I’ve had lots of people asking me how I made my glitter birthstone ornaments, so I thought doing a tutorial would be a good idea. This would also be a GREAT project to do with kids, for an awesome handmade Christmas gift idea, because they are so quick and easy. And the best part? The glitter is inside the glass ball, so you can admire them all you want without becoming sparkly head to toe yourself. Unless you want to be sparkly head to toe, and in that case, I can’t help you. At least not in this blog post.
You will need:
- clear glass ornaments (Joann’s and Michael’s carry them during the Christmas season, or you can get them online at Hobby Lobby).
- glitter!! (I love glitter!!)
- okay, are you ready for this one? floor cleaner. (sounds weird, yes, but this is the amazing secret ingredient.)
First, make sure you start with a clean ornament. I use rubbing alcohol to clean them, and I explain how and why in a previous blog post I wrote about how to make glass Easter ornaments.
Now, about the floor cleaner…I read about this idea more than a year ago when I was reading a crafting forum somewhere, and I completely dismissed it. I had visions of bald-headed men and toxic looking yellow Lysol-like stuff, and decided that whoever had had this idea must have been a little cuckoo. Then one day I was shopping in the cleaning products section of the black hole of doom, oops I mean Walmart, and I saw this:
I immediately realized that this was exactly what that person must have been talking about, so I decided to try it out…and I am so glad I did, because it works a-MAAAzing.
So pour a little bit into the ornament, and swirl it around. I do not shake it, because then it gets kind of bubbly.
Then pour the excess back into the bottle. This stuff is a little bit expensive, but it goes a long way. In fact, this bottle is the only bottle I’ve bought…and look how little I’ve used. I might even use it to clean my floors.
Now pour in your glitter and swirl it around the same way as you did with the floor cleaner. You could shake it, but for some unexplainable reason, I don’t like to…I like to swirl it all nice and evenly around the glass. (I guess I’m weird.)
And voila!
oops, sorry. You wanted to see the ornament…
Let it dry for a little while before putting the cap back on…I always take the little wire out of the cap, and put the cap on first (put a little glue around the inside of the cap for security):
and then stick the wire back in…this will keep it from scratching off the glitter on the way in.
All done!
But wait!
Look at what a few little scrapbook stickers and some rhinestones can do…
There are endless ways you could dress these up…any other ideas?
{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this! I actually have a bottle of that stuff just waiting to be crafted. :) Thank you. This is a much more frugal way than I’ve found.
Awesome! It’s really frugal AND smells way less offensive than the acrylic sealer I used to use to make these. :D
Does it have a lasting smell? Thanks!
Okay so now I have another one that I can start making. So excited.
:D
Wow this is amazing – can’t wait to try it!
Great…have fun! :)
No one makes ornaments like you do. but I’m going to try these! Thanks for posting!!!
Thank you, Peggy! And have fun making these! :D
Just made one while @ lunch in the employee break room. So easy but would suggest a funnel to return extra glitter to original bottle. I made a mess and wasted some one the floor. I used a plastic ornament with red tinsel glitter in mine. Purchased the floor cleaner from the dollar store and it worked great! Can’t wait to do more!
Thanks so much for the post.
Awesome! Using tinsel glitter sounds like a great idea. And yes, a funnel would definitely be handy…thanks for the suggestion! :)
Tried making these and they came out rather see through. :(
Any suggestions?
hmmm…what kind of glitter did you use? I have found that a super fine glitter works best at filling in all the space…I absolutely love the Martha Stewart glitter for these…
It was fine glitter, but perhaps it was because it was a light color? I was going for an homage to Glinda from the Wizard of Oz, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so transparent. I used a dark green glitter with GlitterIt! and that worked fine, even in a plastic (shatterproof, which is handy sometimes) ornament. It didn’t smell awful either, which was nice.
Update! My glitter came off! Not sure why. I used plastic ornament and dollar store Mop & Shine brand floor cleaner so I thought plastic or cleaner maybe the problem. A co-worker used glass, fine glitter and pledge floor cleaner and her glitter fell off also. Any thoughts?
Thanks
hmm…I definitely think it was the plastic which was the problem for yours… but I can’t understand why it would have come off for your co-worker as well if she used glass. Did she clean the inside of the ornament with alcohol first? They are always a little dusty inside (sometimes they look really clean, but they aren’t), and if it wasn’t cleaned and then completely dry before using the pledge, that would cause the pledge to not fully cover the glass, and subsequently not adhere the glitter properly..
Also, be sure there are no air bubbles before adding the glitter (that’s why I swirl the cleaner around the ornament rather than shaking it).
These are gorgeous! I saw something similar at Michael’s just today, but they were plastic and when indented (with kids in the house, the plastic ones get pushed in sometimes…), the glitter fell off inside! I was amused at their attempt, and I knew to buy glass. Do you think it’s possible to use really, really watered down modge podge (i.e. Elmer’s glue and lots of water). Or does the floor cleaner provide something that just wouldn’t?
The plastic ornaments getting indented and causing the glitter to fall off is something I hadn’t even thought of…thanks for sharing!
I do think you could use probably use watered down mod podge…I have used the sparkle mod podge before inside a glass ornament, and then painted the inside with acrylic paints…so I don’t really see any reason why it wouldn’t work with glitter, too…I have just found that using the floor cleaner for these ornaments in particular is super quick and easy, and it dries so perfectly clear and shiny (I think it must be because it is acrylic based).
Update! First of all, THANK YOU! for this tutorial. This is the coolest, most un-crafty craft I’ve ever done. (By un-crafty, I mean, it looks like I paid a boatload at a fancy-schmancy holiday store, but when people ask I can say, “teehee, nope, made them myself!” and relish in their awe. THANK YOU, craft goddess.). I can’t wait to retire the dingy old shiny ornaments, they’re so boring!
I picked up some floor cleaner, but not the clear kind you show, they had yellow. I didn’t think it mattered, but it did. And dyed my glitter yellow. So I have one ornament that looks like glitter pee. :) Probably my fault for trying it with white glitter. It also clumped at the bottom of the ball, but I’m guessing I didn’t drain it enough?
Round two, I used watered down modge podge, and they turned out perfectly, almost as perfect as the one in your photo (I even used the same color Martha Stewart glitter. Oh, I love that woman!).
So thank you again for this gorgeous tutorial! I’m pinning the hell out of this as we speak!
I was just loooking at these ornaments on your site a couple days ago, and now found the DIY! I might let Jinae make some of these as gifts for Christmas! Thanks for the how-to, and hopefully you and the kids will be up to visit sometime soon!
I hope Jinae likes making them…they are super easy and fun…they’d make good gifts for her to give out too. :D
We will actually be up there over Thanksgiving…I will be away with my sister for most of that time, but maybe we could get together somehow…it’s been FOREVER since we’ve seen you all!
PLEASE let us know if you have any free time! I know the entire family misses all of you! :(
I just got your ornament pattern. I loved reading about your process. Mine is much more elaborate. Going to take a page out of your book! Your ornaments are beautiful. I just read about making glitter ornaments. We used to make these years ago in Boy Scouts. I don’t remember them being that pretty! Great craft idea for kids. Thanks a bunch. Amy
Thanks so much for the compliment Amy, and you’re welcome :D
These are AWESOME!!
So plastic ornaments don’t work for this technique? That’s all I could find at Michael’s….I don’t want to waste the time or money if I really need to use glass.
Thanks for your help!
You know, I honestly am not sure…I haven’t tried it with plastic. A few people have said it didn’t work well when they tried…I think the next time I am at Michael’s, I am going to pick up a few plastic ones and give it a shot, just to see, and I’ll post here how they turn out. :D
Well apparently I am a spaz and I did actually buy glass! Wa-hoo! :) I couldn’t find the pledge with future shine but I did buy a pledge floor cleaner…hoping it works! Thanks for responding!
Have fun and good luck with it! (If you haven’t tried WalMart…that’s where I was able to find the pledge) :)
Amazon.com also has it—and free shipping over $25 (easy for me usually)!
Trying to make your glitter ornaments and they are not coating all the way on the inside. Maybe because I am not using your exact floor care product. I am using Pledge Floor Care tile & vinyl floor finish (with Future shine). That’s all I could find at our Walmart. The glitter is sticking but when I held the ornament up to the light, you can see where the glitter doesn’t stick (not big holes or anything, pretty evenly). Do yours come out like that? Thanks, and they are still just gorgeous and will look great on the tree.
Love these! Thanks for the tutorial!!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it! :D
I’m hosting a girls-nigh-in this weekend and we’re making these. I made one at Michael’s last summer and they used a pungent glue. I’d love to try it with the floor cleaner and/or watered-down Mod Podge. Thanks!
You’re very welcome! :)
*night
These are beautiful – I ran to Price choper and found only the orange and lemon liquids, and no pledge except wipes and spray. Is it Price chopper , and I should go to another grocer? I have my balls and glitter and alcohol, and am disappointed. I could use these tomorroow for my office party. Any ideas, and thanks so much.
Hmmm – Online at walmart I found the following; has anyone used these. Once I open it, I won’t be able to return it.(even buying 2 bottles at 4.47 makes it more expensive that mod podge.
and a spray bottle in yellow, that I could use to pour. Who knew there was so many Pledge options. multi surface pledge floor cleaner in a dark blue plastic bottle; flor clearner in a yellow plastic bottle, and dilutable floor cleaner that looks orange.
It is a little expensive, but a little goes a VERY long way. I have made a bunch of these, and I am still on the first bottle. There are a lot of different floor shines…I had the very same problem too, but you definitely want to go for the clear bottle with the blue label, that says “with future shine”…it is acrylic based and dries clear.
A few people have said that they’ve tried watered down Mod Podge too though…I am sure that would work too….I would imagine that you would just need to make sure you fully drain it from the ornament before adding your glitter, as it will be a little thicker than the floor cleaner.
Hope this helps a little!
Thank you so much for the EASY tutorial for these ornaments! I just made mine and they look awesome! Can’t wait to give them as gifts!
I am so glad to hear that! :)
I love this idea! I am not a very crafty person but have started looking for simple projects like this to get me comfortable with creating things. A group of girlfriends & I want to exchange ornaments as gifts this yearand I really want to make something. These look as gorgeous (if not more) than some I could purchase but I want to make sure the glitter will not fall off. Any fool-proof suggestions to keep in mind when I make them? Also, for the snowflakes, is there a particular kind I should look for to make sure they adhere?
Hi Diana! I haven’t had any problems with the glitter falling off…I even had a couple of them stored up in my attic all year (I live in Florida, and it gets to be about a zillion degrees up there in the summer), and the glitter still looks great. The Pledge works like a glue and a clear coat all in one…it’s awesome.
I do add a little glue to the stickers even when I use self-adhesive ones…just to make sure they last. I recommend Beacon’s 3-in-1 Craft Glue (http://www.beaconadhesives.com/cgthree.html). You can find it at Joann’s, and it works great and dries clear.
Have fun making them!
Thank you for responding to my post! I really appreciate it. I made these ornaments today & they came out beautifully! My girlfriends loved them! If I knew how to share photos of them with you, I would. This is the first real craft project I have made & it has given me confidence in myself to attempt all the other projects that I have wanted to try. Thank you again!
That is fantastic, Diana! Watch out, you may become addicted to crafting! :D
Merry Christmas!
Hello! I just purchased some pledge floor wax, it says something about vinyl floors on the bottle and does say with future shine. I’m wondering if they’ve changed the bottle because I looked in four different stores, and that’s all I could find. Hoping it works! Also, where do you find Martha Stewart glitter?
Thanks!
Hi Kim! I haven’t looked for it in awhile, so they definitely could have changed the bottle…I would think as long as it is clear, you should be fine!
And, the Martha Stewart Glitter is available at Michaels. :)
Hi! I made ornaments using extra fine glitter and some of the glitter still falls off. But I found that spraying hairspray directly into the ornament helps the glitter stay in place. So this is a quick fix if anyone is having the same problem.
That’s a great idea, thanks! :)
My daughter and I did these over Christmas, we printed out vinyl letters on the cricut in a different color and added small dots in the vinyl too..We also made a bow out of ribbon that complimented the glitter/initial colors, and hot glued the ribbon onto the metal top..They came out adorable, and really no mess at all, we had a tiny funnel to put the glitter through and then put the access back into the glitter bottle with the funnel. These turned out to be a big hit, we even deal some with football team colors for some of our family/friends, with their initial, they loved them! Hope to do some more next year..
That’s awesome, Melinda! And what a great idea to do them in football team colors!
I’m looking forward to experimenting with this idea with the future floor polish I have left over from a polymer clay project -
AND – kudos for your great taste in being an Elvis fan!
Thanks Paula! Have fun making the ornaments…they are a lot of fun. :D
Love love love it & actually i did wan to see elvis love the hearts LOL
Haha hooray for Elvis! :D
I’m excited about trying these! I haven’t gotten to Michaels yet to do my glitter shopping, but I’m wondering, how do you decide what color glitter to use for the birthstones? I mean, March, Sept., & December are all blue shades, and June can be, too, if you go with alexandrite…or the alexandrite can be a purple shade…or do you go with pearl for June? What color glitter do you use for pearl? And what color do you use for April’s ‘diamond’? I can’t tell from pictures, as you use a pic of multiple ornies for each of the colors…
Also, you sell one called “blue topaz birthstone” but that isn’t listed on your birthstone list, so which month is that?
Sorry about so many questions…am I just over-thinking this?!!! (Maybe Martha has glitter for each birthstone?)
Thanks so much!