Mess for Less

  • Crafts
    • Art
    • Winter Activities
    • Spring Activities
    • Summer Activities
    • Fall Recipes and Activities
  • Kids Activities
    • Baby and Toddler Activities
    • Preschool Activities
    • Sensory Activities
    • Fine Motor Skills Activities
    • Learning Activities
      • Science Activities
  • Family
    • Pets
    • Parenting
  • Shop
  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Lunch Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Snack Recipes
  • Appetizers
  • Crock Pot Recipes
  • Cooking with Kids
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Summer Activities
  • Kids
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Summer Activities
    • Kids
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
  • ×
    Home » Crafts

    Modified: Oct 20, 2022 · Published: Dec 4, 2012 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

    Make Your Own Glitter Ornaments

    7 shares

    I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own. We finally put up our Christmas tree, and one of our family traditions is to make some ornaments each year to add to our collection. I am a fan of all things sparkly so you know that any ornament I make is going to include lots of glitter. You know, so much glitter that you find it on your face, on the floor and even on the cat. My cat apparently does not share my love of glitter. I think she lacks the attitude to pull the look off. But I digress... If you want to find out how you and the kids can make some gorgeous glitter ornaments - for a fraction of the price of store bought - using glitter and some Mod Podge products, read on.

     If you want to find out how you and the kids can make some gorgeous glitter ornaments - for a fraction of the price of store bought - using glitter and some Mod Podge products, read on.
    • Mod Podge
    • Folk Art Chunky Glitter Acrylic Paint
    • Glitter
    • Wooden cutout ornaments
    • Clear plastic ornaments
    • Brush or sponge applicator
    • Wax paper
    mod podge, glitter and ornaments on a tray

    Using the above supplies, your kids can make ornaments and you can too! For the kids ornaments, I found some wooden ornament cutouts at my local craft store that were in desperate need of jazzing up. You want to chose something that had a pre-drilled hole for a hook. I poured some Mod Podge into a cup and gave my daughter a sponge applicator. She then proceeded to spread it across the surface. Even if it isn't spread perfectly even by your child, it will be fine. The stuff is very forgiving and glitter covers a multitude of kid messiness.

    child placing glue on an ornament

    If you are a kid this will be your favorite part. If you are a neat freak, avert your eyes! Have your child shake, shake, shake that glitter over the Mod Podge covered ornament and then turn it over to shake off the excess. Keep adding glitter until the entire side of the ornament is covered. Frugal mom tip - Use a paper plate under the glitter to catch the mess and save the glitter. When you are done decorating, make the paper plate into a funnel and pour the glitter back into the jar.

    child shaking glitter on an ornament
    child shaking glitter on an ornament

    Allow the ornament to dry and turn over and repeat the above steps on the other side. Then if you are a two year old, hold out the ornament for all to see.

    child holding glitter ornament

    When both sides are glittered, place on wax paper for about 30 minutes to dry.

    glitter ornaments

    When dry, add a hook and hang on your tree. Now how easy and simple was that? So easy a child did it!

    glitter ornaments in a tree

    Now you don't want to let your kids have all the fun do you? Kids have enough fun. Grab a brush, a cup some Folk Art Chunky Glitter Acrylic Paint (we used gold) and a clear plastic ornament. I found these great plastic light bulb ornaments at my local craft store. They also sell ball ornaments like this that you can decorate.

    brush, glue and light bulb

    Holding the ornament in your hand, start painting it with the glitter paint, avoiding the metal hardware. Don't obsess about which direction your strokes are going in. I find this stuff to be very forgiving too. What I really love about the Chunky Glitter paint is that it doesn't encrust your ornament with glitter. It just provides a nice sprinkling of glitter. Of course you can use multiple coats if you want it more glittery. Just be sure to let the first coat dry before you add another.

    light bulb with glue
    light bulb with glitter on it

    An easy way to dry this is to hang it on a hook somewhere where it won't touch anything else. When dry, you can add it to your tree. You can also make a bunch of these and place in a large vase or use them to decorate packages. So many possibilities!

    glitter light bulb ornament

    For more ornament ideas check out Kid Made Christmas Ornaments.

    More Crafts

    • Kid Made Father's Day Gifts
      Kid Made Father's Day Gifts
    • 4th of July Crafts, Activities and Snacks for Kids
      Thirty 4th of July Crafts Activities and Snacks for Kids
    • 20 Popsicle Stick Crafts and Activities
    • suncatcher craft
      Suncatcher Craft

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Kathy Shea Mormino says

      December 10, 2012 at 4:22 pm

      Hello, new follower here and I’d like to invite you to join me at my weekly Clever Chicks Blog Hop: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/Clever-Chicks-Blog-Hop-12.html

      I hope you can make it!

      Cheers,

      Kathy Shea Mormino

      The Chicken Chick

      Reply
    2. Diana - FreeStyleMama says

      December 07, 2012 at 7:49 pm

      Love the bulbs. Thanks for linking up!

      Reply
    3. southernscraps says

      December 07, 2012 at 10:31 am

      Love glitter! Your ornaments turned out great!

      Reply
    4. Becky of Magic belles says

      December 06, 2012 at 3:00 pm

      I love glitter, so do my girls. We must try this x

      Reply
      • Vicky @ Mess For Less says

        December 07, 2012 at 1:35 am

        Thanks fellow glitter lover!

        Reply
    5. The Glamorous Housewife says

      December 04, 2012 at 10:45 pm

      Glitter makes everything better! I really like the light bulb ornament and the way you used the paper plate to catch the excess glitter. Great idea!

      Thanks doll,
      The Glamorous Housewife

      Reply
      • Vicky @ Mess For Less says

        December 07, 2012 at 1:31 am

        Thanks for the comment. I am still finding glitter everywhere, days later. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Jourdan @ Two Million Miles says

      December 04, 2012 at 9:45 pm

      So cute!! I even have all the stuff to make them! SWEET!

      Reply
      • Vicky @ Mess For Less says

        December 07, 2012 at 1:31 am

        Don't you love that! I find if I have to buy the supplies I end up forgetting and never getting around to it.

        Reply
    7. Melinda says

      December 04, 2012 at 3:20 pm

      I love the lightbulb ornament. We have nightlights go out all the time, great way to recycle them 🙂

      Reply
      • Vicky @ Mess For Less says

        December 07, 2012 at 1:29 am

        I had not thought of that. Sounds very thrifty too!

        Reply
    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

    Summer

    • Summer Art Activities for Kids
    • Free Printable Summer Placemats
    • Best Outdoor Toys for Summer
      The 20 Best Outdoor Toys for Summer
    • summer activities for kids
      Summer Activities for Kids

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy and Disclosure
    • Recipe and Safety Disclaimers
    • About Me
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for our newsletter

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Advertise

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 MessForLess