DIY glitter ornaments: Easy to make, beautiful enough to give

When we visited my parents for Thanksgiving, we put up their Christmas tree and I got to revisit some of the ornaments my daughter has made for them in the past. It’s become an annual tradition that she craft something for their tree and she’s been doing so for nearly a decade now. We started in preschool with painted popsicle sticks glued into a star shape and she’s made a new creation each year, with a long stretch of ceramic ornaments (sorry, Mom and Dad!)

This year, we decided to try something new. We ended up with gorgeous glitter ornaments and fun filled ornaments, and my daughter and I were both pretty pleased with the finish product.

Sadly, we should have started with those ornaments, but they weren’t our first plan. That was to be painting the inside of clear class ornaments. I followed the online tutorials to the letter, I swear, rubbing alcohol and all, but instead of looking gorgeous, they turned out like this:

Maybe it’s some sort of illustration of the circulatory system or a random organ? Yeah, not so pretty and certainly not gift-worthy and I hear sad trombones when I look at them. So, we scrapped that idea.

On to plan B and C with these materials.

First, plan B: Filled Ornaments

These are quick and easy. They’re very low mess and turn out beautifully. Near the ornaments at the craft store was some thin tinsel. We used a chop stick to nudge it into our ornament.

And while pretty, it’s a little plain. The stickers up the fun factor.

You can also find cute little balls to fill the ornaments. My daughter has never met a sparkle she didn’t like, so she opted for the silver ones. The cute white ones, however, would be great and look like snow.

The holly may not have been my choice, but I love that kids can make these their own and get a little creative without making a big mess. I love the idea of teaching kids to put some thought and effort into their gifts and that sharing their creativity is a gift in and of itself.

Plan C: Glitter Ornaments!

I know, it strikes fear in the heart and triggers thought of having it all over my house well past the Fourth of July. I took the plunge anyway, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it may be. The glitter was contained, but lovely. At least, I think so. What do you think?

Here’s how we did it.

1. Gather supplies, including glass ornaments, decoupage, and glitter. I also found a funnel and Dixie cups were helpful.

2. Take the tops off of the ornaments. Put a few drops of decoupage into the ornament and swirl it around. I found it was best to cover the opening of the ornament with my thumb and shake it around. Just wash your hands after doing so and before touching anything.

3. Pour out any extra decoupage solution into a waiting cup.

4. Place a small funnel inside the opening of the ornament. Pour in some glitter, the amount will depend on the size of your ornament, but it took less than I would have anticipated.

5. Repeat the swirling/shaking with the glitter until the inside of the ornament is fully coated. Pour out any extra glitter into your cup.

6. Let it dry.

If you want to personalize it, use a Sharpie metallic pen or scrapbook stickers. The red and green made for perfectly traditional Christmas fun, and we thought the blue snowflakes with the silver glitter reminded us of Frozen.