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:
- Remove the hanger and cap from the ornament.
- Drop in about a tablespoon or so of Mop & Glo liquid.
- 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.
- Pour excess liquid back into original bottle.
- Drop in about a tablespoon of glitter using a small funnel or paper cup.
- Cover the opening and shake until the interior is fully coated.
- Pour out any excess glitter and retain for later use.
- Let dry overnight.
- Repeat the process until the amount of coverage you like is achieved.
- 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.
