Make Glittery Christmas Ornaments

Make Two Glittery Christmas Ornaments

Christmas may almost be here, but there is still time to make glittery ornaments to put on the tree. Sparkly ornaments also make nice gifts, and the cost to make these is quite minimal. Actually, I used a red ribbon off a package to make the heart ornament below, which just goes to show how you can recycle materials to make something luminous for the Christmas tree.

Make A Glittery Heart Ornament:

Make a heart shape out of cardboard and wrap it in tinfoil.

Wrap Cardboard Heart In Tinfoil

 

Here are the steps for making the glittery heart ornament.

Step 1:

Draw and cut out a cardboard heart, and then wrap it in tinfoil.

Step 2:

Paint the heart shape with glitter glue.  Allow it to dry over night.

Step 3:

Paint over the glitter glue with glitter paint to give the ornament more luminosity, which will also secure the first coat of glitter glue a bit more.

Step 4:

Put the ornament aside, and allow it to dry another night.

Step 5:

Use a sewing needle to poke a hole through the heart ornament once all the glittery layers have completely dried.

Step 6:

Use a needle with a large eye to pull half of the ribbon through the hole.

Step 7:

Create a loop with the ribbon, which will allow the ornament to hang.

Glittery Heart Ornament

Now you have a glittery heart shaped ornament for Christmas, but this would also be a fun crafting project for Christmas.

Make A Glittery Christmas Stocking:

Make A Glittery Stocking Christmas Ornament

Make a glittery  Christmas stocking out of recycled junk mail, glitter glue, and glitter paint.  Here is inspiration on how to do it:

Step 1:

Draw a stocking form on junk mail, and then cut it out.

Step: 2

Paint glitter glue on the stocking and allow it to dry overnight.

Painting The Stocking With Glitter Paint

Step 3:

Apply a layer of glitter paint to the stocking, which will make it more luminous.  Allow the stocking form to dry overnight once again.

Step 4:

Use a glitter pen to add accents to the top of the stocking.

Adding Green And Red Glitter Accents To The Top of Stocking

Step 5:

Allow the stocking to dry for a few hours before adding the hook to hang it by.

 

Liquidambar Pods Make Great Christmas Ornaments

Turn liquidambar pods into glittery Christmas ornaments.

Have you ever noticed all those spindly liquidambar pods lying on the sidewalk this time of year?  Are you looking for a new Christmas craft idea?  If so, then you might enjoy turning liquidambar pods into stunning and sparkly Christmas ornaments.  The video below will illustrate how I did this ornament was created from start to finish.

Turning Liquidambar Seed Pods Into Christmas Ornaments

Yesterday I created a nature based decorations by coating liquidambar pods with glitter glue. The video above illustrates the first part of making the ornaments.  Someone commenting below that the pods were from the sweet gum tree, which is correct, but the scientific name for this tree is liquidambar styraciflua, which just sounds more melodic, and this is another reason I used the scientific name in referring to the pods.

Liquidambar Seed Pod To Be Decorated With Glitter

For this craft project I turned liquidambar seed pods into Christmas ornaments by dipping these in glitter glue.  First, I placed newspaper on the counter to catch the glitter that was used for this project.

Pour Glitter And Blue In A Container
Pour the glue and glitter into a container for dipping the liquidambar pods.  For this project I decided to use an old butter container rather than just throwing it away when it was empty.  Solid plastic containers are great for crafting projects, which gives refuse a second life.

Use A Paint Brush To Coat The Liquidambar Pod

The paintbrush was used to coat the liquidambar pods in glitter glue.  The glue I used for this project was mod podge, which is one of my favorite kind of glues to use for crafting projects.

Rotate Liquidambar Pod In Glitter Glue

Spend a couple of minutes coating the liquidambar pod in the glitter glue.

Liquidambar Pods Drying On Newspaper

Place the liquidambar pods on a new paper to dry.

Allow The Liquidambar Balls To Dry Overnight

Allow the liquidambar balls to dry overnight so glitter does not all fall off.

Liquidambar Ornament With Red Bow
The next day after the had glitter dried on a  liquidambar pod, I added a red bow and a hanger to the pod to create the decoration.  I do not have a tree to hang my decorations from, so I like to just hang my handmade ornaments on the wall around the holiday season.

The video above illustrates what the glitter pod looks like once I added the bow.

Glittered Liquidambar Pod With Intact Hook

The natural hook shaped stem did not snap off this pod, even after I applied the glitter glue to it.  The natural hook makes is easy to hang the pod from a tree or the wall.  I love a natural ornament that already comes with its own hook.

What if you do not have space or money to get a Christmas tree.  Another idea is to place the glittery liquidambar pods can be placed in glass containers.

Glittery Liquidamabar Pods In A Candle Holder
These glittery liquidambar pods are arranged to look like a flower in a candle holder.

This video illustrates what the candle center piece looks like after created a flower-like arrangement with the liquidambar pods. These glittery pods even look a bit like disco balls.

Liquidambar Pods In A Glass Jar

Another center-piece idea would be to stack the luminous pods in an old potpourri jar, and then tie a red bow around the top. This simple center-piece is quite dazzling, and illustrates the power of crafting from nature. Have fun making some nature based Christmas decorations today.