Glitter Bulbs

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Reported by Heidi Kingery

I know when I am trying to decide what to give to my family as gifts for the season I often try to find things that will cost me the least since there are so many of them! I come from a family of 7 and that doesn’t include aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends of the family, or my husband’s side! Whew! Sometimes I get overwhelmed just thinking of it! I have, however, found a fool proof gift that will be well accepted by anyone who receives it! They are the glitter bulb ornaments. Here is what you will need to do this project:



-Clear glass bulbs (mine are D&F Designs)
-Re-inkers (I use Stampin’ Up)
-Silver ultrafine glitter
-ribbon
-baby food jar or small cup to catch the excess ink


I purchased my bulbs when they were on sale for ½ off last year. They are D&F Designs brand from Hobby Lobby and they come in a pack of 12. They have several different sizes and shapes (snowflakes, santas, etc..) but I would suggest NOT getting the bulbs that have the iridescent cast to them. They do not turn out well in the end and with the glitter you put in the clear bulbs you will get an iridescent cast all on your own.


The first thing you need to do is remove the cap off of the bulb. Lay it to the side, but don’t lose it! {grin} Use whatever re-inker you choose and drop 17-20 drops into the bulb. If you use a brand other than Stampin’ Up, the consistency might be different and you could possibly need more or less in your bulbs. Just play around until you figure out the best way for you.



The next step is to swirl the ink around in the bulb until you cover the entire inside. I do mine in a swirl pattern from the top to the bottom. This could take a little while if you use less re-inker in your bulb. The process could go quite quickly if you were to put several more drops in than suggested but then you will have several baby food jars full of different re-inkers lying around. Once again, do what works best for you.




The third step is to turn your bulb over onto a baby food jar or small cup to let the excess run out. I would let this sit for at least 10 minutes. I have had to leave mine for 45 minutes before and the glitter still sticks just fine in the next step. I suggest to leave it for at least 10 minutes because if you get spot in the bulb where the excess ink hasn’t got to run out to the bottom then you will get ‘gloppy’ ink and glitter spots on your ornament and those aren’t very attractive.




Once you have let your bulb sit for a while upside down, this next step is very important. Take a paper towel or tissue and while leaving the bulb upside down, wipe the excess ink off of the lip. Because of the way that most of these ornaments are made, there is a lip on the spot where the top goes on. When you have it turned over, some of the ink will gather there and if you don’t be sure to wipe all of it out then when you turn it over to put the glitter in, all of that ink will run back down inside of the bulb.



Step five is to put you glitter in and shake. I use Poly Flake brand glitter which has a small opening on the top that makes it easy to pour into the bulb. If you use another brand then all you need to do is pour your glitter on a sheet of scrap of computer paper and pour it in that way. Each bulb uses approximately 1 teaspoon of glitter. If there is excess then you can keep it to use on the next bulb.




Final step is to put the top back on and tie on a pretty ribbon! The cost for this project is very low for something handmade. The bulbs on sale are $2 for 12. The glitter which should do one box of 12 is $1.47. The dye re-inkers are probably something you already have in your stash but if not, $2.50 or so depending on brand. The re-inkers can be used for a loooong time without having to be replaced also. The ribbon can used to tie onto all of the bulbs at around $2.00 a roll. And there you have it. Less than $8 to make 12 beautiful ornaments from the heart. I have also in the past used metal 3D stickers to accent the bulbs and make them more manly. I have made black bulbs, placed a Harley-Davidson embellishment on the front and made those for the men in the family. Woven number stickers are also perfect for those who love NASCAR or for teens with jersey numbers! There are so many beautiful ways these can be done! Oh, and one more thing. If you mess up, just rinse them out with water, let them dry, and try again! If you'd like to see some more examples you can try this link to the trim the tree section on Splitcoast Stampers! You can try keywords re-inker, reinker, glitter, and bulbs.