I LOVE the trend of clear ornaments that you can fill and embellish yourself. There are so many ways to personalize them! These are some of my favorite ways to fill clear ornaments with recycled and found objects.
With all of the cute ideas for decorating clear ornaments out there, though, it can sometimes be tricky to choose only the ones that are eco-friendly. No poly fiberfill or fake snow or vinyl cut-outs for us!
If you’re into clear ornaments as much as I am, then, you’ll like this list that I’ve compiled of ONLY eco-friendly ways to fill and decorate them. Browse your way through, and know that no matter which tutorial you pick, it’ll be a great green choice!
1. alcohol ink. Use my tute for making your own alcohol ink from dried-out markers.
2. broken CDs. Turn that scratched CD into a beautiful mosaic ornament!
3. burned-out Christmas lights. It’s the message on it that makes it a cute gift to give to a partner.
4. candy canes. I think that any holiday candy would look festive here, and bonus–it keeps you from eating it!
5. children’s art. Have children draw something special (and small!) on heavy paper, then turn it into an entire Christmas scene.
6. Easter grass. I HAAAAATE Easter grass because it isn’t recyclable, and I try as hard as I can to keep it out of my home, but every single spring, it seems like a kid comes home from some party or other with a goody bag full of the stuff. Here’s one way to re-use it and keep it out of the waste stream.
7. Epsom salt. It sounds weird, but this is the eco-friendly version of fake snow!
8. evergreen sprig. I don’t think that there’s a way to actually keep this sprig fresh for more than a day, even if you soak the dirt, but this would make a super cute tabletop decoration for a holiday party.
9. graduation tassel. Wondering what to do with that tassel? Here’s an easy way to show it off!
10. keepsakes. This is a great way to keep your special treasures safe, but still have them to enjoy for a while each year. Check out how sweet this First Christmas ornament is!
11. LEGOs. Bust your stash to make these, or do what I am totally going to do and sneak some out of my kids’ own collection to re-gift them in their stockings. Seriously, they’ll never notice!
12. melted crayon. Here’s another way to upcycle broken crayons!
13. paint. Use stash acrylic paint, or experiment with nail polish or house paint.
14. paper. Use this decoupage method to add any paper that you like to your ornament.
15. petals from a special bouquet. The tute here uses a bouquet from an engagement, but this would be so pretty when done for any bouquet, from prom to a wedding.
16. photo. This is a beautiful way to show off your Christmas card photo.
17. scrapbook paper. Here’s what you can do with all of those holiday-themed paper scraps.
18. seashells and sand. Just don’t fill the ornament very full, because trust me–sand is heavy!
19. time capsule. Here’s a family activity for New Year’s Eve! I wouldn’t put the year on with glitter, however, just because I know that I’d be handling these ornaments multiple times every Christmas to read the memories inside, so I’d surely knock all that glitter off.
20. vintage sheet music. You know we LOVE our vintage sheet music here at CAGW. Here’s yet another way to use it!
21. yarn and rope. You can use up the very last bits of your scraps, and the texture is so interesting.