Sharpie Recycled Ornaments- I love Sharpie

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sharpie® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sharpie® fan girl alert! But that's most crafters isn't it? We love Sharpie® in so many ways, all the tips and types.

My personal favorite Sharpie® pens are the brush tip pens. I use them on fabric and paper to color in designs like this fabric print. I love their 12 packs! It's a great way to get a nice palette for projects and drawings. 

After that, for the holiday season, I'm wild for Sharpie® Metallic permanent markers and paint markers. They can be used on lots of different surfaces, and show well on dark or light backgrounds. There are some great new colors for the metallic markers.

I used them on these ornaments, which are very simple to make if you have a die cutting machine that can use embossing folders, and only slightly more difficult if you're embossing by hand. I used the paint markers for these, but the regular permanent markers will work as well.

You will need:

• Empty aluminum soda cans
• embossing supplies for hand embossing or a machine that will emboss
• Sharpie Metallic Markers- fine or extra fine point
• 2 inch circle punch
• 1/4 inch hole punch
• wire
• beads

Start by opening up the can to get a sheet of aluminum. I actually do this fairly regularly with my cans and keep the sheets in a shoebox so they are on hand. Scraps from the project can be put into a recycling bin with other aluminum cans.

Emboss or deboss the sheet. If you're using a die cutting machine, it's really easy, just put it in the folder and run it through your machine.

If you're hand embossing, or doing this with children, I recommend folding masking tape over the edges to make it safer for children to handle. Then decide if you want to emboss or deboss the design. The rose copper one is debossed, so the design is recessed in the surface. The 2 gold designs are embossed, so the designs are raised from the surface. Flatten the can a bit gently with a mallet or hammer. If you want to deboss, you'll put it with the metal side up. Emboss will be design side up. Put it on a newspaper or mousepad and use a blunt tipped tool to create your design. I like using pens without ink and the backs of crochet hooks. Go over the design until the debossing or embossing is at the depth you want it. Turn it over and make the lines clearer by outlining it from the other side with your embossing tools. 

After the designs are made, use the 2 inch circle punch to fussy cut your favorite parts of the design, and then put a hole in the top using the hole punch. Then the fun part! Color it in using the Sharpie® markers! Create a hanger with wire and beads. 

This effect also works well on aluminum foil, which can be used in other projects. To attach aluminum foil to things, I like using a spray on adhesive. 

Find lots of other great Sharpie® craft ideas on their Holiday Happenings Pin board.