These DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Ornaments Are Ridiculously Easy to Make

There's nothing better than a good Anthropologie dupe because shopping there is crazy expensive, even though everything they sell is gorgeous! Instagrammer Kara Whitten is super crafty, and when she spotted iridescent Christmas ornaments that she wanted at Anthropologie, she decided to make them herself. She shared the how-to video at the end of November, and since then, many commenters have decided to make them, too.

Kara grabbed some clear ornaments and took the tops off of them. She added Ranger Inks alcohol inks by putting a few drops in each ornament. Next, she swirled the ink around to coat the inside of the ornament. They are stunning once they dry!

Many commenters tried to make these, and several said their outcomes were unsuccessful, stating the inks didn't coat properly or just fell to the bottom. Kara shared, "I did use a straw to blow the ink dry inside the ornaments after I drained out the extra for a minute or so. If you have the supplies still, I would try a rubbing alcohol rinse on one and let it dry, then try a few drops of ink and blowing with a straw. I will say that mine aren’t completely solid color if you look closely, you can see that the ink does dry in various shades so that’s why it works best with the iridescent ornaments that hide the opacity and color variation." In other words, they're not perfect and not meant to be perfect!

After reading through some comments, Kara offered more tips. She included a "Pro Tip" in her caption, saying to use rubbing alcohol to get rid of any extra ink that gets on your hands or work surface. Many people wondered if you could use glass or plastic ornaments and she said both should work but kept reiterating to only use Ranger Ink alcohol inks only, as the other knockoffs won't work properly. She also mentioned that it's a good idea to clean out the insides of the ornaments by swishing some rubbing alcohol around in them, so the inks stick to the ornament and not any debris. If the inks don't dry the way you want them to, you can add rubbing alcohol to remove the ink and try again.

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Differences Between Alcohol Inks and Acrylic Paint

Many commenters said they tried to do this same project with acrylic paint and were not successful. I'm not a crafty person and had never heard of alcohol inks before. I wanted to know what the difference was between the two and found the answer at T-Rex Alcohol Inks, "Acrylic Ink is pigment-based, while Alcohol Ink is dye-based. When Acrylic Ink dries, the pigments bond to the substrate permanently and cannot be reworked. When the alcohol in Alcohol Ink evaporates, it leaves a thin film on top of the substrate that is resoluble and reworkable if more alcohol is added (like with a clear blender)."

Depending on the project, alcohol inks are often preferred over acrylic, especially because alcohol inks are more fluid. They also dry much more quickly because of the fast evaporation of alcohol. Alcohol inks colors are more vibrant, can be used on various surfaces, and are waterproof. They can be removed from many surfaces (like glass and plastic) with a bit of rubbing alcohol.

While I'm not usually a crafter, I think these DIY ornaments might be a fun and relatively inexpensive project to try with my daughters. If the inks don't work, they can always paint the outside of the ornament instead!