DIY Ombre Tree Ornaments

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DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

When I was little, my family’s Christmas tree was a mish mash of every ornament we had ever made in school, all of the one-off ornaments we had been given over the years, a little of this and a little of that. One year my mom wanted to change it to a “themed” tree, and my sister and I just about lost our minds. I didn’t care about the new theme or the color palette or whatever, I wanted the macaroni ornaments I made in kindergarten. Flash forward to now and one of my favorite things in the world is a themed tree. I was so pumped when I found out the Michaels Makers December challenge was to create a dream tree, because I could do something I had always wanted to try — a modern, ombre tree.

A couple of weeks ago I featured a few sneak peeks of the whole tree, but I wanted to share the how-to as well! Painting these clear glass ornaments isn’t anything new; we’ve done that before. But this time around I found a few tricky tricks to make it a piece of cake. Here’s how.

Materials

  • clear glass ornaments in various sizes — the more the better!
  • an array of craft paint in an ombre color palette (6 or 7 colors will work well)
  • water
  • funnel
  • disposable cups
  • small stir sticks or paintbrushes

Make Time: 2 Hours (plus drying time)

Take all of the metal tops off of the clear glass ornaments. Organize your paint into the color order that you’d like, and decide how many of each size you’d like to paint the various colors.

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

Squeeze some paint into a plastic cup. Add a few drops of water and mix until the paint is just slightly runny. You’re looking for a consistency that will allow the paint to move easily, but not become diluted or prohibit it from drying. Adding just a few drops at a time will help you find the right consistency without adding too much and having to start over.

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

Once the paint and water are thoroughly mixed, use a funnel to pour a small amount into one of the glass balls. Swirl the ornament around until the inside is entirely covered.

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

This next part is crucial — allow the ornament to drain as much as possible, and then dry with the metal top off and the hole in the ornament unobstructed. The paint needs plenty of air to dry and cure. If you see the paint settling and draining off of certain parts of the ball, give it another swirl and set it back to dry again.

Once your ornaments are all painted and dried, add the metal tops and an ornament hanger to each. Put them on your tree in an ombre arrangement from top to bottom, and add other fun pieces in a similar color palette to reinforce the color changes. Ta-daaa!

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

If you haven’t seen all the rest of the Michaels Dream Trees, you can check them out here — it’s so fun to see all of the different styles and so much creativity. And if you see any you love (or if you want to share your own tree!) get your social media on with the hashtag #TagATree. I’d love to see your own Christmas tree once you get it all up and decorated. Tree party haaaaayyyy! xoxo

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

DIY Painted Ombre Christmas Tree Ornaments

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13 Comments

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  2. Oh, I love your ombre tree. I would never have thought of that but it is simply brilliant! Lovely colours.

  3. Although beautiful – beware…..my tween girls love ombre and we love to craft. Painting glass ornaments seemed perfect for a new tree theme. These ornaments are deceptively difficult and time consuming to paint. And although our tree looked exactly like the picture…..possibly even a little better the first day…..by the end of the first week many ornaments had paint pooling in the bottom. We gave plenty of dry time and they felt dry to the touch. I think gravity and evaporation from the mixed in water just don’t mix once they hang on the tree for a while. I’m still glad we conquered this project, just wish it would have lasted for a few years.

    1. Hi Kris! Sorry to hear the project didn’t work out for you! It may have been the water-to-paint ratio (perhaps I should have measured specifically for the instructions), the amount of draining for each ornament, or the dry time. They do take a good few days to dry and cure. In any case, I hope you enjoyed putting it together and I’m sorry for the difficulties!

  4. Pingback: How to Decorate a Christmas Tree in Ombre – DAVID RAUDALES