Teardrop Ornament

youmagine

I crafted this ornament back in 2015. My son, Henry, was learning to crawl and run around, so I knew our glass ornaments wouldn't last long on the tree. I created a set of ornaments, put them through rigorous user acceptance testing, and after several rounds, my wife said - print more of that teardrop design! I designed a printable cap and loop to fit the top of the ornament and included them as well. The top hole is large enough for most LED string lights, making the ornament shine even brighter when lit up. You can see the effect in some photos. If you're using Cura, switch to Expert mode and set Black Magic, Spiralize the Outer Contour to create a beautiful vase-style object with a solid bottom and single-layer perimeter. But what if you don't want that solid bottom? I discovered that by creating a bottom lip of at least a certain thickness, Cura would produce a chunky overlapped lip. Initially, I was disappointed by its roughness but realized it was surprisingly strong and the cap would cover it up completely. I printed mine on a Printrbot Plus using PLA filament. In Cura, I used Spiralize the Outer Contour for the ornaments and turned it off for the cap and loop. Be sure to print in a reasonable orientation - the ornament prints upside down! The caps and loops came out silver, while the ornaments were printed in various colors including gold, natural PLA, and red, which all turned out well.