glitter ornaments handmade with clear plastic bulbs

(You can download a free PDF file of this tutorial…just click HERE)

 UPDATES:

  1. I tried these with plastic bulbs, and they look great! Read about it HERE.
  2. The Pledge product I used in this project is now called: Pledge floor care multi-surface finish. One of our lovely readers contacted Pledge and found out that this is the same exact product…she didn’t leave her name, but I sincerely thank her for clearing this up for us!

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 right HERE).
  • glitter (this is my favorite glitter).
  • okay, are you ready for this one? floor wax. (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 these 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:

pledge floor cleaner glitter ornaments

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.

(ps. The look of the bottle has changed… you can see what it looks like now, right HERE.)

So pour a little bit into the ornament, and swirl it around. I don’t shake it, because then it gets kind of bubbly.

swirl floor cleaner around inside glass ornament

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 one day.

pour excess floor cleaner back in bottle

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.)

swirl glitter around inside glass ornament

And voila!

i love elvis

oops, sorry. You wanted to see the ornament…

glitter glass 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):

clear glass ornament lid

and then stick the wire back in…this will keep it from scratching off the glitter on the way in.

put cap back on glass ornament

All done!

But wait!

Look at what a few little scrapbook stickers and some rhinestones can do…

how to make glitter ornaments

There are endless ways you could dress these up…any other ideas?

(P.S. You can download a free PDF file of this tutorial…just click HERE)

UPDATES:

  1. I tried these with plastic bulbs, and they look great! Read about it HERE.
  2. The Pledge product I used in this project is now called: Pledge floor care multi-surface finish. One of our lovely readers contacted Pledge and found out that this is the same exact product…she didn’t leave her name, but I sincerely thank her for clearing this up for us!

479 Comments

  1. tina on December 1, 2013 at 2:42 am

    I made these and did it the way you said to do and mine don’t have the solid glitter looking as yours did.But it might be that I used the plastic bulbs have four kids,dog and cat in house so glass I just don’t think is wise right now.

    • ornamentgirl on December 1, 2013 at 8:59 pm

      Hi Tina…. I’ve actually used plastic too, and they came out really well, but it could be one of a couple of other reasons that caused the problem… it could be either that the bulbs weren’t clean and/or dry enough inside before you started, or it could have been the glitter itself. It’s important to use super fine glitter, so that it can really fill in and coat every space evenly. Course glitter doesn’t work as well.

      Oh, and I did find that when I used white glitter, it didn’t cover as well either.

      I’m sorry they didn’t turn out for you, though! I TOTALLY understand about wanting to use plastic… I’ve got kids and dogs and cats too! lol

  2. Kris on December 1, 2013 at 9:34 am

    I just finished making 7 of these for our Son’s girlfriends family. Its their first Christmas in their new home. They were easy and the recommendation for using the Holloway floor finish worked great. Thank you all, for this thread, and the great tips!

    • ornamentgirl on December 1, 2013 at 8:54 pm

      That’s awesome, Kris…I’m so glad they turned out well for you!

  3. Cathe on December 4, 2013 at 1:59 am

    When you use the scrapbook stickers do you use glue to adhere to the ornament or just use the sticky backing on the sticker? Does the sticker hold up nicely after being packed away all year?

  4. ????????? ???? ?? ???? on December 4, 2013 at 2:11 pm

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  5. Anonymous on December 5, 2013 at 6:17 am

    Does this have to be done with fine glitter or would a more course glitter work as well?

  6. Sarah on December 5, 2013 at 6:19 am

    Does this have to be done with fine glitter or would it also work with a coarser glitter?

  7. Sarah on December 5, 2013 at 6:21 am

    Also, where are you finding plastic ornaments? I haven’t been able to find any at Michael’s, hobby lobby, or Joann’s.

    • Brianna on December 10, 2013 at 8:28 am

      I ordered mine from Walmart.com

  8. Kelly D on December 6, 2013 at 1:00 am

    Thanks for the helpful website. I just made some with my seven year old son and they turned out beautiful. Thanks again for the help on how to make them.

  9. Karen on December 7, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    Is it liquid glitter?

  10. Bri on December 9, 2013 at 2:16 am

    Do you think if you put the pledge on a q-tip, that you could draw a design and then put the glitter?

  11. Robin on December 10, 2013 at 5:12 am

    If I don’t have floor wax can I use hairspray ??

  12. Jane on December 10, 2013 at 8:05 am

    Pledge has two multi-care floor products. Be sure to look at the sticker on the shelf it will say with future wax. The other product is an orange or citrus scent the one with the future is not scented and it is also about $2.00 more. I paid $6.48 for it yesterday at WalMart.

  13. Christmas School 2013 | Amanda on December 10, 2013 at 11:00 am

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  14. Mel the Crafty Scientist on December 10, 2013 at 11:35 am

    Love your blog and this project – so creative and fun! Just wanted to let you know I featured it (and several more of your AWESOME projects!) in my roundup of glass ornament crafts here. Feel free to check it out if you want and hope you like it! : )

    -Mel the Crafty Scientist

  15. Phebsiamyourfather on December 10, 2013 at 11:21 pm

    I have found glass and plastic ornaments at Big Lots, Wal-Mart, and Joann’s. My daughter and I have found that mixing two colors together prior to pouring it into the ornament is much more eye appealing, though the mess up was her first one so its not leaving her side! Great project for my 5 yr old. We found some snowflakes just like the ones in your pictures, should we apply something to help these hold better?

  16. Linda on December 11, 2013 at 8:26 am

    I tried this using glass balls and the correct kind of floor wax. I used A very fine glitter. A couple of days later quite a bit of the glitter would come off and would be in a pile in the bottom of the ball. What did I do wrong?

    • Allison Wall on December 12, 2013 at 4:21 pm

      Linda – this Pledge product actually slightly melts the plastic because of how it reacts with it when drying, so when it dries, the glitter in the plastic ornament will stay much better than in a glass one. To be clear – it won’t hurt floors. It is also a self-leveling product, which is why it works so good on floors and much better than just a normal glue to use for this type of craft. I only know this because at my work (sign company) we use this cleaner to “polish” acrylic edges of signs because of what I just said.

    • Anonymous on October 23, 2016 at 10:34 am

      I use polyurethane. The Pledge cracks after a while. This last much longer..

  17. Nicole on December 17, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    I did these and absolutely love them!! Another great idea is melting a candle with a candle warmer and pouring the candle wax inside to make it smell amazing!! (Don’t use it on white glitter unless you have a lot of wax and are really quick and even or else it’s patchy and not the prettiest) my mom did this when I was little. But with Elmer’s glue, not pledge lol

    • Anna on September 12, 2015 at 4:16 am

      Thank you. NOW i get it xx

  18. Sue on December 18, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    I want to make these with 5th grade students for their holiday art project (this Friday). Is the floor cleaner safe to use with kids? I am going to use clear glass ornaments. I am going to experiment with both – watered down Elmer’s Glue and Modge Podge (I know these would be safe with kids). Also, the ornament won’t be able to dry until they take it home at the end of the school day. Is it okay to temporarily cap the ornament until they get it home?

    • Maria on December 10, 2015 at 2:52 am

      please let me know how the watered down modge podge worked!!!

  19. Kelly on December 21, 2013 at 6:05 am

    Thanks for sharing your great tutorial! I have had a love for ornaments since I was a little girl! I had planned on doing this with my daughter’s class but school was cancelled on their last day! We are giving these as gifts since I have 24! :)

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  21. sara on February 17, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    Pretty

  22. Ashley on September 23, 2014 at 2:39 am

    I’m wondering how well the glitter stays in place from year to year? I’d hate to make these and they only last one year because the glitter became unstuck. Also which would likely last longer, glass or plastic ornaments?

    • Staci Ann Lowry on October 23, 2014 at 9:32 pm

      Ashley, the glitter on the glass ornaments has lasted on mine for several years now, and I live in Florida and keep them up in the attic, which gets SUPER hot…. so far, so good with those. This year will be year #2 since I tried the plastic bulbs. Last year they were still perfect, but I’ll update once I’ve seen them again this year. If I were to guess, I would say that the glass would be the ones that would most likely last the longest. I’ve gotten a few comments on here from others who have said that their glitter has fallen right off, but since that happened so quickly for them, I’m thinking they must not have let them dry enough before capping them. So far, mine have all been perfect! Hope that helps!

  23. Denese on October 18, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Instead of using floor wax, I just use a product called GlitterAll. They have it at Michael’s and it’s actual on clearance right now for $1.99. Works great, dries clear and one bottle will last me at least 65 ornaments.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on October 23, 2014 at 9:33 pm

      Awesome, Denese! I’ve seen other glittering products but never that cheap. I’ll have to give that one a try if I see it. Thanks!

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  26. Kelly Jacob on October 30, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    I found the wax at Menards, under$6 a bottle. You can also find larger jars of ultra fine glitter at Walmart now for $3.27 a jar. Lots of colors to choose from, including neons, orange and brown. Looks like a lot of fun, can’t wait to try them once I get the ornaments!

  27. Kristin on November 7, 2014 at 11:33 am

    I just tried this and it works great!!!

  28. Bill on November 17, 2014 at 5:06 am

    I want to make this ornament as a gift for someone, but I can’t find the right Pledge product anywhere. I’ve tried Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and a bunch of grocery/drug stores, with no luck. Looking on the Pledge website, it appears they are still making the Floor Care Multi-Surface Finish (even though the label seems to have changed yet again… no more boot picture!) I even emailed Pledge, and they suggested I order directly from them – but their website doesn’t seem set up for ordering! Any ideas where else I can track down the Pledge? Or maybe another product I can use instead that will hold the glitter in place just as well? Thanks!

    • Susan on December 5, 2014 at 9:57 am

      I saw Pledge product on Amazon.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on December 5, 2014 at 11:43 am

      Bill, I’m so sorry for not seeing your comment sooner. Yes, what Susan said…Amazon does carry it, but also, a few people here have mentioned that using hairspray works really well. I haven’t tried it, but since several people have suggested it, I’d say it’s worth a shot!

      • MamaTess on December 18, 2014 at 5:01 am

        I used Mop and Glo and it worked just great!

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  30. kyrah b on November 20, 2014 at 11:27 am

    I was just wondering if you had the problem of the bulbs cracking? Most of mine have cracked around the top of he bulb…. :( how can I avoid that?

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  32. Leah on November 26, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    What about using hair spray instead of the wax?

  33. Debbie D on November 27, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    Has anyone tried using two different colors (two tone)? I mean with the bottom one color and the top another? I wondered if you did the bottom half, let it dry and then used more wax and then a second glitter, would the first glitter be ruined…
    I also used glitter glue and drew Christmas trees on mine when the glitter was dried. I also make beaded hangers.
    Thank you for this gorgeous ornament.

  34. Heidi on December 1, 2014 at 11:10 am

    Sweet idea! Super easy, too. =) If anyone wants a how-to guide on homemade Christmas wreaths, check out my latest post!

    https://heidizellphoto.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/holiday-how-to-christmas-wreath/

  35. Natasha on December 4, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    I have done several with liquid hairspray and it works fabulous

  36. Laurie Anglen on December 5, 2014 at 7:05 am

    I have a quick question. I bought the Pledge floor cleaner today but they only had CONCENTRATE. Do you know if that will work okay or do I need to dilute it as per the cleaning instructions and then use it? I did buy glass bulbs, not plastic.

    Otherwise I’m very excited to try these and customize ornaments for my family this year! Thank you for this post!

    • Staci Ann Lowry on December 5, 2014 at 11:41 am

      Laurie, you know, I really can’t say for 100% sure because I’ve never tried, but if I were to take a guess, I’d say try one first without diluting. I say that just because I’m afraid adding water would add bubbles, cause it to not cover the inside of the glass ornament as well, etc. It might be a little thick, but just drain it really well before you add the glitter.

      Please let us know how it turns out!

      • Laurie Anglen on December 6, 2014 at 1:52 am

        Okay, I will give it a shot! :) I’m tackling these over the weekend so will report back! Thanks for the reply.

        • Laurie Anglen on December 9, 2014 at 2:45 am

          The concentrated worked perfectly! :) Thanks for your tutorial!

  37. Christie on December 5, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    Have you tried doing just half the globe?

  38. Jill on December 7, 2014 at 4:26 am

    Have you tried doing this with Mop and Glow? I wonder if it would work the same?

  39. Anonymous on December 10, 2014 at 1:17 am

    I am about to try doing this with Pledge floor finish and after reading through the comments here I was wondering if it would turn out better with something else like hairspray?? This is for my child’s preschool gift exchange and I want it to look good and not have the glitter piled on the bottom of ornament. How do I dry it before putting the cap on? TIA

  40. Kendra on December 10, 2014 at 1:19 am

    Does it have to be the fine glitter or will any glitter do?

  41. Kendra on December 10, 2014 at 1:24 am

    Also, would Quick Shine floor finish work instead of the Pledge? Im asking because I have 5 bottles of quick shine and looking to save a little if possible.

  42. Vicki on December 13, 2014 at 3:26 pm

    This trick really saved my butt! I made a marriage propsal ornament on frosted glass. After I completed it, I sprayed it with clear coat to seal everything in place. The prob, it made the frosted opaque ornament, no longer frosted but, completely clear. I did this using iridescent white glittler. It turned out perfectly! I will have to get back to you about the proposal. Ha ha.

  43. Debi on December 17, 2014 at 7:19 am

    I made these just as you said. Hung them on the tree. Beautiful. 3 days later all the glitter was on the bottom of the ornament. What went wrong.

    • MamaTess on December 18, 2014 at 5:04 am

      I used Mop & Glo and let it drain upside down for a couple of minutes before adding glitter. Maybe that would help?

  44. Arlisa Bland on December 24, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    I discovered that spray adhesive works really well for these. Tried the pledge stuff and also tried Mop and Glow, but neither worked for me. Glitter just didn’t stay put so I tried the spray adhesive, no more problems, worked great. Just hold the spray can upright, spray inside the ornament and funnel glitter in and shake. Works great!!!!

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  46. Karla on December 29, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    I tried this to decorate my seasonal wall and LOVED IT!!! I’ve always love the glittery decorations but they are so messy… Will be doing my own decorations for my tree next year. Can’t wait…. :-D

  47. Lynda Staffieri on January 12, 2015 at 8:00 am

    Question: Do you use an outside sealer on any of your ornaments, like Krylon clear sealer? I used it and it seems to take the shine away and the smell is irritating, I did use it outside (I am an asthmatic) . I was wondering what your opinion was on using a sealer as you have such beautiful ornaments that you sell.

  48. Beth on February 16, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    Gorgeous, yet so simple, ornaments! Thank you so much for sharing them. I haven’t tried them yet & am excited about getting started.

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