Make Colorful Swirly Glass Christmas Ornaments

I have been making these swirly colorful glass ball ornaments for years. My tree is covered with them and they’re super easy to make and a great project for kids. For this project, all you need is some plain glass ball ornaments and acrylic paints that you can get from any craft store. I recommend using relatively fresh paints. I made some yesterday with some paints that were a couple of years old and they just don’t swirl as well. Here are the instructions:

1. Remove the top from the glass ball and put aside.

2. Choose the colors you’d like to use.

3. Starting with the first color, slowly squeeze in paint so that it runs down the side of the inside of the ball. Turn the ornament and squeeze another line of paint in at another spot. Continue until most of the surface of the inside is covered. You don’t want too much paint- there should only be about a dime sized pool of paint at the bottom when you’ve finished with all the colors you intend to use.

4. Rest the ornament on its side for approximately five minutes. (Place it to rest in the ornament box it came in, an egg carton or a paper cup for easy handling.) Rotate and tilt the ornament a quarter turn every five to ten minutes until the paint covers the entire inside of the ornament. Pour out excess paint. Then continue to rotate it every few hours over the next day. After several days, they will be completely dry. You can speed this up by using a blow dryer.

5. Replace the top and you’re ready to hang them!

Since Christmas is fast approaching, I have a couple of gift recommendations for you today as well:

I have recently become familiar with Klutz books and they are really great gifts. There are books that match just about any interest. I bought an awesome Klutz book for my niece this year that comes with paints and tracing sheets to create stained glass window clings- fun!

They are running special for 25% off your entire order through 12/16 with the coupon code HOLIDAY25 (one use per email address).

My son received Wild Planet Hyper Dash last year for Christmas and loves it. I like toys and games that will be fun for years and this one fits that bill perfectly. Not only is it fun, it also exercises both the brain and body. Amazon has it on sale right now for $11.99! That’s $18 off the regular price.