Glitter is one of the most versatile crafting materials ever. Adding it to home décor projects, beauty DIYs and holiday decorations is a fun way to make your projects extra beautiful and eye-catching. Cleanup might be a bit of a pain, but the end results are so worth it. If you’re looking for some DIY glitter project inspiration, check out 8 fun crafts you can make below!
1. DIY Glitter Soap
Making your own soap is super easy when you use Melt & Pour Soap base. Glitter can be added to any soap recipe for an extra fun end result. A little glitter goes a long way in soap. Anywhere from 1-4 micro scoops of glitter per pound of soap base is usually all you need. Just add the glitter to the melted soap base and stir before pouring into your mold.
Glitter can be added at any point in the recipe after the soap is melted. If you need to throw your melted soap base back in the microwave to re-melt it, the glitter will be fine in there (as long as it's plastic glitter).
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2. Glittery Wax Melts
Wax melts are also incredibly easy to make. Whether you make wax melts in a mold or use a clamshell tart container, wax melts make perfect gifts. If you sell candles, wax melts are also a perfect way for your customers to try more of your fragrances.
Using candle dye chips is a great way to add color to your wax melts, but throwing dusting a little glitter into your recipe will make your wax melts even more eye-catching. Glitter can be added to any wax melt recipe. Simply sprinkle it into your melted wax and stir before pouring it into your mold.
Tip: Depending on your process, you can add glitter to your melting pot or to your pouring pitcher. We have found that glitter is easier to clean out of a pouring pitcher, so we recommend putting melted wax into a pitcher before and then stirring in the glitter.
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3. Shimmering Candle Votives
Candle votives tend to be pretty plain looking. That’s fine if you’re going for a minimalistic look, but sometimes you want your candles to stand out more. Glitter is the perfect way to do that! There are countless ways to decorate candle votives with glitter, so let your imagination run wild.
One of the easiest ways to apply glitter to a votive is to paint the container with basic white glue or Mod Podge. While the glue is still wet, roll the jar in glitter or sprinkle glitter onto the surface. Tap the jar to remove any excess glitter. You can reuse excess glitter that isn’t coated in glue. Simply scoop the clean glitter back into your container.
Glitter looks beautiful on clear glass jars, but we also love the look of glitter on our plastic tealight votives and 4 oz votive cups. Experiment with different designs to create beautiful votives that are one-of-a-kind!
4. DIY Glitter Ornaments
Grab a set of clear glass Christmas ornaments from the craft store and get ready to make some beautiful shiny baubles for your tree! You’ll need some glitter and acrylic paint, as well as a small funnel and a few small disposable cups or an egg carton for letting your ornaments dry.
To start, pour a little acrylic paint into a plastic dish, then add a bit of glitter to the paint and stir. With a small funnel, pour the mixture inside one of your glass ornaments and rotate the ornament around to make the paint coat the inside of the ball. Let the ornaments dry upside down by placing them in an egg carton or over a disposable cup.
Experiment with using different colors of paint and glitter to create a marbled effect. You can also mix your glitter with glue or paint that dries clear so that the glitter is all you can see in the ornament. The possibilities are endless!
5. Glam Nail Polish
Glitter nail polish is beautiful, but it can also be a bit more expensive than other types of polish. Thankfully, it’s easy to make your own with some basic clear nail polish! All you need is a bottle of clear nail polish, some glitter, a tooth pick for stirring, and a small funnel. You can make your own funnel by rolling a small piece of paper into a cone.
Simply pour your desired amount of glitter into the nail polish bottle and stir with a tooth pick. Replace the lid and shake vigorously to help the glitter combine. Be sure to stir the bottle each time you use it, as the glitter may sink to the bottom.
6. DIY Glitter Glue
Glitter can be applied to almost anything that you want to make shiny. The easiest way is usually to dust glitter over white glue that you have painted onto a surface, but sometimes it works better to use glitter glue.
You can of course buy glitter glue that’s ready to use, but it’s just as easy to make your own. All you need is white or clear school glue and glitter. Glitter glue can be stored in a jar, or you can use a small squeeze bottle with a fine tip – similar to the squeeze bottles that you buy fabric paint in.
To make glitter glue, simply mix one part glitter with two parts glue. Stir it to combine, and then it’s ready to use! Depending on how it’s stored, glitter glue can dry out somewhat quickly. It’s best to only mix a small amount at a time so you can use it before it dries out.
7. Glittery Office Décor
Are you surrounded by boring office supplies? Use some glitter to make your workspace more interesting! Glitter can be added to just about anything to make your office unique. There are tons of ways to dress up your supplies, but here are just a few:
- Paint glue around the rim of your pen jar and roll it in glitter.
- Paint the tops of your thumb tacks with glue and dust them with glitter.
- Apply glitter to picture frames or the frame of a cork board with some glue.
- Make your pens shiny by dipping the ends in glue and coating them in glitter.
8. Sparkly Gift Bags
If you love making glittery DIY projects for your friends and family, it’s also fun to decorate your gift wrap with glitter! Glitter looks beautiful painted onto plain kraft paper gift bags. You can also apply glitter to wrapping paper by painting designs with glue and dusting glitter over the surface.
To avoid losing glitter from the paper, try wrapping your presents first and then painting on the glitter details. Just be sure to avoid using too much glue, which may soak into the paper and potentially stick to the gift inside.
Do you make soap? Glitter also looks great painted onto a white or kraft paper soap box! Glam up a plain paper soap box by painting designs with glitter.
Tips for Making Glitter Projects
Most glitter projects require that you use glue of some sort to make the glitter stick to your surface. Basic white glue works well, but you can also use products like Mod Podge. For measuring glitter, we love using a micro scoop. This tiny scoop is the perfect size for scooping out a small amount of glitter.
If you’ve ever opened a jar of glitter, you know just how easily it can spread around and stick to everything! To make cleanup easier, always lay down a sheet of paper to cover your workspace. Not only does this make it easier to clean up the mess, it also allows you to save excess glitter that may fall off your project.
When you’re done, simply fold the paper in half to create a V and shake the clean glitter back into the jar. If any of the glitter is dirty or covered in glue, try to remove it from the paper before putting the glitter back in the jar.