Custom Christmas Ornaments

How hard could that be?  I came across this blog post with the title "All that Glitters...MINUS THE MESS".  She had me at "glitter". 

I was off to my local craft store and picked up a pack of glass ornaments, and one plastic just to try.  I already have tons of glitter at home.  All I needed was the Pledge.  It took over a week of looking everywhere for Pledge before I finally gave up and just bought Mop & Glo Triple Action Floor Shine Cleaner.  It's all that I could find and some other bloggers have listed it as the product they used. 

Let me tell you, Hubs almost had a heart attack when he saw Mop & Glo come in the house.  Once I explained it was for crafting and not for use on or brand new hardwood floors he was calmer. 

First I tried it with the plastic ornament.  I put about a tablespoon or so of Mop & Glo in the ornament and swirled it around carefully trying not to make any bubbles. I could see that I was missing spots and try as I might, it just wasn't working with this "careful" approach.  Being that I'm quite impatient, and meticulous is not a word I like (especially for crafts), I got a rag, covered the opening and shook the heck out of the ornament.  I tipped it upside down, let the excess drain back into the original bottle and voila! NO bubbles! Fingers crossed there were no missed spots!

I poured in about a tablespoon of glitter using a paper Dixie Cup to pour without a mess, repeated the shaking until everything was covered in glitter.  Opps, I mean, I covered the top with a rag and shook the ornament until the inside was completly covered in glitter.  I tipped it over a clean Dixie Cup to catch any excess glitter.  Then I repeated the same steps with the glass ornament (using the recaptured glitter from the first try).  First carefully swirling the Mop & Glo, then a somewhat gentle shake to be sure, drop in glitter, shake and leave to dry over night.

The results were pretty spectacular but when I held both ornaments up to light, the glitter coating was fairly thin and not quite what I was hoping for.  I figured I'd test the process and see what happens.  I repeated the process with both ornaments.  First the plastic. I expected that as soon as I poured in more liquid the first coat would be destroyed, but SURPRISE! I was wrong.  It did run a bit, but I shoke it up, added more glitter, dumped out the excess and left it to dry. This time the recovered glitter was wet but it was a minimal waste. I suspect I could have used it for the other ornament's second coat, but I used fresh Mop & Glo and glitter instead. 

Now let me tell you, I was so confident and excited after the beauty results on the plastic ornament, that I expected the glass to just be a complete repeat.  However, it was anything but.  As soon as the second load of Mop & Glo went in, my heart sank! The first coat of glitter washed away.  I swirled and shook and hoped it would fix, but it was just a big, fat, wet glitter mess!  I dumped out the liquid, along with almost all of the glitter. Not wanting to just give up, I added in fresh glitter and shook it around.  The results were the same as the day before.  I threw in more glitter, but none of it stuck.  I took the wet glittery mop & glo stuff and poured it back in, gave it a shake, and now it was all just a colossal mess!   

I should have snapped some pictures to show you, but I wanted to clean up the mess before it dried.  Luckily, it cleaned up fine with some soap and water.  There's still a little bit of red glitter around the very edge of the neck, but you can't see that when the hanger thingy is on.  So I will use the 4 glass ornaments for something else, and exchange the rest for plastic ornaments. 

Maybe the Pledge and glass work better, but here in Canada I could not find Pledge.  But I did make it work. Here is my finished piece.

To make No Mess Custom Glitter Ornaments:

You will need:

• clear, plastic ornaments
• Mop & Glo Triple Action Floor Cleaner
• Glitter.  I used fine glitter, but other glitter would likely work. 

Instructions:

1. Remove the hanger and cap from the ornament.
2. Drop in about a tablespoon or so of Mop & Glo liquid.
3. Swirl carefully or just shake the heck out of it. Be sure to cover the opening first. Either way you do it, be sure the entire inside is coated.
4. Pour excess liquid back into original bottle.
5. Drop in about a tablespoon of glitter using a small funnel or paper cup.
6. Cover the opening and shake until the interior is fully coated. 
7. Pour out any excess glitter and retain for later use.
8. Let dry overnight.
9. Repeat the process until the amount of coverage you like is achieved.
10. When fully dry, carefully return the hook and cap and enjoy!  You can add embellishment to the outside of your ornament, but they are pretty spectacular just as they are.