Essential Oil Ornaments: DIY Scented Christmas Ornaments for the Holidays

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November 7, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 6 Comments

Learn how to make these DIY essential oil ornaments in about 30-minutes to add a natural fragrance to your tree this holiday season. These quick & easy ornaments can be scented with your favorite holiday essential oil blend and make lovely DIY holiday gifts too! Keep reading to learn how to make your own easy essential oil ornaments. Plus discover my favorite holiday essential oils blends and recipes!

Making Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Handmade ornaments were a family tradition when I was growing up. Every year my brother and I would would make a new Christmas ornament to put on the tree. And every year my mother would safely tuck the new additions away to go onto the tree yet again the following year. So by the time we were both married and out of the house, she had a full box and was already collecting new handmade Christmas ornaments from my son, and then later, my niece.

Every year, even if it’s on Christmas Eve, she puts up her artificial Christmas tree and trims it with those same ornaments. These days, there’s also a Christmas pickle hiding somewhere in the mix – I still haven’t figured out what the “prize” is if you find it first – but my brother always seems to win. Still, all the handmade Christmas ornaments, from two generations, are always on display. Even with that crazy Christmas pickle hidden among them.

This year was the first year in a quite a while I made a handmade Christmas ornament for my mother’s tree. I’m in my mid-forties now and she in her seventies. So if it was going to happen again, now was as good a time as any! She actually came home from volunteering the day I made these DIY essential oil ornaments and exclaimed how beautiful they were. Then she asked if she could have them for her tree. “Of course!” I exclaimed. “Who else would they be for?”

DIY Essential Oil Ornaments

My DIY essential oil ornaments will not only look amazing on your Christmas tree this year, they also make beautiful handmade gifts. What’s most surprising however, is how incredibly easy these Christmas ornaments are to make. Plus they’re ready to use in about a half an hour from start to finish!

So just what makes my essential oil ornaments so quick and easy to make? Unlike other craft tutorials for essential oil ornaments, I use plaster rather than clay. Plaster is not only cheaper, it also dries a lot faster! And, because plaster starts out fluid, you can not only customize the colors of your essential oil ornaments, you can also use molds, instead of cookie cutters, to get detailed shapes. So in reality, the possibilities are endless. Even if you have zero artistic talent. (But come on. EVERYONE has some creativity hiding inside. You just have to find it!)

Following is my tutorial for crafting your own homemade plaster essential oil ornaments. Learn where to get everything you need to make these delightful Christmas ornaments. You’ll also discover some tips and tricks that I learned along the way while making my own! (Plus don’t forget to check out my favorite holiday essential oil blends to make for your holiday ornaments after the project.)

Materials & Tools Needed:

Plaster of Paris
Christmas Ornament Silicone Molds, two sets
Mixing Bowl
Utensils for Stirring
Mica Powder or Other Powder Colorant
Craft Glitter, optional
Bakers Twine or Ribbon
Essential Oils

Tips & Tricks for Making Your Essential Oil Ornaments:

Plaster starts to harden in 3-4 minutes, so you’ll want to mix your colorant and glitter in with the plaster before adding the water.
If you want to save money, you can use unwanted eyeshadow colors from your eyeshadow palettes instead of using mica powders or other colorants such as oxides or ultramarines.
Unlike soap making, less is not more. As plaster is white, you’ll want to add more colorant for a darker colored ornament as the plaster makes the colors pastel.
While you can use glitter inside your Christmas ornaments, they don’t show through all that well. To save glitter and get more sparkle, dust the inside of your silicone molds before pouring the plaster. Or dust glitter on the backs of your ornaments as soon as they’re poured.
Be sure to scrape off any excess plaster from the molds after pouring. Your ornaments will come out of the mold more easily, and there’s less “excess” to remove once unmolded.
Try other ornament silicone molds for your Christmas ornaments for more designs. But be sure to avoid molds with thin sections as they’ll break coming out of the mold. If there’s no hole for the ribbon on your other molds, simply use a pencil or chopstick to make one once the plaster starts to harden.
You can easily resize your recipe for these essential oil ornaments to make the exact amount you need. Simply mix four parts plaster with three parts water.

Holiday Ornament Instructions:

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine four Tablespoons of plaster with a teaspoon or more of mica or pigment powder and glitter, to suit, if desired. Mix with a fork to fully incorporate the dry ingredients together.

I used a small amount of indigo powder to color this plaster essential oil Christmas ornament. It made the ornament look about the same color as concrete, but with tiny blue flecks of color inside.

Then add three Tablespoons of water. Mix well.

Working quickly, pour the plaster mixture into three of the silicone molds. You’ll want to use the Christmas tree shape mold and the ornament shape mold. Use a fork or a chopstick to make sure the plaster is evenly distributed throughout the mold and there are no air bubbles.

Side note: The snowflake mold that comes with this set is too delicate to get the plaster out in one piece. I tried twice. The second time, the snowflake Christmas ornament broke worse than the first. However, you can use it for other holiday projects to make resin Christmas ornaments.

If desired, you can dust the back of your DIY essential oil ornaments with glitter or decorative confetti.

After 30-minutes have passed, carefully unmold your essential oil ornaments from the silicone molds.

Then tie thin ribbon or baker’s twine through the hole in the top.

You’re now ready to gift your handmade Christmas essential oil ornaments. Simply pair the ornaments with a bottle of essential oil or a holiday essential oil blend.

Or add your own favorite holiday essential oil blend to your ornament and hang on your tree. You can also use this ornament in your car or another room in your home as an air freshener. They look great in a sunny window! (You can discover my favorite recipes for holiday essential oil blends below.)

Yield: 3 Christmas Ornaments

Essential Oil Ornaments

Prep Time 2 minutes

Active Time 3 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

Plaster of Paris
Mica Powder or Other Powder Colorant
Craft Glitter, optional
Essential Oils

Tools

Mixing Bowl
Utensils for Stirring
Bakers Twine or Ribbon
Christmas Ornament Silicone Molds, two sets

Instructions

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine four Tablespoons of plaster with a teaspoon or more of mica or pigment powder and glitter, to suit, if desired. Mix with a fork to fully incorporate the dry ingredients together.
Then add three Tablespoons of water. Mix well.
Working quickly, pour the plaster mixture into three of the silicone molds. You’ll want to use the Christmas tree shape mold and the ornament shape mold.
After 30-minutes have passed, carefully unmold your essential oil ornaments from the silicone molds.
Then tie thin ribbon or baker’s twine through the hole in the top.

Holiday Essential Oil Blends

If you already have a collection of essential oils at your disposal, you may want to create your own custom holiday essential oil blends, rather than buying them ready made. Here are some of my favorite recipes for holiday essential oil blends you can use with your essential oil ornaments.

If you love my project for making DIY essential oil ornaments, then don’t forget to pin this tutorial to Pinterest to save for later. You may also want to check out my tutorial for making DIY alcohol ink ornaments. It’s another fun and easy holiday project the kids can join in on. And I’ve even shared the video tutorial from the craft class I took when I learned how to make alcohol ink ornaments for the first time!

More Scented DIY Holiday Gifts

For more fragrant, scented holiday crafts and skin care recipes, be sure to check out these other amazing projects!

DIY Air Freshener with Essential Oils

Learn how to make DIY air fresheners with essential oils, beeswax and soy wax at Everything Pretty. These easy homemade essential oil air fresheners are perfect for closets, drawers, or anywhere that needs a little freshening up.

Honey and Goat Milk Soap Recipe

This honey and goat milk soap recipe from Life-n-Reflection is one of the simplest melt and pour soap recipes you’ll ever make! Not only does it make easy DIY holiday gifts for friends and family, but the rich lather and sweet scent make them irresistible not to keep one for yourself. The finished soaps have a classic bumblebee and honeycomb shape that makes each look expensive and elegant. Make these simple honey and goat milk soaps for DIY holiday gifts today!

DIY Christmas Ornament Bath Bombs

Handmade bath bombs always make for a fun gift, but turning them into DIY bath bomb ornaments make them the perfect holiday gift. Scented with the smells of the season and made festive with red and green sprinkles, these Christmas ornament bath bombs from Lydi Out Loud not only make a perfect holiday gift, but a full sensory experience.

8 Holiday Room Spray Recipes

Essential oil rooms sprays are so easy to make, smell amazing, and have aromatherapy benefits for you. During the holidays, it’s fun to switch the sprays out for a more festive scent. Check out these 8-holiday room spray recipes from Our Oily House to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

DIY Holiday Cupcake Bath Bombs

Get into the holiday spirit with this festive holiday bath bomb cupcake DIY from Tweak and Tinker. With two designs to choose from – one candy cane peppermint and one Christmas tree – this easy holiday skin care recipe contains nourishing oil, clay and essential oils and makes for a pretty DIY holiday gift.

Mocha Mint Cupcake Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

This mint chocolate cupcake soap recipe from Total Wellness Choice is easy to make with melt and pour soap. These soap cupcakes are adorable and are scented with a natural mocha mint fragrance oil. The unique soap mold makes the process easy. They make a great DIY holiday gift for friends, teachers or anyone who loves fun soaps.

Holiday Stovetop Potpourri Gift Ideas

See how to make a DIY stovetop potpourri gift with Country Hill Cottage! These simmering potpourri recipes make your house smell like Christmas and are wonderful DIY holiday gift ideas. The tutorial comes with free printable labels and gift tags for packaging and gifting.

You can also discover more DIY holiday gifts and crafts by following Soap Deli News on social media. You can find and follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Handmade Home, Holiday DIY Tagged With: 30-minute crafts, christmas, Christmas gift, Christmas ornament, christmas tree, crafts, diy, easy, essential oils, gift idea, holiday gift, holidays, kids project, ornaments, winter

Alcohol Ink Ornaments DIY (Video Tutorial for the Holidays)

December 18, 2018 By Rebecca D. Dillon Leave a Comment

Alcohol ink ornaments are not only a beautiful way to decorate your Christmas tree or winter wreath, they’re also incredibly quick and easy to make. Keep reading to learn how to make your own DIY alcohol ink ornaments. Plus a fun video tutorial on how to make alcohol ink ornaments from my fellow friend, artist and teacher, Hillary Hardison.

Alcohol ink ornaments are so beautiful. So I assumed they would be a challenge to make. I was SO wrong. Truth be told, you can actually make your own DIY alcohol ink ornaments from start to finish in just 10-minutes or less. So if you block out just an hour or two over the weekend, you can create a dozen of your own unique alcohol ink ornaments for your Christmas tree or winter holiday wreath.

Not only will these handmade ornaments make your Christmas tree pop, they are also perfect to give as last minute holiday gifts. Simply customize them with the year or a family name using a paint pen for an easy keepsake ornament that can be treasured for years to come.

My friend Hillary locally teaches a once monthly class dubbed Wine & Art Wednesdays. She’s been teaching these classes for some time now. Her latest class, however, was the most popular ever!

For this class she taught a sold out crowd how to make alcohol ink ornaments. Hillary was kind enough to allow me to video the process for my readers so you can also join in the fun! Keep reading for written instructions on how to make DIY alcohol ink ornaments. Then be sure to watch Hillary’s video tutorial (from her class) on how to make alcohol ink ornaments at the end of this post.

How to Make DIY Alcohol Ink Ornaments

Supplies & Materials:

Alcohol Ink, In Colors of Choice
Clear Glass Ball Ornaments
Compressed Air Duster
Ribbon, Beads & Hooks, optional

Tips & Tricks:

You do need non-porous ornaments for this project. That means no plastic. Therefore, clear glass ornaments, like those found in craft stores, are perfect for making alcohol ink ornaments.

If desired, you may want to create color cheat sheets for your alcohol inks. Simply add a drop of each of your colors to a strip a paper. Then label the colors used. This helps you know exactly what the colors are going to look like out of the bottle as so many colors appear much darker while bottled.

Additionally, it’s important to know that unlike paint, alcohol inks do not blend with one another. So mixing two colors together inside of your ornament will actually cause the colors to push away from one another rather than combine.

Also keep in mind that less is more. You really only need a small amount of alcohol ink to coat the inside of your alcohol ink ornaments. However, there is a fix should disaster strike.

One of Hillary’s students ended with a small pool of ink in her ornament once she’d achieved a design she liked. To remove the excess ink, she thinly rolled up a small section from a paper towel. She then dipped the paper towel into the ornament to soak up and remove the excess ink from the bottom of her ornament.

Instructions:

Cover your workspace with a plastic tablecloth or paper to protect your work surface. If desired, you may also want to wear gloves and a craft apron to prevent staining clothing and skin. If desired, do as we did and pour yourself a glass of wine. And grab a friend too! They always make everything more fun.

Once you’ve gathered all your materials, you’ll begin by simply diving in! Take a sip of wine, cock a grin at your BFF, then ready your gun – er, compressed air. (Just don’t shake the can!)

Remove the top from a glass ornament. Now add a small amount of alcohol ink to the inside of your ornament. Using the compressed air, you’ll then spray air into the ornament in short bursts. You can direct where the ink goes by simply aiming the air in different directions.

Now add your second color and repeat the process. (Keep in mind, however, that the ink for alcohol ink ornaments dries very quickly.) Continue adding ink and air until you get the look you’re after. As there really are no rules, feel free to experiment your heart out!

Discover design ideas for your DIY alcohol ink ornaments here.

Place your finished alcohol ink ornaments back inside the carton they came in, or in another safe location, so they don’t accidentally roll off the table and break. (Wait.. did I suggest drinking wine and playing with glass at the same time? Whatever. You’re a grown ass woman. You’ll be fine.)

Once your DIY alcohol ornaments have dried completely, reinsert the tops. You can then add hooks to your ornaments and decorate them with beads or ribbon as desired.

Now, without further ado, Hillary’s awesome (and unedited) video tutorial on how to make alcohol ink ornaments! (I love this woman!)

To learn more about Hillary and her work you can find her on Facebook and via her website. Or, if you’re local or plan to visit the Roanoke Valley, you can find a schedule of events at the Aurora Artisans Studio & Frameshop here.

For more winter holiday ideas & crafts, be sure to check out this Pinterest board. Or discover more holiday DIY’s on the blog here. Also, don’t forget. If you’ve made a project from a tutorial or recipe on Soap Deli News, I want to see it! Simply tag your photos with #soapdelishowoff on instagram.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Handmade Home, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: alcohol ink, art, art class, Christmas gift, Christmas ornament, christmas tree, crafts, diy, easy, gift idea, glass ornament, holiday gift, holidays, ornaments

Making gifts for the holidays.

November 14, 2010 By Rebecca D. Dillon

Here are a few handmade gift ideas for all of you DIY’ers out there. These would make great gifts not only for Christmas, but also year round.

Make your own homemade vanilla extract. This is a perfect gift for anyone who enjoys baking!

Craft a handful of soap rocks for a unique and fun stocking stuffer. You can also use this technique to make “coal.”

Not only are these hand knit fingerless gloves beautiful, they’re useful too! A pair of these are sure to be worn all season!

Know someone with a sweet tooth? These scrumptious, chocolate truffles are easy to make and delicious to receive!

This Recipe Booklet is so easy to make. Fill it with your favorite recipes and gift it to a pair of newlyweds!

This gorgeous notebook is perfect for anyone who likes to journal! It’s easy to make and easy to use!

Have you run out of time to craft the perfect gift? Print out these holiday wine labels and attach them to a bottle of wine for a personalized touch! Find more printable gift tags and labels here.

For the gardener, create a miniature terrarium using moss or succulents. These little eco-systems are not only fun, but easy to care for.

Once you’ve made your gifts, all that’s left is the gift wrap! Martha Stewart has some great ideas for handmade gift wrap. Also be sure to check out these other DIY holiday gift posts:

1.) Preparing for the upcoming holiday season: Christmas planner and handmade gift ideas.
2.) Crafting your way into Christmas.
3.) Make your holiday a success.

Filed Under: Gift Guides, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: christmas, Christmas gift, craft project, diy, gift, gift ideas, gift tags, gift wrap, holiday, how to, jewelry, knitting, ornaments, printables, recipes

Make your holiday a success.

November 9, 2010 By Rebecca D. Dillon

A handmade Christmas full of DIY projects that you can make and give! This post is a continuation of gifts you can make spun off of the original blog post 1.) Preparing for the upcoming holiday season: Christmas planner and handmade gift ideas. and it’s consort 2.) Crafting your way into Christmas.

Create your own DIY clay gift tags for giving your holiday packages a unique and personalized touch. The gift tags can then be used by the recipients year after year as Christmas tree ornaments.

Make a cone advent calendar for your family to enjoy before the big day! Tuck a tiny treat into each cone for your children to discover.

Besides being fashionable, these textured string bracelets are a great way to use up leftover string from craft projects.

Is your friend a fan of sushi? Gift a handmade Chopsticks Wrap with a new pair of chopsticks!

Big, bold necklaces are all the rave. Craft your own Yo Yo Necklace from easy to sew yo yo’s in any print and color!

80’s fashion has reemerged, and with it, friendship bracelets! Craft a handful for your school aged children to show off after Christmas break!

These origami box ornaments would look perfect on a tree! Tuck a tiny gift inside then hang them on your Christmas tree until the big day!

These unique drawer hangers make recycling fun and serve as a year round functional accessory.

Give thanks to someone who has been a blessing in your life. Visit I Love It All Blog for an array of thankful project ideas and printable downloads.

Filed Under: Gift Guides, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: christmas, Christmas gift, craft project, diy, gift, gift ideas, gift tags, holiday, how to, jewelry, ornaments, printables