When I saw these photo ball ornaments at JoAnn's, I immediately knew I wanted to make a Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean ornament with them. The retail price was $2.99, but all holiday craft items were 50% off so I grabbed several for $1.49 each. At the time that this post is being written, you can order them online for the sale price as well. Since this is a seasonal item, they may not be available in store outside of the Christmas season.
You can find similar clear photo ornaments at other craft stores. I really like this particular design because the plastic is very sturdy and the ornament cap screws on, so there's low risk of it coming apart. Also, the two halves of the bulb hinge together at the top, then the cap screws over the area where the halves are hinged. What a clever design!
The ornament came with a template inside, so that you can trace the template onto your photos, cut them out, and insert them in the ornament. But I'm not putting a photo in mine!
Most of the Bertie Botts printable files circulating the internet are for the print-and-fold box seen right. These are sold at Honeydukes and are reminiscent of retro circus tent popcorn boxes. I needed something round, that left enough room at the bottom to fill the ornament halfway with jelly beans, so I passed on this design.
Much of the Harry Potter merchandise sold in the US and UK has been rebranded in the past year or so, with a faded white newspaper print background, and gold lettering. I've seen this visual identity on multiple products in multiple retailers, so it seems to be an across-the-board rebranding.
Bertie Botts has had several visual identities over the past 20 years. Here are some of the retail packaging styles we've seen:
The newest packaging style with the white background also introduced a new Bertie Botts logo. I love the simplicity of the design with the retro style font. And it's round! I picked up a couple of small boxes from my local Five Below. I scanned the box front on the flatbed scanner of my all-in-one printer, then re-drew the logo in Photoshop so it would print out nice and sharp. I added a simple red and white striped background to mimic the box lid design.
Supplies needed for this fast and easy DIY ornament:
Plastic Photo Ball Ornament. I used this one.
Quality coated matte photo paper. I love this inkjet paper by Epson.
Spray adhesive or double-stick tape, or your paper adhesive of choice.
Scissors, or access to a cutting machine such as Silhouette or Cricut.
Two 1.2 ounce boxes Bertie Botts Beans by Jelly Belly -OR- *Faux jelly beans.
Optional: clear acrylic sealer to preserve your jelly beans
Optional: Washi tape or ribbon to embellish the ornament cap.
*Faux jelly bean options - polymer clay jelly beans, other clay sculpted beans, or painted dried beans such as kidney or pinto beans.
Step 1. Print and cut.
Print out TWO printable images, and cut them out. If you are using the exact same ornament that I did, you will want each ornament image to be exactly 2.9" in width.
Please check this blog post for my thoughts on printers and paper quality.
Option 1: Print and cut with a Cricut or Silhouette. This single ornament image is a transparent PNG file. Upload to your machine software, size to 2.9" and print and cut two copies.
Option 2: Print out and cut with scissors with a careful steady hand. I've formatted PDF files with 2 images for a single ornament, or 6 images if you're making multiples.
Option 3: If you are using a different photo ornament, you might need your image to be a different size. I have some printable options for you too!
Feel free to resize to your needs.
4 inch, 3.5 inch, 3 inch.
Note: The Bertie Botts name and logo is the intellectual property of Warner Brothers. These printables are free for personal use only, and may not be used on items you wish to sell.
Step 2. Glue your printables.
Turn your cut ornament images and glue them back to back, carefully lining up the edges. I love Elmer's Craftbond spray adhesive because the nozzle doesn't clog up and sputter as quickly as other brands I've used, so long as I keep the nozzle clean, and it dries super fast.
You could also use double stick tape or adhesive dispensers, a glue stick, or rubber cement. Avoid any wet glue that could warp your paper.
Step : Optional jelly bean protection
I never thought I'd be talking about jelly bean protection! That's a funny thing to type!
Jelly beans have a bit of a waxy coating that should protect them from sticking together when displayed on a tree indoors, in a climate controlled room. However, if you store your holiday ornaments in a hot attic or garage during the off season, they could melt or become sticky. You don't want to pull out your holiday decorations next year to find an ornament full of multi-colored goo.
An easy solution to this is to coat your candy with a clear sealer. Any clear acrylic spray sealer will do. Lay out your jelly beans on a protected surface in a well ventilated area, and spray an even coat of clear sealant on one side. Allow to dry, and spray a second coat. After the second coat has dried, flip your jelly beans over and spray two coats on the other side.
If you don't want to use real jelly beans, here are some other options:
Paint dried beans such as kidney or pinto beans with acrylic craft paint.
Sculpt faux jelly beans out of polymer clay.
Step 4. Fill your ornament.
Insert your double-sided and glued printable into the ornament, and fill your ornament with jelly beans on each side. I used one full 1.2 ounce box for each side.
Step 5: Embellish and hang.
If you used the exact same ornament I did, you can dress up the black plastic cap with decorative washi tape or ribbon.
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