The retail sales are on, the neighbors have put up their lights, and the cats are beginning their annual stalking of the Christmas tree ornaments. It’s officially time for Christmas. It’s a great season for bringing out all of your craft supplies and making some fun creations to brighten your home.

If you’ve worked with rhinestones at least once before, it’s nearly impossible to not catch the “bling bug”. With the right eye, you can transform just about anything into a dazzling, unique piece that will make your home warmer, and more fun and welcoming for your holiday guests. We’ve put together a list of five rhinestone creations that promise to add some sparkle to this Christmas.

Snow Globes

In case you weren’t aware, you can make your own snow globes with a few simple materials, starting with Mason jars. This is a DIY craft that is great for kids, and they make cute gifts.

Supplies you’ll need:

• Mason jars of different sizes (with lids)
• Water
• Pure glycerin
• Glitter
• Rhinestones
• Small waterproof toys or figures, like snowmen or Christmas trees
• Waterproof craft glue

Your figurines will be placed on the inside of the jar lid. Arrange them and make sure the jar will still fit when the figure are glued in place. Now is also the time to decorate your figures with rhinestones, if desired. Glue the figures to the inside of the jar lid and wait for the glue to dry.

Meanwhile, put about a tablespoon of glitter in the jar (the “snow”) and add water to the jar. Do not fill to the brim, as you need to accommodate for the water displacement from your figurine. Then, add 3–5 drops of pure glycerin to the water. This will make the “snow” fall slowly when you shake the globe.

Finally, screw the lid onto the jar and use craft glue to seal the edges. This is the perfect time to add rhinestones to the outside of the jar and to the snow globe’s base—the colors and shapes are totally up to you. All you have to do now is shake it and watch the snow fall!

Ornaments

What’s Christmas without ornaments? Rhinestones are the perfect medium for creating and embellishing ornaments for your tree. The tree lights will naturally reflect off of the rhinestone facets, making your tree sparkle.

• Paper Stars – This project is admittedly a little fiddly, but the results are awesome. This will require some paper crafting, but it can be a fun project to do with the kids. The base of the star will be a three-dimensional 5-point origami star, which you can then paint or leave as is and then embellish with rhinestones.
• Wooden Snowflakes – One craft item that’s seasonally available are wooden snowflakes. They come in different sizes and make for an excellent base for ornaments. Again, this is a good family project, as kids can paint and make their own rhinestone patterns on the snowflakes. Make sure the glue you use is suitable for wood. Drill a tiny hole at the top to attach a hook or ribbon, then paint the snowflake in your desired color. After that, it’s just a matter of adding rhinestones.
• Simple Spheres – One very simple project is to take plain spherical ornaments and adorn them with rhinestones. The pattern is completely up to you.

Candle Holders

Candlelight creates a warm, cozy atmosphere that’s hard to compete with in the wintry season. Adding rhinestones to candle holders is a great way to add some sparkle to your mantle or dinner table, as the flickering of the candlelight dances on the reflective surfaces of the rhinestones, creating a dazzling effect.

To start, you’ll want to find either votive candle holders or candlesticks. They can be any style and material you desire, but it’s ideal to find some that have at least some flat surfaces for rhinestones. One innovative idea we found is to use those stainless steel sauce cups you can find in the kitchen aisle. Another is to use small craft flowerpots. Glass votive holders will help light better reflect off of the rhinestones.

Experiment with creating patterns on the candle holders or make simple lines along the top edges. Reds and greens are obvious color choices, but blues and silvers have a nice, wintry look that could be used year round.

Tabletop Trees

One cute idea for decorating your mantle or tabletops are rhinestone studded trees. Get wooden or Styrofoam cones at a craft store. Choose a variety of sizes for a diverse look. Round stones work particularly well for this project, and you’ll want stones of varying sizes. Cover the entire surface with rhinestones—random or patterned is up to. Make sure if you use Styrofoam as your base, use glue suitable for it.

Glam Winter Gloves

Winter gear is designed to be functional and keep you warm, but the downside is that it can be a little dour. We’ve found a way to turn gloves into a fun winter accessory.

Sure, you could go for the Michael Jackson look with total coverage, but there are subtler ways to bling out your winter wear. You could adorn the knuckles or fingers, or add embellishments to the wrist, but another fun trick is to make a bling “ring” for the ring finger of the glove.

On a piece of neutral or glove-colored stiff felt, place a central rhinestone of your choice. We think the best choice is something a little larger, which will give your “ring” a focal point. Ovals are particularly nice. Surround the main stone with smaller rhinestones. From there, you’ll carefully cut the excess felt away from the rhinestones and affix the whole piece to the ring finger of the glove. And like magic, your boring gloves are gone!

The holidays are a time to celebrate, and what better way to get into the spirit of the season than to make your life sparkle with rhinestones? It’s time to get creative and pull out all of your supplies to make this Christmas shine. From The Rhinestone Shop, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.