Christmas in November #23--Glittered Ornaments

Supplies

Today's project is Glittered Ornaments. I have tried to do this project on so many difference occasions across the years but I just couldn't tweak it just the right way. I have scoured the Internet to try different methods but just couldn't get the glitter coverage that I was seeking. Either I was using the wrong gluing method/product or the wrong glitter.

So as I was preparing for this series, I decided to try again. I had tried ModPodge, Mop-n-Glo, Future floor polish, PVA, Methyl Cellulose and Elmer's glue. I then came across the product Glitter-It and decided to try it.

Supplies Needed
Glass and/or Plastic Ornaments (I used one of each)
Ultra-Fine Glitter (I used WOW glitter, on sale at Target)
Glitter-It product
Drinking Straw (cut one end on the diagonal)
Dixie Cups to hold your ornaments/excess
Newspaper to plastic to cover your surface
Wax Paper cone (optional)
White Vinegar/Water solution (I used 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water)
Latex craft gloves

Assembly
Rinse the inside of your ornaments with the vinegar-water solution and let dry. I don't know how necessary this step is but the product instructions said to do it and I wanted this to work.

Cover your surface with newspaper and/or plastic.

Use two Dixie Cups for each ornament.

Remove the spring loaded tops and and set them aside.

Pour the product into one ornament and swirl. Work in a rotating fashion and take your time to get an even coverage. Place upside down in one Dixie Cup.

Take the second ornament and repeat the above process. Take the first ornament off of the "draining" Dixie Cup and place it upright in a second clean Dixie Cup. Take the second ornament and place it upside down in the "draining" Dixie Cup. The instructions say to let each ornament cure for 20-30 seconds before adding glitter. By the time you get a second ornament ready with the product the first ornament will be ready for glitter.

Returning to the first ornament in upright position, put glitter in this ornament. I used the drinking straw because it allows more control but feel free to used a wax paper cone. Keep in mind, depending on how much glitter you use some of it will clump up due to the amount of liquid still in the ornament. Once you get a feel for the correct amount, you won't waste too much glitter. Swirl the glitter in a rotating fashion to cover the ornament. It is easy to add glitter to bald areas by using the straw to place glitter directly where you need it.

Place this ornament upside down in a third Dixie Cup. This will be your "glittering" cup. Return to the second ornament and place it upright in the second Dixie Cup. Return any liquid product in the "draining" cup to the product squeeze bottle.

Take the first ornament from the "glitter" cup and place it upright in the fourth Dixie Cup. Take the second ornament and place it upright on the "glitter" cup. Put glitter in the second ornament and rotate until satisfied. Turn this ornament upside down so the excess glitter drains into the "glitter" cup. Once the excess is removed, place it upright in the second Dixie Cup that should be clean.

When you are finished with one set, you should have the "draining" cup, the "glitter" cup, a dry cup with the upright ornament one, and a dry cup with the  upright ornament two. Toss away any remaining glitter in the "glitter" cup because you probably won't be able to use it again.

Glass Ornament

Plastic Ornament

NOTES
I found this product to be amazingly useful. I had no problems with the coverage and the adherence of the glitter. I purposely used a low-budget glitter because I didn't want to waste my good glitter should this project not work. This glitter worked fine with this product.

The product worked well on both the glass and plastic ornament, much to my surprise. There were no discernible differences between the two results.

I will next try on some of the off-shaped ornaments that I have to see how these directions work. I have hearts and boxes to try and will report back.

Be care when working with glitter with children because the glass glitter can be very harmful if it gets into cuts, etc. Also, be careful when handling the glass ornaments once the spring loaded tops have been removed. I was very happy to report that the edges has been rounded and were not sharp to the touch. Because of this, I felt comfortable placing a finger over the opening and shaking the glitter. In past years, I have actually cut my fingers on the sharp edges (which was one of the reasons why I switched to plastic ornaments).

I found it very helpful to use latex gloves when working with this glitter project. I seem to have kept the glitter monsters at bay but only time will tell how truly successful I was.