Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments: Paint Swirl Ornament

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

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

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.

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.
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 and making 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.

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments: Paint Swirl Ornament

Supplies Needed

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

DIY Ornament Prep Work

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.
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.

Painting the Ornaments

Start pouring your paint inside the ornament. I started with white.
Then I added other colors. Some ornaments were monochromatic using only shades of pink or red. Others used mixed color palettes.
Roll the ornament around in your hands to move the paint until the whole thing is covered.
Turn upside down in a cup to let the excess paint pour out. The disposable cups make clean up easy!

Finishing the Paint Swirl Ornaments

Let dry for 1-2 days.
Replace the tops on the ornaments. If it scratches the paint, the rim of the topper hides it pretty well.
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.