From ice skating to downhill skiing, the Winter Olympics tend to bring out the athlete in all of us as we cheer on the home team and support talented athletes around the world. If your family enjoys watching the big games, it’s time to get even more in the spirit with your own set of handmade medals. A heavy dose of glitter and some patriotic ribbon result in a set of ready-to-wear accessories appropriate for the podium – for those of us at home watching and cheering along!
Materials
- Six 3-inch wooden discs
- Craft paint and glitter in gold, silver and bronze colors
- Foam brushes
- Red, white and blue ribbon
- Mod Podge
- Epoxy (or other strong glue)
- Scissors
- Sandpaper
- Scrap paper for work surface
Instructions
| 1. Start out by sanding all of the wooden discs to make sure they are free of any rough edges. |
| 2. Divide the discs into the three sets of pairs for each of your paint colors. Paint one side of each pair with a medal color. Use a different foam brush for each color or thoroughly clean and dry your brush in between colors. Let dry. (Make sure the edges of each disc are painted, too.) |
| 3. Once the paint has dried on the discs, select one from each pair to add glitter to. Apply a liberal amount of a gloss-luster Mod Podge to the painted side. |
| 4. Working over a piece of scrap paper, sprinkle glitter over the surface of the disc. (It’s OK to add a lot of glitter at first. Shake off the excess and pour back into the bottle to make the most of your glitter.) Repeat this for each of the medals. Let dry. |
5. Using the Mod Podge again, apply a thin layer of the sealant to the glittered medal top to seal the finished look. Again, let dry.
| 6. Cut a 30-inch piece of red-white-and-blue ribbon. With the non-painted side of your non-glitter disc facing up, apply a large amount of epoxy to the unfinished wood. Place the two ends of the ribbon in the center of the disc. Add your glittered disc on top of this to create a sandwich. |
| 7. Hold the discs together for a few seconds to secure the bond; apply additional pressure (such as a few books) to the medal for an hour to finalize the seal. |
