Marbled Metallic Ornaments - 2017 Ornament Exchange

Christmas crafts

An easy tutorial to make marbled metallic ornaments! These sparkly, shimmery ornaments are a stunning Christmas gift idea!

Well hey there friends! I'm sure you're aware that Christmas is just over 5 weeks away. My DIY blogger friends and I have been hard at work coming up with ideas to inspire you! Welcome to the 2017 Ornament Exchange and Blog Hop!

Last year I didn't make too much for Christmas as we were just barely in our new home. This year, we're all settled and I'm making ornaments galore and creating a Christmas wonderland in our home!

I joined a fabulous group of DIY bloggers for an ornament gift exchange. We swapped names, shared a little about our tree decor and ornament 'wish list' with our partner, and made an ornament for each other with a budget of $15. Today we're sharing our creations with you!

My exchange partner was Michelle James who blogs at Our Crafty Mom. Michelle shared that she loves metallics...primarily copper, and blues on her tree.

So of course I wanted to incorporate all of Michelle's wish list into her ornament, and I think I accomplished that with this marbled metallic ornament!

Links to all the completed ornaments are below so you'll be able to hop over and visit each blogger and see her ornament tutorial...lots of inspiration for you!

Affiliate links are included for your convenience; my full disclosure policy can be found here.

SUPPLIES FOR METALLIC ORNAMENTS

clear glass ornaments (I chose the largest ones I could find for a big impact)
metallic paints in choice of colors (I used Dazzling Metallics by DecoArt in copper, teal and oyster pearl for Michelle's ornament)
rubbing alcohol
dropper
plastic cups
wide ribbon
craft vinyl to add a customized monogram (optional)
Silhouette or Cricut die-cut machine to cut vinyl

Before we get into the tutorial, let me tell you why I chose to use rubbing alcohol. Initially I wanted to make these ornaments with alcohol inks, but when I priced them they were just too expensive for the $15 budget and didn't come in the exact colors that I wanted to use.

I have made painted ornaments in the past, but found it difficult to get the paint to cover the entire ornament. A ton of paint was needed, and it took forever to dry! That's where the rubbing alcohol comes in... it thins the paint just enough to make coating the inside of the entire ornament with paint a breeze, even these jumbo ornaments! The bonus is you don't need to use as much paint...therefore they dry much more quickly.

These specific paints, Dazzling Metallics by DecoArt, are ideal for creating shimmery ornaments! They're made with the brightest metallic flakes available, perfect for that Christmas dazzle!

HOW TO MAKE MARBLED METALLIC ORNAMENTS

Here are some pretty pictures, and I'll share the details below.

STEP ONE

Decide on the paint colors you will use. I recommend 3 per ornament.

Holding the ornament at an angle, drizzle a line of paint into the ornament so that it runs down the side. Stop squeezing the bottle once the paint reaches the bottom.

Repeat this step for each color, alternating colors around the inside of the ornament. I drizzled 2-3 lines per color into each glass ornament.

Note: you won't be covering the entire ornament with paint, there will be plenty of "white space" which is fine because that's where the marbling action happens!

STEP TWO

Fill dropper with about 1/2 tsp of rubbing alcohol and squeeze into ornament.

STEP THREE

Cover open end of ornament with folded paper towel and shake ornament until surface is completely covered in paint.

STEP FOUR

Set ornament upside down (a plastic cup is perfect for this) so excess paint can drain out. Allow several hours.

STEP FIVE

After no more paint is dripping out of ornament, set it on its side.

Rotate the ornament every 30 minutes or so until it's completely dry. The colors will continue to blend and 'marble' as the ornament is drying. Rotating is important so that paint is not allowed to pool in any one spot and leave a dark blob!

Please note that drying time will vary depending on where you live! I'm in humid south Texas and it took about a week for the ornaments to completely dry out. Leave the cap off while it's drying!

Once the ornament is dry, add a pretty ribbon. I chose this wide wired fabric ribbon because it's so elegant looking. I ended up removing the wire because I preferred the flowy effect without the wire!

I love how soft and elegant this metallic ornament turned out with the soft blues and copper!

I love to personalize the items that I make as gifts...it just adds that extra something that lets the recipient know you were thinking specifically of them! I cut out a large 'J' (Michelle's last name is James) from craft vinyl using my Silhouette machine. I also added 2017 on the back of the ornament.

These marbled metallic ornaments are easy to make...they only looks difficult! The magical part is that no two ornaments look exactly the same; each one will marble in its own way.

marbled metallic ornaments | diy beautify

I made several metallic ornaments and plan to make a few more as gifts because they are just so pretty! I hope you try this tutorial!

And now I encourage you to visit the blog hop below! First, here are the 47 participating bloggers who created ornaments this year!

Meet the 2017 Ornament Exchange Hosts

Erlene ⋅ My Pinterventures Kim · Made In A Day Amanda · Domestically Creative

Shirley · Intelligent Domesticatons Michelle · Our Crafty Mom

Beverly · Across the Blvd. Christene · Key to Inspiration Pili ⋅ My Sweet Things

Nicki · Sweet Parrish Place Megan · C'mon Get Crafty

Hilary · Raising Fairies and Knights Emily · Two Purple Couches

Tina · One Crafty Mess Marie · The Inspiration Vault Debra · Shoppe No. 5

Trisha · Rosewood and Grace Jeanie · Create and Babble Katrin ⋅ Kreativ K

Terri · Christmas Tree Lane Maureen · Red Cottage Chronicles

Toni ⋅ Small Home Soul Ula ⋅ Lulu & Celeste Sue ⋅ A Purdy Little House

Pamela · Home On The Corner Lorelai ⋅ Life with Lorelai Cindy ⋅ DIY Beautify

Debbie ⋅ Tweak and Style Stephanie ⋅ Swoodson Says Chelc ⋅ Inside the Fox Den

Susan ⋅ Super Mom - No Cape! Molly ⋅ Just a Little Creativity

Roseann ⋅ This Autoimmune Life Angela ⋅ Simply Beautiful by Angela

Vicki and Jenn ⋅ 2 Bees in a Pod Joanne ⋅ Our Unschooling Journey

Tylynn ⋅ Bitterroot DIY Sam ⋅ Raggedity Bits Mary ⋅ The Boondocks Blog

Cyn ⋅ Creative Cynchronicity Dione ⋅ Clever Chameleon Quilting

Erica ⋅ Erica Ever After Chelsea ⋅ Love Paper Crafts Evija ⋅ From Evija with Love

Samantha ⋅ Little Bits of Home Hope ⋅ Hopes Crafty Niche Anne ⋅ Orange Bettie

Pam · P.S. I Love You Crafts

Find all 47 handmade ornament tutorials below and share yours too! Use Hashtag #2017OrnamentExchange so we can see your creations on social media.

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