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Home » Holidays » Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments: Paint Swirl Ornament

November 15, 2018

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments: Paint Swirl Ornament

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Make your own Christmas ornaments with this easy paint swirl technique.

If you’re looking for more DIY ornaments, be sure to check out this post with all of my Christmas ornaments to make.

easy painted ornaments

This post contains affiliate links. By purchasing an item through an affiliate link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

These ornaments are easy enough for kids to help with and would make great gifts from the kids to family members.

These paint swirl ornaments are even easier to make than my hand-painted floral ornaments!

There’s just something about Christmas that makes me feel crafty. I love making my own ornaments.

Best of all, they use a lot of your craft paint stash that you’ve been hoarding for years.

Yeah, I know that I’m not the only one who buys 32 bottles of aqua craft paint because I don’t have that exact shade at home. 

If you like this technique, you will LOVE my easy DIY alcohol ink ornaments!

Tips for Making Paint Swirl Ornaments

  • If your paint is too thick, you can add water to make it move easier. It will dry more translucent though. You could also try paint pouring medium, but it will extend the drying time significantly. 
  • It works best if your paint is fresh though. It’s a good thing that craft paint is so affordable!
  • The color mixtures look best if they are related (for instance, pinks and reds.) But I also love the contrast of different colors. Be aware of color theory to avoid making the colors mixing to make brown (ie: avoid red and green.)
  • The paint swirl ornaments take a couple of days to dry. Your dry time may vary due to humidity and temperature. 
  • Craft acrylic paint works best of this process because artist acrylics are way too thick. 

See how I used this method to make fun galaxy ornaments!

Paint Swirl Ornament FAQs

Can You Use This Technique to Make Solid Colored Ornaments?

Yes, you can make solid-colored ornaments using this technique. Just pour more of one color into the ornament and swirl it around until it’s covered.

Can You Use Iridescent Ornaments?

Yes, you can use iridescent ornaments with this technique. The colors will be a little different, but it gives the ornaments a magical look!

Can You Use Glitter?

You can use glitter to make paint swirl ornaments. Be sure to read this post to make sure the glitter sticks to the ornament!

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments: Paint Swirl Ornament

Supplies Needed

  • Clear plastic ornaments*
  • Acrylic Craft Paint
  • Paper cups
  • Baker’s twine

*You can use the glass version if you want. I prefer plastic because my kids still break things and so does my crazy dog. 

Read about more glass ornament options here.

DIY Ornament Prep Work

  1. Protect your work space. This process can be pretty messy.

    I used brown craft paper from a package that I received in the mail, but I also like to use freezer paper to protect my desk. 
    Protect your desk with craft paper
  2. Remove the tops from the ornaments and set them aside.

    Just squeeze the ring at the top to make the hooks compress for easy removal. 
    Remove tops from ornaments

Painting the Ornaments

  1. Start pouring your paint inside the ornament. I started with white.
    Pour paint inside ornaments
  2. Then add other colors. Some ornaments were monochromatic using only shades of pink or red. Others used mixed color palettes. 
    Pour other colors into ornaments
  3. Roll the ornament around in your hands to move the paint until the whole thing is covered. 
    Move ornament around to cover insides
  4. Turn upside down in a cup to let the excess paint pour out. Letting the ornaments dry in disposable cups make clean up easy!
    make your own Christmas ornaments

Finishing the Paint Swirl Ornaments

  1. Let dry for 1-2 days.
    Christmas ornaments in paper cups to let the paint pour out
  2. Replace the tops on the ornaments. If it scratches the paint, the rim of the topper hides it pretty well. 
    Make your own Christmas ornaments
  3. Make ornament hangers with bakers twine.

    You can also use metal ornament hooks or ribbon, but I like the contrast of the black and white string with the colorful ornaments. 
    Swirl ornaments with bakers twine hangers

Looking for a way to make these ornaments even better? Why not try adding gold leaf to ornaments?

paint swirl ornaments in bowl

DIY Christmas Decorations

Easy to make Christmas decorations for your home.

Fun Ways to Fill Clear Christmas Ornaments

Easy ways to fill clear ornaments

How to Make DIY Gold Leaf Ornaments

Gold Leaf Ornaments

How to Make Alcohol Ink Ornaments

Alcohol ink ornaments

DIY Decoupage Wood Ornaments for Christmas

Wooden decoupage ornaments

Easy Floral Hand Painted Christmas Ornaments

Hand painted floral ornaments

How to Make a DIY Ornament Wreath

Simple ornament wreath

DIY Retro Christmas Wreath with Tinsel and Ornaments

Tinsel and ornament wreath

DIY Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial

Easy tree skirt sewing tutorial

DIY Flocked Christmas Tree: Saving a Yellowed White Christmas Tree

How to flock a white Christmas tree

How to Make DIY Bottle Brush Trees

Colorful bottle brush trees

Christmas Stocking Tutorial for Non-Perfectionists

Christmas stocking sewing tutorial

Learn How to Make Stocking Name Tags with Chalk Markers

Stocking name tags

The Cutest Wooden House DIY Stocking Holder!

Wooden house stocking holder

How to Make a Boho DIY Wreath with Agate Slices

Agate slice wreath

Make Your Own Holiday Gift Tags!

DIY gift tags with washi tape

Gift Card Holder Template - Free Printable Template

Gift card envelope template

Printable Snowflake Gift Tags for Presents

Printable snowflake gift tags

Looking for more Christmas posts?

  • Table Runner               
  • DIY Stockings             
  • Printable Gift Tags     
  • Floral Ornaments 
  • Agate Wreath
  • Easy Ways to Fill Clear Ornaments
  • DIY Glitter Ornaments
  • Monogram Ornaments

Pin for Later!

paint swirl ornaments
paint pour ornaments collage
Emy Flint

Emy is a vintage obsessed mama of 2 DIYer who loves sharing affordable solutions for common home problems. You don’t need a giant budget to create a lovely home. Read more…

« How to Make a Table Runner: The Easy Way!
Best Friend Gifts: Gifts for Cold People »

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: christmas, paint

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Comments

  1. Suzee says

    September 07, 2022 at 9:22 pm

    Hi, I love this page, so easy to do and good tips for drying in a cup.
    I would love to try this for a christmas craft night with children. Do you think it would work using liquid tempera paint? Have you tried it? My only hesitation with craft paint is that it does stain clothes if it isn’t washed right away.

    Thanks, Suzeelili

    Reply
    • Emy Flint says

      September 08, 2022 at 10:50 am

      Hi Suzee,
      Tempera paint dries in a similar manner to acrylic craft paint, so it’s worth trying it out beforehand. I’ve never tried it, so I can’t vouch for it though.

      Reply

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