Paint Your Own Christmas Ornament

Today’s Christmas craft is a simple one, guaranteed to produce beautiful and unique ornaments every time. And it can be enjoyed by crafters of all ages.

Supplies Needed:

Glass ball ornament
Glass paint
Yes, that’s it. Gather your supplies and cover your workspace with newspaper. I chose to use red, green, and white paints and I think my ornament came out well. You can use any colors and glass paint comes in more colors that you can imagine. Silver and gold would be good additions to any ornament. Go crazy!

Remove the top of the ornament, the part that allows you to hang it on the tree, and set it aside.

Hold the ornament so the opening is angled, though still with an upright tilt. Squeeze some paint into the ornament so it runs down the inside. Glass paint is rather thick and will take a while to make it to the bottom of the ornament. There’s no need to wait for it to finish its journey before adding the next color. Squeeze as many colors into the ball as you’d like, rotating the ornament each time for a paint-free space.

Now cover the opening with your thumb and gently tap the ornament against your other palm to speed the paint along. Turn the ornament so the paint runs across the entire inside and there is no clear space left. Add more paint if you need to.

Place the top back on and enjoy your one-of-a-kind ornament. Add a piece of ribbon as a hanger if you choose, or just use a metal one.
A side note: You can use regular craft paint for this project since you won’t be washing the ornament or eat off of it, however, eventually the paint will begin to separate. The ornament pictured below was painted about ten years ago, by my estimation, and you can see that pigment (that is the color) is separating from the binder (the liquid that the color is mixed with to create paint). I still like it though, and hang it on my tree every year.
Click the following links for a paper ornament project, and a candy cane ornament project.

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