Saturday, November 26, 2011

DIY Glitter Ornaments


These ornaments are cute and extremely easy to make. Floor finish is the secret material used in this project that works surprisingly well. The best part is, with one bottle of finish, you could probably do this project every year for the next 10 years since each ornament uses so little of it! I originally saw this on a link on Pintrest but was unable to find the link again.




DIY Glitter Ornaments
Materials:

- Clear Ornaments (I ended up doing a total of 6 for this project, 3 medium sized, and 3 smaller ones- all bought at Michael's)
- Glitter (I used about 1/2 - 3/4 of a 3.5 g vial for each ornament)
- Floor finish (I got a large bottle from Walmart for under $6)
- glove to protect hand, newspaper to lay on work surface, container to pour excess finish into


Directions:
Step 1: prepare your space by placing newspaper over area you will be working on. Make sure you have a container to pour extra finish into since it is hard to pour it back into original container while working quickly.

Step 2: pop metal top off ornament. Put on glove and pour enough finish into ornament so that when shook, it can completely cover inside of ornament. Place finger over opening of ornament, making sure you've sealed off the top, and shake vigorously until entire inside is well coated. Pour extra finish out into container. You want the inside to be pretty wet, so you don't need to get every drop out.




Step 3: pour in vial of glitter, cover hole with gloved finger, and vigorously shake again until entire inside is covered evenly. Pour out excess glitter back into vial. Originally, I tried to pour in a little glitter at a time but I noticed that parts of the ornament were less covered because finish dries extremely quickly. DON'T add more finish after glitter is inside. It will add lines where the liquid runs down the sides and cannot be covered well again.




Step 4: let dry for about an hour and carefully replace tops. Pinch wires close together so that they do not rub the sides of the ornaments when pushed back in.


72 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful - and, as you say, seem easy to do. Not sure my arthritic fingers would be much good at getting glitter into the bowls though, so will just have to admire from afar.

    The tree should look great though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Put them in a large glass bowl with a sting of lights.

      Delete
  2. Just use a little funnel, that would work for helping kiddos to get the glitter into the ornaments too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are beautiful. I'm an ornament novice since I don't celebrate Christmas, but I've always had a love of ornaments. This may just be the year to make some.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the comments everyone!

    Isobel, the glitter I bought actually did have a small funnel included with it. I bought it from Walmart for under $3.

    Kablooey, We decided not to buy a tree this year, so I've been trying to think of ways to decorate using the ornaments I've made without a tree. I've seen people do all kinds of things like hanging them in their windows or attaching magnets to them and putting them on the fridge =)

    ReplyDelete
  5. These are absolutely gorgeous! I doubt I'll have a tree this year as well (new apt, new job, new city..) but I would love to make some of these to hang around. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the comment Kristina! There are so many great ways to decorate without trees. I hung ornaments on a ribbon and tied them equal length apart and hung it above my hallway doorway. It's just enough Christmas without all the cleanup later!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I made some of these myself this year. I made three different colors and attached them to Christmas color ribbon and have them hanging from a wrought iron light over my dining room table. They look fantastic and when the light is on there is a lot of sparkle!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've tried to find the Floor Finish you display but can't find it at our local Walmart. They only carry the floor finish for wood floors. Will this work? I'm ready to try this project with my grandkids but missing this one ingredient! Any suggestions for an alternative adhesive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mop and Glow is what a friend of mine used. Wal Mart also carries it.

      Delete
    2. Liquid Turtle Wax (about 3.99) works really well=:)They look identical--these were a lot of fun to make!

      Delete
    3. I use Mop and Glo or Minwax Polyurethane...both work VERY good!

      Delete
  9. I researched your question and found another crafter who did it with pledge wood floor finish so I think it would work fine. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

    -AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
  10. These look beautiful. We have used glue, but I think this floor finish will work better. Thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Can you do this but include a picture and then use less glitter or will snow work?

    ReplyDelete
  12. To the last anonymous commenter: I'm not sure what you're asking. I've looked on other blogs and it looks like other floor finishes would work. I think it would work with anything light enough to stick to the sides.

    You have to use a generous amount of glitter to make sure everything is evenly coated. As for using glue on the inside, I don't know how well it would work. The floor finish is liquid when you add it to the ornament. I think glue might be to viscous. There is probably another method using glue where you can add glitter to the outside. usually, you will need some sort of spray adhesive if you want it to stick permanently on the outside.

    I hope that answered your question but please let me know if I didn't =)

    -AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks, I'll pick up some wood floor finish and post my results! Grandkids are anxious to get their hands on the glitter!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tried this tonight and it didn't work so hot. I did use copious amounts of glitter and floor finisher. A few thoughts:
    When I shook the ornament, the floor finisher got bubbles and pockets of air so the glitter didn't stick in these pockets
    I think my glitter wasn't as fine as this project
    I used square ornaments instead of round

    In general, the glitter didn't stick well & you can easily see through it to the middle of the ornament. I'm going to try again with finer glitter. Other thoughts? I don't want to give up!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hmmm... I'm sorry it didn't work well for you. I have a couple thoughts and questions.

    - what brand floor finish did you use?
    - Did you add the glitter immediately after the floor finish?
    - Did you make sure the floor finish spread evenly to coat the inside of the ornament?

    As for the glitter, I'm not sure the size is the problem. When I shook my floor finisher, it did have bubbles for a split second but they very quickly disappeared.

    I don't think the shape of the ornament is the issue either. If you added the glitter fast enough (and you have to add A LOT of glitter), and you shook it up, it should have worked. You may not have added enough glitter or may have added it too late, after the finish started to dry already. I had a thin spot in one of mine because I did not add the glitter fast enough and did it in stages of adding more and more as needed. On the other successful ones, I added the whole glitter container and then dumped out excess glitter after it was dry.

    I hope that helped. Let me know if you have any more issues!

    -AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Some tips:

    1) Use whatever kind of clear acrylic floor cleaner you want. I'm using an old bottle of Future.

    2) Don't shake the ball! This will cause bubbles. Slowly rotate the ball around to cover all sides with the cleaner, then slowly rotate ball while dump out excess. I let them sit for a few seconds to make sure all the excess is out.

    3) Put in a good bunch of glitter (the smaller size glitter the better) and rotate all over the ball. Once its all covered, rotate again over the glitter container so that you glitter the neck as well.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have done this with hairspray (my grocery was out of floor finish!) and I used super fine glitter. The blog I got the recipe from said the finer the better. I loved doing this project and it was super easy!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous- I noticed that if I did not swirl the tiny bit of polisher left in the ornament before adding my glitter it would all clump at the bottom and not spread evenly. Once I made sure to swirl it until I put the glitter in it worked out better. I also dumped my glitter in and then shook it all around, no gentle swirling for the glitter. Hope it works out for you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great tutorial! I linked to you on my blog for my holiday madness round up.

    Check it out if you want!

    http://www.fromthefirstbite.com/2011/12/last-minute-holiday-madness.html

    ReplyDelete
  21. I made these! I did exactly what you said all of them turned out wonderful minus one it didn't get covered as well. But everyone loved them. I had some trouble getting all the glitter out of the bulbs but they look beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  22. How do you dry these? Do you just put them back in the containers or do you flip these upside down? Thanks!!!!

    Kryssi

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Kryssi,

    No need to turn them over. You can just leave them sitting for a while. You could put them back in the container if you'd like. Just make sure they aren't sealed in a container where the air can't help the drying process.

    Thanks for the comment!

    -AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would put the balls after they are finished in an egg carton so they don't roll or get knocked over.

      Delete
  24. Question... what is the purpose of the pledge? Could you use diluted clear glue and get the same effect?

    ReplyDelete
  25. The pledge works like a glue but it's an extremely thin liquid which makes it easier to swirl around the whole inside of the ornament evenly. Diluted glue might work, but I haven't tried it. I would think even if you diluted it, it might still be too viscous to have it spread evenly. If you end up trying the glue, let us know how it works out =)

    Thanks!
    AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi! We don't have that Pledge product in Australia so do you think another acrylic floor polish would work? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Natalie.

    I can't say for certainty because I haven't tried it but if the product is similar to pledge, I would think it would work. The main thing is that it needs to be a thin enough liquid that it can swirl around the inside of the ornament nicely and it also needs to dry hard to keep the glitter in place. I would think that most acrylic floor ploish would work the same way, but I could be wrong.

    If anyone has tried this project with other brands, please comment!

    Thanks for the comment Natalie!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I tried these, but a few days later the glitter started to fall out. Maybe I didnt dry very well???nplease help!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Jinger,

    Hmmm, that's strange. Mine still look great from when I posted this almost a year ago.

    Did you use the floor polish listed above and did you leave the caps off for at least an hour to dry?

    What about the glitter? Were the glitter pieces large or small?

    Sorry it didn't work for you. Hopefully we can figure out why!

    -AlishaMichelle

    ReplyDelete
  30. Do you use glass ornaments or plastic?

    ReplyDelete
  31. I want to make these for grandparents this year but I am afraid they will not last. Have your ornaments lasted? I am scared that the glitter will fall off. I also read somwhere that you can mix mod poge with water and then bake them but I cannot find that blog again...has anyone tried this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still have mine from last year and they look good. I'm not sure about the modpodge and water mixture. I haven't heard anything like that. Let us know if you find any info on it though!

      Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
    2. Actually, now that I think about it, it's been two years!

      Delete
    3. Thank you Alisha for the quick answer!!! I was so excited to try this I did it last night and I tried the modpoge way and this way! Both look great... I did notice one thing with the floor wax if you hold the ornament up to the light you can sort of see through it and where the glitter is, with the modpoge the glitter covers a little bit thicker where you do not get that effect but you go through a lot more glitter. In the end what gets me is that with the floor wax the glitter sparkles a whole lot more!!! Being a girl I absolutely love the sparkle!!! So I think I will do it both ways! Give one of each because they still look amazing! I wish I could attach a picture to show you :) Thank you so much!!!
      Kinga

      Delete
    4. Oh... I did not bake them... I just let them air dry.
      Kinga

      Delete
    5. Thanks for the feedback, Kinga! I'm glad it worked out well for you!

      Delete
  32. I made these the other day and they came out beautiful.I used glass ornaments,Elmer's clear school glue and fine glitter.The glue is easy to use.Put a generous amount in ornament and roll it around till the entire ornament is covered.Cut a small water bottle bottom to hold the ornament.Put the ornament upside down on the bottom part of the bottle to let the rest of the glue flow out .When all is out,if you don't have a funnel,use a piece of paper and shape it into a cone and insert into the ornament only a little bit and put your glitter in .Put your finger over the opening and shake until the whole ornament is covered.Your neck part will also get covered this way.Leave out until the inside is dry,maybe til the next day.I also used a snowflake stencil and transparent white paint on the ornament.Came out so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the information! It's great to know there are alternate ways to do this project! =)

      Delete
  33. Will this work with craft paint instead of glitter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello,

      Thanks for your comment. I'm not sure about the craft paint. The comment above discusses how to use Elmer's glue so it could potentially work. Let us know if you try it!

      Thanks!

      Delete
  34. Mine has white glitter and some spots turned pink...will this go away?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm... That's strange. what brand of floor polish did you use?

      It may go away as it dries. I didn't have that issue and I did use white glitter on one of mine. Possibly a different brand than Pledge?

      Let us know how it looks after it dries! Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  35. Info : Kami jasa spesialis grinding dan poles lantai beton/ 08881883701 concrete sampai mengkilap dengan metode KLINDEX
    Minat call Hp.08881883701/Wa.087875146669 poles lantai concrete beton sampai mengkilap,jasa grinding poles concrete,beton 08881883701 sampai mengkilap dikerjakan tukang poles grinding beton yg ahli 08881883701 di dukung dengan mesin poles lantai polisher dan mesin grinding concrete beton 08881883701 teknologi U.S A dengan metode poles concrete Klindex Italy 08881883701 jasa spesialis tukang poles lantai marmer teraso 08881883701

    ReplyDelete
  36. Info : Kami jasa spesialis grinding dan poles lantai beton/ 08881883701 concrete sampai mengkilap dengan metode KLINDEX
    Minat call Hp.08881883701/Wa.087875146669 poles lantai concrete beton sampai mengkilap,jasa grinding poles concrete,beton 08881883701 sampai mengkilap dikerjakan tukang poles grinding beton yg ahli 08881883701 di dukung dengan mesin poles lantai polisher dan mesin grinding concrete beton 08881883701 teknologi U.S A dengan metode poles concrete Klindex Italy 08881883701 jasa spesialis tukang poles lantai marmer teraso 08881883701

    ReplyDelete
  37. My daughter and I did this tonight with 4 large ornaments it worked perfectly we love how they turned out. Thanks for the great tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  38. My daughter and I did this tonight with 4 large ornaments it worked perfectly we love how they turned out. Thanks for the great tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Glass or plastic ornaments, or does it matter?

    ReplyDelete
  40. I've been making these for approximately 20 years using Glitter It glitter glue. You have to clean the inside by shaking a bit of rubbing alcohol and then letting the excess run out.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thank you for sharing! I made these tonight and they came out PERFECT. I did try using two different colors of glitter, but i didn't really care how it turned out. Highly recommend making these the way it is shown. Thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  42. These are so beautiful and easy to make! One year I used Command hooks and strung a set of green lights as the tree, put some multi-colored foil garland up, and hung ornaments from the garland.I took a brown paper bag and made the tree trunk...it was so cute and didn't take up the space a real tree would! Happy Holidays! Katie

    ReplyDelete
  43. Lovely and gorgeous glitter ornaments DIY project. You can also try this with some resin. It gonna be so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Can anyone help me? My glitter ornaments from last year are losing the glitter. Can I add a new coat of poly and add more glitter? Will this work? Thank you

    ReplyDelete