Glitter Ornaments ~ Tutorial

Hello!!!

I rec'd some emails from a few of you as well as Michelle's comment on the glitter ornaments post from yesterday that stated you couldnt get the link to work -- sorry about that folks! I am not sure why as when I click on it it goes -- but anywho -- I'll post it here -- but this is not my tutorial but one from Laura over at Inky Dinky Doo ~ she's done a great job!

Ok here goes, my very first tutorial. I've never written one of these before, but I had so much fun making these ornaments, that I thought everyone should know how! The 1st one is Night of Navy and the 2nd one is Cool Caribbean. I also made one with Marigold Morning, but the picture made it look orange and not very pretty, but it's gorgeous IRL!

First carefully take the metal hanger off your ornament. Then add about 20 drops of reinker. I used Cranberry Crisp for this tutorial. (see pic 1) Then you need to swirl the ink around inside the ornament until it coats the inside completely. (see pic 2) After you have the entire inside coated, turn the ornament upside down so that it can drain into something. I can't tell you how long to do this as it depends on lots of factors, how humid it is, how many drops of reinker you used etc... Just let them drain until there are no more "drips" when you turn it over. (see pic 3)


Ok now you need to use some sort of funnel to add the glitter. I just made one from scrap copy paper. (see pic 4) Add about 1 1/2 teaspoon of ultra fine glitter to the ornament. (see pic 5) Now here comes the fun part! Take your thumb and COMPLETELY cover the opening. (I have tiny hands and I can do this, so you should be able to as well.) (see pic 6) Now SHAKE the ornament. Shake it hard, but be careful not to hit it on anything. You want to shake it and not roll the glitter around inside, rolling it will create lines in the glitter, while shaking it will give a smoother look.

Now you want to have a plastic baggie ready to catch the excess glitter. This is the bonus of this technique. You now have custom colored glitter you can use on other projects! (see pics 7 & 8) Let the ornament dry for a few minutes and replace the metal hanger. Your custom glitter ornament is done! These are so much fun and SO easy to make!

My notes: I put a baby wipe in the bottom of my votive holder before I turn the ornament over to drain out -- that way its a bit easier to clean up. Also, I was saving the excess glitter as shown in picture 8 but I discovered if I was going to create let's say a navy blue ornament I could use the dark glitter such as what is in pic 8 as it really made no diff in the look of the finished ornament. So if you are going to make alot of them I would start out with your pastels and move into the darker colors because if you have any excess glitter you can 'reuse/recycle' it ;o)

Ornaments are 50% off this week at Hobby Lobby -- so now is an awesome time to stock up on them - even if it's for next year!!

~TFL & Enjoy~