Learn how to make floating ornaments the easy way! Make floating ornaments in whatever design you want!
My kids excitedly open the box of Christmas tree decorations every year. Their hands fight with each other as they race to pull out their ornaments. They have a whole box of their own ornaments.
When the kids were young, we started a Christmas tradition of getting each of them an ornament that represented their life that year.
I would wait until the end of the year and find a Hallmark ornament that embodied something they loved that year and wrote the year on the box.
It warms my heart every year as I watch them open the boxes and reminisce about what they were into. There were a lot of different Disney princesses, Scooby Doo, Sponge Bob, Star Wars, etc…
As they started getting older, it started getting harder since they were into such specific things and honestly I didn’t want to spend the money anymore on something I could make.
So, last year, I decided to make each of them a DIY floating ornament and they came out super cute!
Floating ornaments are super easy and cheap to make. If you want a little more glitter, check out my post here on how to make glitter ornaments. You can personalize those any way you’d like also!
Materials for DIY Floating Christmas Ornament
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and/or Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text).
- large clear ornaments – I got mine at the Dollar Tree but Walmart also has them sometimes (they’re about 4 inches big and plastic)
- Transparency Film – I used this one (click here) that I had leftover from another project
- Cricut or other cutting machine and vinyl. If you don’t have one, you could just print an image on the transparency film. Just make sure to print on the rough side. Click here for my post about when I printed on it!
Designing a Floating Ornament in CDS
Measure your ornament. Mine was 4 inches wide so I cut out a circle that was 3.75 of the transparency paper. It just needs to fit inside so take off about 1/4 inch of the total diameter.
If you are using vinyl, design your image in and then cut it out of the vinyl. Or you can print on the transparency film. The image won’t be as vibrant but it will still work.
This is what my screen looked like. I placed a 3.75 inch circle behind my designs so I could tell how big to make them.
How to Make Floating Ornaments
- Cut out the vinyl and apply them to the round transparency film with transfer tape/paper.
- Roll it up like a taco and stick it inside the top of the ornament. It will unroll once it’s inside!
- You can add some sparkly confetti, snow or stars or anything you’d like to the bottom of the DIY Christmas ornament ball. Add a little on each side of the transparency film to keep it in place.
- Put the top back on and there you have it!!
Easy peasy, right?? Now your recipient will have their own personalized ornament to enjoy for years to come! Here are my final products!
As you can tell, it’s best to use dark colors. The gray does not show up as well! Live and learn, right??!!
I’m still debating on what design to do for this year for their DIY Christmas ornament. **Update** I made easy wood slice ornaments.
If you like glitter, make sure to check out how to make personalized glitter ornaments here!
And if you need more inspiration, make sure to check out my roundup of over 150 DIY Christmas Ornaments to make from around the web.
If you’d like to save this post for later, simply hover over the image below and PIN It now!
Thanks for checking out my blog! Have a great day!
