, or leave that side blank.

Here it is on the tree! Baby's first ornament finished and totally free!