Sugared Pears

I was inspired by this project from Martha Stewart to make some faux sugared pears for my Brown Paper Package Exchange partner to display in her home during the holidays. They turned out stunning (I wish the pictures did them justice) and were fairly easy to make, but dear Martha doesn't give many directions for how to make them. So here are some tips to make this quick project even easier.

• I used Elmer's Gel Glue because I read on some website that it works well with glitter. I wouldn't recommend it! Just use regular old white Elmer's or any white craft glue that dries clear. And water is down just a smidge to make it go on smoother.
• Don't use a cheap brush. It might seem like a waste to use a nice paint brush on glue and fake pears, but it's better than picking stray bristles out of the wet glue once you start.
  
• Get all of your materials ready before you start. Once you start on a pear, it is pretty hard to set it down without getting glitter everywhere, and you might never again be able to get a good grip on your fruit!
• I tied some kitchen twine to the stem of each pear before I started, then used the twine to hang the finished pears from the shower rod in my downstairs bathroom while they dried. When they were dry, I just untied them from the shower rod and took the twine off the stems.
• After much experimentation, I found that working from the bottom up gives the best results. Get a really good grip on the top third of the pear, then glue and glitter as much of it as you can without moving your hand. Then hold the pear by the stem to finish the top part.
• Sprinkling the glitter with a spoon looks nice. So does gently pressing the gluey pear into the glitter.
• Put your glue and glitter into disposable paper bowls. When you're finished, you can just throw away the bowl with the glue in it. And you can gently fold the glitter bowl in half and easily pour the leftover glitter back into the bottle.
• Touch-ups don't look right, so just do it right the first time!
• Do spray the dry, finished pears with polyurethane spray.
  
• The directions for making the ombre glittered bells on the cover of this December's MSL are wonderful. Take a look at them.