Tutorial Tuesday – Glass Ball Ornaments

by pirategirlbob on December 17, 2013

Welcome to another Tutorial Tuesday! Today, Lisa shows us an awesomely easy way to decorate some plain glass Christmas ornaments.

You Need :

Clear glass bulb-style Christmas ornaments
Acrylic paint in a variety of colors (metallics and pearls give the best results, but plain colors work well, too.)
A disposable cup (see note)
Gold or silver thread
Glitter glue (optional)
Rhinestones (optional)

Note: A 3-ounce paper cup (like the kind you’d have in the bathroom for brushing your teeth) or a 5-ounce cup work best for this project. The cup’s purpose is to hold the ornament upside-down so the excess paint can drain and the ornament can dry. If you don’t have either of those, an 8-ounce paper cup can be modified to work – just push the lip of the cup down in two places (on opposite sides) so the ornament sits on it. The 12-ounce plastic cup I used for this tutorial is not ideal, but I made it work by pushing the sides down and taping them.

1. Grasp the metal top firmly and pull off. Set the top aside.

2. Select your first color and pour a bit into the bulb.

3. Turn the ball a bit and pour some of your second color in.

4. Add more paint and rotate the ball to spread it. Note the overlapping layers.

5. Add more colors, if desired, and continue rotating the ball until the entire inside is covered.

If you wish to have a more blended look, you can rinse some of the paint out of the ball at this point and add a darker color behind.

If you don’t like your results at any point in the process (before the paint starts to dry), you can wash the ball out with soap and water, let dry, and try again.

6. When you’re done, upend the ornament into the cup, letting the excess paint drain. Let dry.