DIY Glitter Ornaments Personalized on a Cricut! #glitter #ornaments #holidaydecor #cricut

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How to make DIY glitter ornaments with the biggest sparkle and prettiest graphics in this tutorial! I put three popular adhesives head to head to find the best one… PLUS I show you how to layer vinyl around a curved surface!

I will confess right up front I’m not a fan of glitter. It’s not that I don’t think it’s pretty, it’s that the darn stuff gets everywhere! My Snow Globe Top Mason Jars taught me that! But I will admit that a glitter ornament is a sight to behold, and worth a little glitter mess. I personalized these DIY glitter ornaments with my Cricut and I couldn’t be happier with them!

A red glitter ornaments with a Santa Cam decal

DIY Glitter Ornaments Personalized on a Cricut! #glitter #ornaments #holidaydecor #cricut
DIY glitter ornaments are a fun, if messy, craft that is perfect for the holidays. A glitter ornament is a little less scary than it sounds. Basically, you put glitter INSIDE a clear ornament. That way the glitter stays put and doesn’t get all over the place… at least one can hope. 
 
Now despite what it may look like, this ornament is NOT completely filled with glitter. Instead, we coat the inside with something that allows a little bit of glitter to stick to the sides. There are three schools of thought on how you can get your glitter to stick. One is to use Minwax Polycrylic finish, another is to use Beacon Glitter-It Adhesive, and the third is to use Mop N Glo. (I know, weird, right?)
 
Adhesives for DIY glitter ornaments tested: Polycrylic, Glitter-It, and Mop & Glo -- which is best?
 
Now if you’re anything like me, you might be wondering … well, which one is the best to use? So I’ve tested it for you! I glittered nine glass ornaments using these three options. I compared each one based on how long it took, the availability and cost of the product, and (most importantly) the final glittery product. Here’s what I found:
  • Minwax Polycrylic: Takes longer to coat, but fastest to glitter, inexpensive and readily available, and BEST coat
  • Beacon Glitter-It!: Fast to coat but bubbles may form, must wait longer to glitter, harder to find and more expensive, and OK coat
  • Mop and Glo floor wax: Fast to coat (no bubbles detected), must wait longer to glitter, easy to find and inexpensive, and OK coat

So the best glitter ornament adhesive in my book is Minwax Polycrylic. But if you had to do a lot of them, I’d probably just go with Mop & Glo floor wax, since it’s the least expensive and it worked just fine.

I’ve also prepared nine different ornament designs for you to play with, too! I have three different cams — a Santa Cam, Grinch Cam, and an Angel Cam. Plus three seasonal ornaments for Christmas, Hannukah, and New Years, and three different snowflakes that you can personalize with a name!
 
Free ornament designs and SVG cut files for DIY glitter ornaments, includes personalization
 
Big thanks to many readers who requested this DIY glitter ornament project (Heather R., Susan, Harmonee, Stephanie, Debby, Tara, Amanda S., Dianne B., Brooke, Morgan, Yvette). Each person who contributed this project idea will receive an extra entry for your idea (I am keeping track on this on my end). And don’t forget, you can suggest project ideas for this Challenge here and receive entries to win one of our awesome prizes, including a Cricut Maker!
 
One of my readers, Dana Shields, made one of the personalized snowflake glitter ornaments on the first day this post came out! You rock, Dana!
Personalized glitter ornament with a snowflake made by reader Dana Shields
 
Now let me first show you how to glitter your ornaments, and then I’ll show you how to layer and apply your vinyl around the curved surface of this ornament. Key concepts taught in this tutorial include how to glitter glass ornaments, how to move objects from one mat to another (to gorup cuts), how to sharpen a knife blade with a ball of aluminum foil, how to put vinyl on a curved surface, and how to layer vinyl.

See exactly how to make my DIY glitter ornaments with layered vinyl in this tutorial video below:

It’s time to glitter bomb this craft room and make some glitter ornaments! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.

Materials for the DIY Glitter Ornaments with Layered Vinyl

How to Make DIY Glitter Ornaments with Layered Vinyl

First, you need to glitter your ornaments! They’ll need at least 24 hours to drain and dry, so best to get started as soon as possible. Begin by removing the aluminum cap from the top of the ornament (it pulls right off).

Remove the aluminum top from your clear ornament before making DIY glitter ornaments

Now pour in your adhesive — just a bit — and gently swirl it around so it coats the entire interior surface. DO NOT shake it vigorously, as this just adds bubbles and uneven coating. I swirled it from the bottom to the top.

Swirling adhesive around the inside of a clear ornament to make DIY glitter ornaments

Set the ornament coated with adhesive upside down in a plastic cup to drain.

Let the adhesive from the ornament drain into a cup to make DIY glitter ornaments

Now give the adhesive some time to drain out of the ornament. The polycrylic ornaments were ready almost right away, whereas the Glitter-It and Mop & Glo ornaments took about 10-15 minutes. Don’t wait any longer than is necessary, though, or your glitter won’t stick. Just wait until you see now more adhesive draining out.

Pour a small amount of glitter into your ornament. If your glitter container doesn’t have a good way to pour it, you can make a small funnel from a piece of paper.

Pouring green glitter into a clear ornament to make DIY glitter ornaments

Just like you did with the adhesive, gently swirl the glitter inside your ornament so it coats the entire thing. Again, it’s best to work from the bottom to the top, then tip the ornament into a cup upside-down.

Swirling green glitter around the inside of a clear ornament to make DIY glitter ornaments

Look at how pretty this DIY glitter ornament is!

Pretty green glittered ornament filled to make DIY glitter ornaments

Be sure to let your DIY glitter ornaments dry for 24 hours before putting the little caps back on. You can layer them with vinyl before that, however, so let me show you!

To get my nine free ornament designs (Design #115), download them from my free resource library (you can get a password for it at the bottom of this page). If you’re going to cut the vinyl out on your cutting machine, upload the file to your design software. If you’re not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, here’s how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app.

If you’d like to personalize the snowflakes, add a name in and resize it before you cut out your vinyl.

Personalizing a snowflake design in Cricut Design Space to make DIY glitter ornaments

Note: My designs have a lot of different colors and Design Space will separate these out into many different mats.

A mat preview in Cricut Design Space

If you end up with just a few things on each mat, consolidate them into other mats by clicking the three dots in the upper left corner of an object when you’re in mat preview mode and choose “Move to another mat.”

Moving items from one mat to another in Cricut Design Space to make DIY glitter ornaments

I put all of my various cuts onto one mat as you can see here:

A mat preview in Cricut Design Space to make vinyl for the DIY glitter ornaments

And then I just make a note of where I placed each thing on my mat preview and do the same on my mat. If I have to use the Maker on the other side of the room instead of the Explore next to my computer, I take a photo of the mat preview screen with my phone and take it over to my Maker to line everything up properly. It takes out the guesswork!

A Cricut mat with small pieces of vinyl ready to be cut and put on the DIY glitter ornaments

Once your vinyl is cut, you’ll need to remove the excess vinyl and WEED everything!

Weeding black vinyl to make DIY glitter ornaments

Do not put transfer tape on all your designs yet! As these are all layered designs, you first need to know the TRICK to layering vinyl. The key is to layer things before you put them on your material and use just one piece of transfer tape for the whole design! 

So look at your vinyl layers and determine which is the TOP layer of your design. For the Santa Cam and Grinch Cam designs, the top layer is the white layer. So cut out a piece of transfer tape large enough for the entire design and place it on the white layer.

Layering the Santa Cam vinyl for the DIY glitter ornaments

Now remove the backing from the white vinyl so the only the white vinyl is on the transfer tape.

Removing the backing from a white layer of vinyl for the DIY glitter ornament decal

Now position your vinyl and transfer tape over the next layer — in this case, it’s the red dot that is supposed to be the “ON” light of the cam. Once it’s positioned, burnish it and remove the backing.

Applying layers of vinyl over one another to make DIY glitter ornament decals

Repeat for each successive layer of vinyl.

Applying layers of vinyl over one another to make DIY glitter ornament decals Applying layers of vinyl over one another to make DIY glitter ornament decals

And here you have a layered vinyl decal for your DIY glitter ornaments!

A layered vinyl Santa Cam decal for a DIY glitter ornament

Check back later today to learn how to apply this decal around the curved surface of your DIY glitter ornament (or watch the video!).

Get my free SVG cut files and patterns for the DIY Glitter Ornaments

These glittered ornaments are a fun way to give a personalized gift or create a keepsake for your Christmas tree. One thing I do want to point out is SIZE. I used a standard 2.5″ ornament size, but in retrospect I wish I’d gone with a larger ornament. It would have been easier to apply the vinyl and the designs would have shown up bigger. 

If you make one of these sparkly glitter ornaments, please share a photo in our Facebook group, email it to me at [email protected], or tag me on social media with #makershowandtell.

See all of the projects, tutorials and free designs in The Great Maker Show and Tell Challenge!There is one for each day of the 25 Days of Christmas! This is my gift to you for the tremendous support, enthusiasm, and love you’ve shown to me and my little blog over the past two years. To “open” a gift, hover over the day’s image and click the download icon.

[ess_grid alias=”25days2″]

Love,

JenniferMaker.com

Want to remember this? Save the DIY Glitter Ornaments with Layered Vinyl to Your Favorite DIY Pinterest Board!

DIY Glitter Ornaments Personalized on a Cricut! #glitter #ornaments #holidaydecor #cricut #svgcutfile #santacam #grinch #snowflake

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24 Comments

  1. The Santa Cam ornament is pure genius! Thank you for sharing these cute Christmas decorations 🙂

  2. Thank you SOOOOOOOO MUCH for the tutorial on how to put the vinyl on the ornaments! I was “volunteered” to make my daughter’s volleyball team ornaments and I now feel confident I can do it! Whew…. you are an Angel!

  3. Jennifer: I have listen to tutorial on glitter ornaments and I have gone through the page to find password and i still can’t find. Can you please help me for the free svg 9 glitter ornaments
    Thank You
    JJ

  4. Does this work the same with plastic ornaments? My mother-in-law has 23 grandchildren and I’d love to do color coordinated ornaments for each family, but I’m afraid little fingers will break the glass ornaments.

    1. Yes, this should work fine with plastic ornaments too! I can appreciate the concern with little fingers and glass!

  5. Hi
    I think you are so clever, and the reason I love your sight do much is your commitment to sharing all your crafting knowledge
    So many others want something in return and your tutorials are easy to follow
    I am new to the Cricut and it Will be some time till I
    Am competent but it’s teachers like yourself that make it enjoyable learning
    Thank you so much
    Merry Christmas
    Sally
    Uk

  6. I cannot find the password anywhere to get into the library. I’ve signed up everywhere I think you have but I am still at a loss.

    1. Oh no! I do include the password at the bottom of every email I send out! Check one of my old emails at the very bottom for the password! Can’t wait to hear what you make first!

  7. Awesome, thank you for the wonderful how to video!! Can’t wait to give it a try once I get
    This house ready for sale!

    1. I don’t have a favorite, but I do default to the Cricut brand transfer tape as I’ve never had a problem with it!

  8. I just purchased a cricut this past week and I’m excited to be able to make Christmas projects once I figure it out. I was happy to find your tutorial that was so full of tips and ideas I just had to subscribe. Thanks so much for all you do.

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