1Inflate a balloon.

Inflate an oval balloon to the desired size. If you want a round ornament, blow only a little air so that the balloon stays small and round.

2Apply petroleum jelly.

Coat the surface of the balloon with a thin layer of petroleum jelly. This will make it easier to separate your yarn ornament from the balloon.

3Choose the yarn.

Cotton yarn or cotton crochet thread works best since the material absorbs the paste well. The size of the yarn or thread really depends on your preference. If this is your first time to try, we suggest size 3 for crochet threads and medium weight (size 4) for yarns. Choose white or beige if you wish to paint your ornament.

Synthetic yarns such as acrylic do not absorb the paste quite as well. A stronger paste is needed for this type of yarn, otherwise, the resulting ornament will be too soft to retain its shape.

4Wrap the balloon with yarn.

Start wrapping the yarn tightly round and round the balloon. This step is probably the most challenging since the string tends to slip around the balloon's curved surface. Some suggest doing several vertical loops, then shift to horizontal loops, before making crisscrossing ones. We went with random directions and it still worked.

You don't need to cut the yarn, just go on wrapping until you're happy with how your ornament looks. If you find it easier to work with shorter lengths, cut yarn into several pieces, around 24 to 36 inches long.

Wrap the balloon with as much yarn as you like for a more covered or solid look or use less yarn for an ornament with wider gaps.

When you're done, cut the yarn, tuck the end under some yarn loops.

5Prepare the paste.

There are a couple of options for making the paste:

a.)  White glue - mix 4 parts white glue with 1 part water. For a 4 oz. (118 ml) bottle of white glue, add 2 tablespoons water. This paste is good for cotton yarn or thread. For synthetic yarn, use the other options below.

b.)  White glue and Cornstarch - place the contents of a 4 oz. (118 ml) bottle of white glue in a mixing container. Add ½ cup cornstarch and ¼ cup water. Mix well.

c.)  Liquid starch - use liquid starch as is. The great thing about liquid starch is that it dries clean, without any flakes around the yarn.

6Soak the yarn with paste.

The idea is to soak the yarn with paste. You can do this by dunking or rolling the yarn-wrapped balloon in a container filled with paste. Gently squeeze the balloon to remove excess paste.

A less messy option is to use a sponge brush or an old kitchen sponge (cut in half or quarters). Dip the sponge in paste then dab onto the yarn. Press on the yarn for several seconds to let the paste soak in. Continue dipping and dabbing until all the yarn is soaked in paste.

When sponging the yarn with paste, it is much easier to work by setting the balloon on a bowl or similar container. Once you're done with the upper half of the balloon, set it upside down, then work on the lower half.

7Let the yarn dry.

Let the ornament stand for about an hour on top of a bowl to let the excess paste drip into the container. Turn every couple of hours for even drying and to prevent the yarn from being glued onto the bowl's mouth.

You can also hang the yarn ornaments to dry. The ornaments will take about 1 to 2 days to dry completely.

8Loosen the balloon.

Once the yarn is completely dry, loosen the balloon from the yarn by pressing on the large gaps in between the crisscrossing strands of yarn. You can also use a blunt object such as the eraser end of a pencil to press through smaller gaps.

9Pop the balloon.

Use a pin or any sharp object to pop the balloon.

In case your yarn ornament collapses, remove the bits of balloon. Insert a new balloon and inflate it while inside the ornament. This should restore the ornament to its original shape, though it will probably not be as firm as intended.

10Remove the balloon.

Remove the bits of balloon inside the yarn ornament. Use a pair of tweezers for pieces that are hard to reach.

11Remove the flakes.

You'll have some flakes around the gaps of your ornament if you used white glue paste. There'll be even more flakes from the white glue and cornstarch paste that are thicker and slightly opaque. Since the ornaments are going to be painted anyway, you can just remove the larger flakes. You can click the photo for a closer look. I used the white glue and cornstarch paste for both ornaments.

12Paint the yarn ornament.

Paint the ornament with gold or silver acrylic spray paint. If you don't have spray paint, you can also use a paint brush with regular acrylic paint. Once done painting, set the ornament aside to dry.

13Apply a sealer.

If you want to make your yarn ornament last longer, spray with a coat or two of clear acrylic sealer. Allow each coat to dry before applying the next one.