These easy DIY Christmas ornaments are definitely one of those projects every Cricut crafter needs to make at least once. Download our free Cricut cut files to get started.
I know a lot of you, myself included, have a love-hate relationship with glitter. It’s so sparkly and pretty but boy, it is messy!
But the beauty of these DIY Christmas ornaments is that once they’re finished, the glitter stays put. It can’t go anywhere because it’s stuck to the inside of the ornament! And, bonus! That leaves a nice smooth surface for you to add a vinyl decal on the outside and really customize your holiday ornaments.
This is a fairly easy Cricut project for beginners. The hardest part of the whole thing is getting the vinyl to lay flat on a curved ornament. But keep reading the instructions below and I’ll give you a few tips to make that easier.
After you see how easy it can be, this is sure to be one of your favorite Cricut vinyl projects.
Let’s get started!
If you would love to see some easy Cricut projects for Christmas that involves sewing, click on the picture below:
Easy Cricut Project for Christmas – Vinyl Glitter Ornaments
Supplies Needed:
- Plastic table cover (recommended)
- Clear Plastic Christmas ornaments
- Polyurethane or Polyacrylic
- Small disposable cups
- 2 small funnels (like spice funnels)
- Spoon
- Glitter
- Cricut cutting machine
- Self-adhesive vinyl
- Transfer tape
- Cricut weeding tool
- Scissors or paper cutter
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You will see instructions for this project using polyurethane and polyacrylic. Either way, make sure you get a gloss or satin finish instead of matte.
This is the one I used.
NOTE: After this project, your funnels and spoon will not be food safe. I keep a couple of spoons and funnels in my craft room that is only used for craft purposes now.
The first thing you’ll need to do is prep your ornaments for the layer of glitter coating the inside. Take the caps off your ornaments and set them off to the side so they don’t get sticky or covered in glitter.
Place one ornament on a plastic cup with the opening facing straight up.
Set the funnel in the opening and add a couple of spoonfuls of polyurethane.
You just need enough to coat the inside. But if you add a little extra that’s alright. You are going to let the extra drain out anyway.
Take out the funnel and start slowly turning the ornament and gradually flipping it upside down so that the polyurethane coats all sides, including the inside of the opening.
Let the extra polyurethane drain into the plastic cup while you move on to coating the next ones. I like to do them in small batches so I don’t have to waste as many cups.
Once the excess has drained out, you can pour it back into the can if there’s a lot.
Let’s start adding the glitter. Grab your second funnel and place it in the opening of the first one you filled earlier. You can also use a piece of paper rolled into a cone for this.
Pour glitter until you have a thick layer coating the bottom and extra loose glitter on top of that.
Slowly rotate the ornament the same way you did before to coat the inside in glitter.
Place the bulb upside down inside another cup to let the glitter set, and let any extra glitter fall out.
Once the glitter has had a bit of time to set, you can replace the caps. Fill all the ornaments you plan on making, so you can set them off to the side and move to the Cricut!
Open up design space and upload the SVG file. You’ll have to do a little planning and editing before you can cut through. So don’t just press “Make It” right away.
All the files will come in one size and color, so you’ll have to resize them based on what size ornaments you have. You’ll also want to take a minute to plan what color vinyl you’ll cut each one out of. You’ll want to have a good contrast between the color of the vinyl and the color of the glitter.
For size, you’ll want the larger dimension (height or width of the cut file) to be just a tad smaller than the diameter of the ornament it’s going on.
Once you’ve changed the size and color for each decal to what you need, go ahead and click “Make It”. Make sure to spread the cuts apart a little bit on the mat preview page so that you have room to cut them apart easily.
Now press continue and follow the cutting prompts for your machine.
Tip: Cut your vinyl to size before placing it on the mat to save material and preserve the stickiness of the rest of your mat.
Follow the machine’s prompts to cut out all your vinyl decals.
Once they’re cut, slowly remove the vinyl from the mat, being careful not to curl it. Use the scraper tool to help get it started if you need it.
Next, cut your vinyl so that each decal is on its own separate square. This makes it easier to weed without losing pieces or tearing your vinyl. Weed each decal.
Next, cover each weeded decal in Cricut Transfer Tape.
Rub the top with your scraper to make sure the vinyl is stuck to the tape well. Then remove the backing. (Don’t remove the backing until you’re ready to put that particular decal on an ornament.)
Since these ornaments are curved in all directions, laying the decal straight on the plastic is going to cause issues. The best way I have found to do it is to make cuts in the side (like this) that will allow you to fold the transfer tape over. You’re basically doing the same thing as sewing darts into a garment to give it a curve.
Line up the decal over the center of the ornament.
Press down in the middle to get that part secure.
Press up and out to attach the top of the decal
Next, press down and out to attach the bottom.
Never start at the outside and try to smooth inward. You will get bubbles and creases in your vinyl that will be very hard, if not impossible, to remove without just cutting out a new decal.
Now use your thumbs, or better yet, your scraper tool, to smooth things out the best you can.
You will definitely have wrinkles all over on the transfer tape, but you should be able to get the vinyl fairly smooth.
Now just peel off the transfer tape
Your easy Christmas glitter ornaments are ready!
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Find the webstory for the post here: Festive Fun: Glitter Christmas Ornaments
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So, you have learned how to make beautiful vinyl glitter ornaments with this easy Cricut project for Christmas. I have made them in the colors I like. You can change the text and the color of the glitter to make personalized ornaments for you and your loved ones.