How to Make a Glittery Christmas Tree Ornament

When it comes to decorating my Christmas tree I like to change it a little bit each year by adding something new. This year I wanted to add more family, especially of my daughters.  My oldest won’t be home for Christmas this year – a first for her and us. She is far away in Africa with the Peace Corps.  To make her presence felt I decided to add some more photos of her and the rest of us to the tree this year.  I want the tree to be a reflection of who we are as a family. Ornaments that show our interests and each family member in photos taken all through the years. I call it wrapping the tree with love.

Whenever I make decorations for my home for the holidays it always has to include a bit of glitter or something sparkly.  To me glitter makes anything look so much more festive and in the holiday spirit.  You may remember my ornament bowl from last year which involved a bit of the stuff, too. So it should be of no surprise that glitter is involved in these photo ornaments that I am making by re-purposing. I love to find new decorative uses for things – like these slide mounts that you can find at your local camera store very inexpensively.

Materials Needed:

Carefully open the slide

Spray it with spray paint

While the paint is wet – pile on the glitter -then shake it off

Add a favorite photo cut to 1  1/2″ x  1  3/8″, glue, and close the slide.

Add glue and glitter to the back

Use an awl to make 2 holes

Add a pretty dangle from the bottom hole and an ornament wire with a bead strung from the top hole

Prest0 – Chango 

 You have a sparkly personalized ornament to catch the light on your tree.

Instructions for making a dangle are at the end of this post.  Be imaginative and add your style to each ornament you make. Try jingle bells and pinecones.  Or use the two existing holes to tie ribbon or twine to hang. I used textured spray paint on the brown one below instead of glitter for a more rustic look.

Shank style buttons work well also – on the top and bottom.

Christmas Tree Ornaments to make

This one is my favorite. I didn’t add glitter to the back, I used two photos.  On the front is my hubby as a baby – turn it around and there he is all grown up.  Makes me smile.

To make a beaded dangle:

Add a bead or two to a jewelry making end-pin that you can buy at the craft store.  Using needle nose pliers bend the wire as shown. I like to use the wrapped loop.  Once you have that done, put it on a jump ring and attach to the bottom of the slide.

On some of my slides the glitter didn’t completely cover the two existing holes on the top of the slide. I had to go back with a dab of glue and more glitter to make sure they were covered.

Do you like to see your families photos on your tree smiling back at you?

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Tagged as: DIY Ornaments, Glitter, Handmade Holidays, Holiday Craft Ideas, Holiday Decoratiing Ideas