How To Create Gorgeous Glass Decor with Unicorn Spit

3 Techniques

for Upcycling Christmas Ornaments

with Unicorn Spit Rainbow Gel Stain

I had a beautiful crystal bowl—with nothing pretty to put in it—until I glammed up some clear glass Christmas ornaments using Unicorn Spit and a piece of plastic wrap.

We sell Unicorn Spit non-toxic rainbow gel stain/glaze at our store All Things New Again in Leesburg, Virginia and right here in our online store.

(We are also the only store in the Northern Virginia/ DC metro area offering an Intro to Unicorn Spit Class. Click here for details.)

I “spit” my ornaments during The Furniture Painting Friday Show over on our All Things New Again Facebook page. Every Friday at 12 noon (eastern) we come on live with a free mini painting lesson. (Here’s the link to our video tutorial on these Unicorn Spit techniques. NOTE: The contest has ended.) Be sure to follow our Facebook page and tune in every week. We teach a lot of techniques, do a lot of giveaways and have a lot of fun.

My sister liked these glass balls so much, she asked me to make some for her home in her colors.

Here’s a step-by-step written tutorial for all of the people (like me!) who have a hard time paying attention to videos, but learn best by reading and following the pictures at your own pace. 🙂

I found a stash of glass Christmas ornaments I was hoarding in my basement. You can also do these techniques on plastic ornaments—or any object that could use a little more pizazz.

PREPPING

First you need to prep the ornaments with a quick coat of either chalk-type paint or Mod Podge to help the Unicorn Spit adhere to the glass (or plastic) better. Some people skip this step and apply the Unicorn Spit directly to the ornament, reporting that it sticks just fine. I’ve had mixed results so I always prep just to be safe.

Then you need to choose your Unicorn Spit colors. Choosing the colors is usually the hardest part of any project! This time it was easy. For my glass balls pictured above, I used Blue Thunder, Pixie Punk Pink and White Ning to match my living room colors. For Colleen’s glass balls, I used Midnight’s Blackness, White Ning and Zia Teal to match her home.

SPIT TIP: I think you need at least three colors of Unicorn Spit for these techniques. Sometimes I use more.

Technique 1: Modified Stain Press

We do this Stain Press technique on furniture and it always looks awesome.

It is easy to modify the Stain Press technique for Christmas ornaments—or any object you want to “spit” on.

Just squirt a few colors of Unicorn Spit all over, in every direction. Overlap the colors on top of each other. Let the colors run together in spots.

Then wrap a piece of plastic around and smoosh it all together. Plastic wrap works nicely because you can see through it. Just rub your finger over any bare spots to move some product over for even coverage. A plastic grocery bag also works.

Carefully remove the plastic and set the ball aside to dry—but don’t throw the plastic away just yet!

Technique 2: Re-Stain Press

Take that same piece of plastic covered in leftover Unicorn Spit from your first glass ball and wrap it around your second ball, smooshing the colors around again until the ball is evenly covered. You are basically doing everything you did in Technique 1—except you don’t squirt any Unicorn Spit directly onto the ornament. Just use what is left on the plastic wrap. You should have enough leftover to fully cover the ornament.

SPIT TIP: Keep a pack of baby wipes nearby to clean your hands often. These techniques are messy!

Carefully remove the plastic again and set the ball aside to dry—but hold onto the plastic just a bit longer.

Technique 3: Plastic Pouncing

Take the same piece of plastic and pounce it all over the third glass ball, just like sponge painting. You can add more Unicorn Spit if you are running low on product. Just a little dab here and there until it looks beautiful to you.

Set the ball aside to dry—and throw the plastic away now. 🙂

SPIT TIP: On all three techniques, you can come back and add more Unicorn Spit to fill in any bare spots or even out the colors. If you totally hate the design, you can do another stain press right on top of the whole thing. Or just work in sections until you love how it looks.

Let your ornaments dry completely then seal with an OIL-BASED SEALER.

This is important! Be sure to use an OIL-BASED sealer. I use Minwax Polyurethane. A water-based sealer might “re-activate” the Unicorn Spit and cause your colors to blend together too much, ruining your cool designs. An oil-based sealer will preserve the designs and make them pop. You can even sprinkle a little glitter here and there while the poly is still wet.

I love this picture because it shows how dramatic the ornaments look after the polyurethane is applied.

Here they are!

To use these as fancy glass balls, simply remove the ornament hanger and carefully arrange them upside down so they look more like balls that ornaments.

Of course, you can always use them as Christmas ornaments too. Wouldn’t these look pretty hanging on the tree?

~ Courtney

All Things New Again is a family-owned furniture and paint boutique in Leesburg, Virginia, about an hour or so west of Washington, D.C. We offer our hand-painted furniture and home decor along with several lines of paint for your next DIY project, including Unicorn Spit non-toxic rainbow gel stain/glaze. We also offer fun classes and workshops. Our Intro to Unicorn Spit Class is the only one in the area. Class size is limited to 3 people and it usually fills up so sign up early.

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