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DIY Colorful Glass Ornaments

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December 13, 2012 By Jackie

As much as I love my white and mercury glass Christmas tree, I was starting to crave a dash of color. I have seen this pin floating around for a while on how to paint the inside of glass ornaments. It was the perfect project to add some sophisticated color to my Christmas tree.

Add some color to your Christmas decor with these easy back-painted ornaments. These are plastic ornaments and craft paint so this is kid-friendly. Click through for the full instructions.

For my version, I really wanted to do this project with my kids (5 and 2 years old).  How could I say no to this face?

I modified some of the supplies and technique to make this project kid-friendly.  The result is just as beautiful as the inspiration.  I purchased clear plastic ornaments instead of glass.  I found multiple sizes of clear plastic ornaments at Michaels.  I opted for the largest size.  I only bought a dozen, so I wanted them to be big.  I bought the ornaments during a 50% off sale.  For the actual execution of the project, a little strategic use of painters tape was all I needed to make it kid-friendly.

My oldest helped me select 5 colors of acrylic paint.  I bought the cheapest 99 cent bottles.  I squeezed half a bottle of acrylic paint in each ornament.  I sealed the opening with painters tape.  Then, we shook the ornaments until the inside was coated with paint.  It took me only a few seconds of shaking to coat the ornament.  For the kids it took a little longer for them to shake  and ooh and aah at the paint covering the inside of the plastic (or, like my son above, try to look inside where the paint hasn’t covered yet).

Once all the ornaments were coated, I removed the painters tape and set each ornament upside down on a plastic punch cup to drain.  Most of the paint I squeezed into each ornament drained right back out.  I left them draining for a day.  They looked cute, like a lineup of tiny, colorful hot air balloons.

Then I put them all together in a large bowl with the openings up to dry.  I expected the drying to go faster, but it took 3 days for them to dry.

It was so fun to put the ornament toppers back on and get these hung on the tree.

The large baubles help fill out the tree, as I strategically hung them in bare spots.  Their simplicity and subtle-ness is exactly what i wanted…a sophisticated touch of color.

The finishing touch on the tree will be my angel tree topper.  I grew up with her and years ago my mom passed her down to me.  I have never had a Christmas tree without her.  Right now she is sitting on the shelf (notice in the picture above), because I have to get out a ladder to get her on top of our new 9.5-ft tree.  She will make it up there soon.

To see more of my favorite handmade Christmas decorations checkout this post.

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Comments

  1. Mandi says

    December 13, 2012 at 9:15 am

    It’s gorgeous! I really love that ornament idea. Every year I help my son make ornaments for all the close family members, and I will definitely try to keep these in mind for next year!

    (Psssst, *angel tree topper)

  2. Danielle says

    December 13, 2012 at 9:38 am

    Great idea! The colours look so rich.

  3. [email protected] Design for Living says

    December 13, 2012 at 10:06 am

    These turned out fantastic, Jackie! Your kids are so cute, and it looks like they had a lot of fun. I’m sure they’re proud of the tree!

  4. Gwen says

    December 13, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    Oh I never imagined plastic ornaments would look so shiny! And how fun your paint choices –are too. Years ago my daughter and I swirled sour paint around to get an unusual effect and what fun! But these are a super idea! You worked out all the details so we won’t have to. It’s funny how your tree looked perfect before but as always you know best! These 12 huge balls make such an impact and look very expensive!!!

  5. wendy says

    December 13, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    This is absolutely stunning. Fresh, clean, modern, and beautiful pops of color, Jackie! Really lovely.
    Merry Christmas!

  6. Lisa says

    December 13, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    What a fun project for kids. They turned out really pretty and look great on your tree. I bought glass ornaments for my co-workers and was going to try the multiple paint version, but this looks much simpler.

  7. Megan @ Two Live Colorfully says

    December 17, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    I really love the colors you chose! They’re so gorgeous!

    I always had an angel tree topper growing up, my mom still has it, but I hope it gets passed down to me soon. I remember how gorgeous she was!

  8. Delina Wille says

    November 16, 2013 at 11:53 am

    Hi! I was just curious if your ornaments lasted the year and look as great this year? Thanks!!!

    • Jackie says

      November 16, 2013 at 2:36 pm

      Delina, they still look gorgeous. We just pulled them out last month to use in the photo backdrop for our holiday cards!

  9. Mel the Crafty Scientist says

    December 10, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    Love your blog (teal and lime are my favorite colors!) and this project – so beautiful and perfect for every tree! Just wanted to let you know I featured it 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

  10. Minnie says

    November 22, 2016 at 11:04 am

    After a while did your paint start to crack inside the balls? I tried this with glitter ornaments, & mine ended up cracking! I’m wondering now if I didn’t let them dry long enough.

    • Jackie says

      November 22, 2016 at 2:31 pm

      Minnie, Ours never cracked. We just pulled them out of storage to use again this year.

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