DIY: Christmas Tree Ornaments

Sometimes, when you use crafting items differently than their intended purpose, the result is something unexpectedly beautiful. Embossing powder is generally used for card making and heated after applied to give it a nice glossy look. I liked the fine particle sparkle of the power and used it in this DIY Christmas tree ornament.  Due to its painted pattern, this project is a little more difficult than most of my previous DIY ornaments. However, don’t let the difficulty of it intimidate you as try to create your own easy pattern.
​
For this project I used:
1 green ornament
Metallic Silver acrylic craft paint
Silver embossing powder
Peridot 12ss rhinestones
Paint brush
Wax tipped tool or tweezers
 

​How to Make a Christmas Tree ornament
 
Pick out a design you wish to paint on the ornament. It may be useful if you can find a template or pattern to copy.
 
Using the metallic silver paint, paint your design on the ornament once section at a time. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the embossing powder over the painted areas. Brush off the excess powder. 

Continue painting and sprinkling embossing power until your design is complete. If possible, hang you ornament to dry.
 
Generally, embossing powder is heated to produce a glossing look. However, I left the power unheated as I liked the grainy look on the shiny ornament. 

​Gluing Rhinestones to the Ornament
 
Next, I glue Peridot 12ss rhinestones within my design to add extra sparkle. Either E6000 or Gem Tac works well for this project. Because I could use slightly less adhesive and because of the strong bond, I chose to use E6000.  Gem Tac tends to leave glue marks once it dries on the ornament.
 
Use a toothpick to apply E6000 to the ornament. Then using a wax tipped tool or tweezers, pick up a rhinestone and gently press it into the glue. Keep on gluing rhinestones, accentuating the painted/embossed areas. Allow to dry for 24 hours.

Need rhinestones to get started making your own sparkly ornaments? Rhinestones Etc. has a large selection of rhinestones and competitive prices!