Christmas Ornament DIY Gift That Is A Gorgeous Personalized Keepsake

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I wanted to make some very special Christmas ornaments for the special people in my life for quite sometime. I wanted to give something that was personalized and represented a bit of who they are and something that would look gorgeous on the Christmas tree as well as be a keepsake for a very long time. I also wanted it to be quite inexpensive and easy to make.

Inspiration struck when my daughter was one of the bridesmaids in her best friend’s wedding last December. The thank you gift to all of the guests was a clear glass Christmas ornament that was also used for decorations on the dinner tables. The ornament was filled with a bit of German glass crystal, some glass beads and the initials of the bride and groom. It was based on this idea that I made my own less expensive variation.
This is the one I made for my daughter Brittany. It includes her name, birthdate and the red beads and stars represent her ruby birthstone.
Instead of buying glass beads I went to the dollar store and bought bracelets that were made with different kinds of beads including the colour red.


I filled the clear glass ornament about 1/3 full with some Epsom salts.
Then I cut the bracelets apart and had a lovely collection of different kinds of pretty beads. I plopped an assortment on top of the Epson salts.
I also bought small red star confetti and added some to the mix. I truly just eyeballed how much to add. But keep in mind you don’t want the ornament to get too heavy or too busy looking. Sometimes less is more.
The last thing I did was make a label for my daughter’s name and a second one for her birthday. I used a label maker and glued the labels on both sides of a strip of glitter washi tape. This is so if the strip turns over the name and birthdate are always visible. I ‘laminated’ the strips by covering them with clear scotch tape. The blue strip you see was made for another ornament.
The variations and possibilities are endless for how you can decorate the inside of clear glass ornaments to make them very special gorgeous personalized keepsakes for the special people in your life.


I made this one for a young boy that is very dear to me using a pretty blue and gold colour scheme.


For more details and embellishment and colour scheme ideas I invite you to visit the blog. It has a link to the photograph showing the gorgeous wedding keepsake that originally gave me the inspiration.
Time With Thea
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  • Pat Sinner Dickey Pat Sinner Dickey on Nov 02, 2017

    Im going to try this but am wondering what if i mix salt w snow? Also what do u recomnd for those of us who d have a sticker maker? Btw, ur ornament is beautiful/breathtaking. I just love it. Thank you so much for sharing such an easy affordable decoration.

  • Debbie Debbie on Dec 03, 2018

    Is it all loose in the bulb? If so, does it look like the picture when it has been shaken? It is very beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

  • Wab68721032 Wab68721032 on Nov 30, 2022

    Why not use artificial snow? Lighter than Epson salts.

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  • Sue Sue on Feb 22, 2019

    I do a similar thing for my grandkids except I place messages of memorable moments from the year

  • Sue Leep Assink Sue Leep Assink on Apr 21, 2020

    I have done this with a wedding invite cut in strips and rolled around a pencil, everyone loves them .

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