How to Easily Make Those Glitter Ornaments
Having sons, I’ve never really been into glitter. Pictures of glitter ornaments have been popping up all over my newsfeed I just had to try it. Here’s how to easily make those glitter ornaments.
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The process isn’t hard. You just need a few specialty tools and items to get you going. I must say, that glitter is addicting. Making these glitter ornaments was pretty easy to do and once done, you can decorate them in so many ways.
Things You Need to Make Glitter Ornaments
BLANK ORNAMENTS – you can get these from a variety of places, including Michaels, various dollar stores or online buy-ins. They come in a few different sizes and styles. The round ones come in two different sizes and you can also get a disc-shaped one that is flatter. You can also get them made of glass or shatterproof (a fancy word for plastic).
MINWAX POLYCRYLIC – this is the stuff that you will put inside the ornament to get the glitter to stick. You will most likely need to go to a hardware/home improvement store to get this – it’s usually in the paint aisle. I used semi-gloss, but I don’t think it really matters as the glitter covers everything up.
I have heard of a number of people using Pledge Floor Polish – however, the reviews tend to be mixed. Some have success and some say that it’s too thin and you don’t get a good layer of glitter to adhere. The polycrylic is a sure thing, however, and so I’d personally rather go with that.
Some people have had trouble finding the polycrylic – you can also get it on Amazon. I’ve included the Amazon affiliate link below this list.
Be careful of any substitutions – Varathane may seem similar, but will yellow with age and will discolour your glitter, so you don’t want that!
GLITTER– you can get this from a variety of places that sell craft stuff, including the dollar store, which is where I got mine.
FUNNELS– you can get small craft funnels from the dollar store. You will need a couple – one for the polycrylic and another for the glitter.
PLASTIC SPOON – this is for putting the polycrylic into the ornament.
EMPTY EGG CARTON – this holds the ornaments upside down so that the excess pours out into the egg carton and so is contained. Those cardboard takeout coffee holders also work, but they hold fewer ornaments.
NEWSPAPER– use simply to cover your table surface, making clean up quick and easy. I seem to get glitter everywhere!
Amazon Links
Ornaments
polycrylic
glitter
funnel set
Step by Step Process to Make Glitter Ornaments
- Remove the hanger/top – you can just pull them out. I store mine in the cover of the egg carton.
- Using the funnel, put a couple of spoonfuls of polycrylic into the ornament using the plastic spoon.
- Swirl the ornament around so that the polycrylic coats the entire inside. It has a translucent look to it, so it’s obvious when it coats. To get the very top done, I hold it upside down over the bucket of polycrylic and swirl it to get a coating over the top.
Don’t worry if you don’t get any over the “stem” of the ornament – the hanger/top covers that up so no one will ever see it. If you miss a spot, use the funnel and put another spoonful in to get the area you missed. Drain out the excess back into the polycrylic bucket. - Place the ornament upside down into the egg carton so that the last few drops of excess polycrylic drip into the carton.
EDITED TO ADD: I have now done this a number of times and can actually do 25 at a time. There are 25 in the container from Michaels and I haven’t had a problem with the polycrylic drying out while it sits.
- Using a clean funnel (this is why you need 2), pour in a good spoonful of glitter.
- Swirl/rotate the ornament around so that the glitter sticks to the polycrylic. If you need more, pour in extra glitter. Look for an even coating – make sure you don’t miss any spots. In order to get glitter on the top, I use a similar method to that of polycrylic. I put the funnel back into the glitter container (mine had a spout that I poured out of and the funnel fit back in) – then I turned the ornament upside down over the funnel and swirled and rotated the ornament to get the top covered in glitter.
- This is very forgiving. If you see that you’ve missed a spot, put more glitter in and aim it into that area. Don’t worry if the “neck” of the ornament isn’t coated – the hanger/top of the ornament covers this up so no one will see. At this point, you will see how and why I seemed to get glitter everywhere.
- Put upside down again into the egg carton. Leave to set and dry – I left mine overnight.
- Decorate! I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut out permanent vinyl to decorate mine. The possibilities are endless.
- Put the hangers/tops back on. That’s it!
This is definitely a craft in which I would recommend doing a bunch at a time. Although the process is easy, you don’t want to go through all these steps to do only one glitter ornament. I do a bunch at a time, in a variety of colours so that I always have a few on hand.
This is a great craft that can easily be personalized. The glitter makes them so beautiful. These glitter ornaments would make great teacher gifts or stocking stuffers. I’ve made so many now – everyone I know is getting one!
Like making these glitter ornaments? There are lots of great ideas for making Christmas ornaments using your Cricut.
Other Christmas Ornaments to Make
Be sure to check out these other great projects.
How to Glitter an Ornament
Materials
- Clear acrylic ornaments
- Minwax Polycrylic
- Glitter
Tools
- Small funnels
- Plastic spoon
- Empty egg carton
- Newspaper
Instructions
- Remove the hangers from the ornaments.
- Using a funnel, put a couple of spoonfuls of the Polycrylic into the ornament.
- Swirl the ornament so that the Polycrylic coats the entire inside of the ornament.
- Drain out any excess Polycrylic back into the container.
- Set the ornament upside down in an egg container for the excess Polycrylic to drip out.
- Using a clean funnel, pour in a good spoonful of glitter into the ornament
- Swirl or rotate the ornament so that the glitter completely coats the inside of the ornament. Add more glitter if necessary.
- Put excess glitter back into the container.
- Let sit upside down in the egg carton until completely dry.
- Put the hangers back in.
Notes
These can easily be personalized with adhesive vinyl.
Lovely ideas!
How large does the vinyl have to be 2 personalize ot
Hi Ashley – I make mine between 1.5 and 2 inches. Too big and it’s hard to lay flat….too small and it doesn’t look too good. Aim for somewhere in there, depending on what the graphic is.
What fonts did you use on these ornaments
Hi! I use a variety of fonts including Samantha and KG Be Still and Know.
If I just wanted to paint the inside of the bulbs without glitter do I need the poly?
I’ve never personally tried it, but I imagine you would just swirl paint around the inside. Depending on the type of paint you may need to add a bit of water so that it can in fact swirl (if the paint is thick, that is). Hope this helps.
What finish of the polycrylic did you use? They have several several to choose from such as satin, matte or semigloss…Thanks!!
Hi! I used semi gloss. Since you’re using it as an “adhesive” for the glitter, I don’t think it really matters.
Thanks for the mention!
Can you put the tops back on and decorate on outside without letting them set overnight to dry? I want to do this with kids as a Christmas party ornament project.
I’ve never tried that. I’d let it dry as much as you can – even 15 minutes and then carefully put back on. My concern would be, since it’s still “wet”, you might scrape some of the inside surface and therefore some of the glitter. It may or may not be noticeable. Perhaps if an adult did it carefully it’d be better? Regardless, I’d wait as long as possible. Maybe the tops could go on at the end of the event – just before they leave? Polycrylic is fairly fast drying so by the end it may be okay. Good luck!
When you make the balls with the large letter and then use smaller letters for their name , what size font do I use ?
The large letter is around 2 inches. If the curves give you problems, you’ll have to make it a bit smaller. Hope this helps.
When applying the vinyl do you over lap the vinyl or do you slice it?
Hello! I overlapped it.
I wanted to let you know I loved your idea! I included it in my post “40+ Christmas Countdown Activities Jar {Free Printable}”. If you would like me to include an image- to encourage viewers to click through and pick this one out of the options I listed- you can leave a comment on the blog post: https://www.thehousewifemodern.com/blog/christmas-coundown-activities/ or e-mail me at jennie@thehousewifemodern.com.
Thanks! This was a beautiful idea and I hope my readers like it.
Thank you so much!
Can you store the polycrylic in a plastic bottle?
Hello! You mean like a squeeze bottle? I’ve known others to do it as it makes putting it inside the ornaments easier. Just be sure to make sure you cover the spout when not in use – not only to keep it from drying out but in case of knocking it over and spilling as well.
Do you seal the vinyl on the outside of the ornament in any way?
I don’t seal them as they aren’t really handled that much, nor will they be getting wet or subject to extreme temperatures. I don’t find it necessary to seal them.
I’m having trouble with the polycrylic not drying even after letting the ornaments sit for 48 hours before putting the tops on. Anything I can do?
There could be a few factors affecting this. Are they upside down so that the excess drains out? If there is too much in there, it’ll late longer to dry. Also, like any type of paint or finish, the temperature, humidity and altitude could have a factor. Is this after you’ve put the glitter in?
Yes! This is all after I’ve put the glitter in
That’s very odd. The only thing I can think of is if there is too much of it – it would, therefore, take longer to dry. Otherwise, the only other factors would be temperature (if the room is cool, it takes longer) and humidity (humid climates take longer as well). Or perhaps you got a bad batch? Have you used it for other items with the same long drying time?
Do you have a license to use disney shapes? I’m only asking because this is something I’d like to do, but don’t want to be sued or something.
Hi! I don’t have a licence for Disney and so I stick to generic shapes. I think for personal use you’d be fine. You may run into trouble if you were selling the items.
This was super easy and your instructions made it easy to understand. I am not crafty at all but even I was able to do these! Thanks!
Yay! You’re so welcome. I’m glad it worked for you. Thank you!
These are so lovely & clever. I know I have a box of those somewhere. Now where oh where in the hoard could they be? Thanks for the gorgeous inspiration!
I would love to know the exact font used for the Capital background letter. The loopy N and M are beautiful.
Hello! That is the Samantha Font.