100+ Creative Acrylic Fillable Ornament Ideas for Every Season and Occasion

Materials Needed: We found clear acrylic ornaments here:

• Clear Acrylic Fillable Ornaments
• Ornament Stands
• Almost anything else!

When I started writing out a materials list for this page it quickly became a small book! So many different things can be used so I did away with the list. But for the most part you can pretty much see the kinds of materials that were used and if you are looking for any theme in particular you probably already have those materials assembled. If you come across an ornament that you want to make and you can't figure out give us a holler.

Instructions

Fairy Gardens & Miniature Worlds

I don't know what it is about miniature things, but they're just plain fun! We discovered that clear fillable ornaments are the perfect little display domes for fairy gardens and miniature scenes. They provide a wonderful effect when you add little tiny cottages, flowers, moss, mushrooms, and other whimsical embellishments. It feels like you are on the outside of their little world looking in.

These four ornaments were created with miniature fairy garden accessories and are displayed in flower pots and garden planters. We hung one on an ornament display stand and situated it in the middle of the plant which we think turned out really well too. Imagine one of these tucked into a wreath, or sitting on a plant shelf. You could even situate the ornament on top of a block of painted wood, a cool looking rock, a jar lid or mason jar ring... just about anything that you have laying around.

The clear acrylic ornament acts like a little window into another world. Just fill the bottom with moss, tiny pebbles, or faux grass and then begin decorating. Get creative and if you don't find the right pieces at the craft store think about in the doll house section or your favorite online stop.

More scenes we came up with ...

• A woodland gnome cottage complete with tiny mushrooms and a miniature welcome sign.
• A beach fairy house decorated with seashells and sand.
• A snowy winter village with faux snow and miniature bottle brush trees.
• A Halloween witch's cottage with pumpkins and tiny black cats.
• A hobbit-style hillside home tucked into a bed of moss.
• An enchanted mushroom garden filled with flowers and butterflies.
• A secret garden complete with a tiny bench and climbing roses.
• A miniature birdhouse scene with tiny birds and a nest.
• A fairy tea party complete with miniature cups and flowers.

Potpourri & Home Fragrance Ideas

Potpourri ornaments can be made from so many pretty things sitting around in your craft room. Ours all turned out so pretty and can be displayed anywhere around the house.

Fillable ornaments are perfect for holding dried flowers, botanicals, spices, and other fragrant embellishments. Depending on the colors and materials you choose, they can be dressed up for the holidays or used year-round as part of your home décor.

You can add a ribbon or cord to the top or wrap some organza ribbons around the outside like we did for a different look.

Since these ornaments don't have holes we heated the tip of an ice pick and melted a few small holes near the top of the ornament to allow the fragrance to escape. The holes are hardly noticeable once the ornament is decorated, but they make a big difference in how well the fragrance travels.

You don't have to limit yourself to traditional potpourri either. Dried lavender, rose petals, cinnamon sticks, cloves, dried orange slices, eucalyptus, tiny pine cones, and even scented wood shavings would all make beautiful displays.

More ideas we came up with ...

• Make a set of 3 or 4 potpourri balls as a bridal shower gift.
• A beach-themed potpourri ornament filled with seashells, dried flowers, and sand.
• A lavender ornament for a guest bathroom or bedside table.
• A Christmas version filled with miniature pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried oranges, and faux snow. Hang it in your tree and it doubles as a tree decoration as well as being aromatic.
• A fall ornament filled with acorns, dried leaves, and warm cinnamon spices.
• A rose garden ornament displayed on a decorative stand for a romantic touch.
• A wedding favor filled with dried flower petals from the bridal bouquet.
• A spring ornament filled with pastel flowers and a delicate satin bow.
• Bazaar and fund raiser items.
• And one I still plan on trying, red and white things (maybe beads or plastic candies) inside the ornament to mimic peppermints, some kind of fabric hidden inside to soak a little peppermint essential oils onto and some red ribbon.

These would make great original hostess gifts and are so easy to customize.

Pet Keepsakes & Remembrances

I came across a miniature statue of a dog while I was looking for something else and it reminded me of my son's hunting dog, Copper. And with that the next idea for a fillable ornament theme was born.

These ornaments can be personalized with your pet's name and decorated to match their personality. Add a favorite photograph, a collar charm, miniature toys, dried flowers, or other embellishments that remind you of your faithful companion.

Celebrate a new puppy, commemorate a pet adoption, or simply honor a beloved companion.

More ideas we came up with ...

• Celebrate a new puppy or kitten with a personalized ornament featuring their name and adoption date.
• Add a miniature dog bone, paw print charm, or collar tag.
• They would make wonderful gifts for the pet lover in your life.
• Create a keepsake ornament featuring your pet's favorite colors or toys.
• Include a photograph of your pet enjoying one of their favorite places.
• Make one for each family pet and display them together on a shelf or mantel.
• Create a holiday version that can be displayed on your Christmas tree each year.

Gifts From the Heart

This was a fun project inspired by reading about teacher appreciation week and remembering a wooden apple that I knew I had. From there I looked across my desk at a pencil and the rest just began to fall into place.

The books are made from pieces of an old wooden ruler, cut, sanded and painted to look like books. The pencil is a full size, sharpened to a nub. A piece of black chalk paper and a few toothpicks became a chalkboard and frame.

Sometimes the most fun part of a project is figuring out what everyday things can become when you look at them a little differently.

Though I didn't do one I can picture this being a great gift for others besides just teachers. Nurses, bus drivers, Sunday school teachers, coaches, daycare workers, librarians, scout leaders, piano teachers, grandparents... I guess just about any person you wanted to make a gift for.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was probably one of the first holidays that came to mind when we started brainstorming fillable ornament ideas. There are just so many fun little valentine-y things that work well as fillers in a clear ornament.

Conversation hearts, ribbon roses, pearls, lace, dried flowers, love notes, and tiny charms work, mini stuffed animals, paper hearts, rhinestones, all work beautifully in Valentine's Day themes. And if you walk down the Valentine's day aisle you are sure to find more than plenty of other things that appeals to you. The hardest part is deciding whether you want your ornament to be playful, elegant, romantic, or sweet.

This was a fun one but we stopped after making 4, and we didn't even put a dent in our valentine stash.

Weddings & Anniversaries

Weddings are another category that seemed to grow the longer we thought about it. We started with a bride and groom inside an ornament and before long ideas for guest tables, wedding keepsakes, centerpieces, and bridal shower decorations began piling in.

Pretty little things like flowers, pearls, ribbons, lace, miniature rings, photographs, and keepsakes all work well in fillable ornaments and can easily be matched to the colors and style of the wedding. Here's what we came up with.

There are so many ways these could be used and filled. Other things we thought about but didn't try were

• Cake decorations
• Bridal shower decorations
• Guest table centerpieces
• Wedding favors
• Bridesmaid gifts (see the potpourri balls on this page)
• Engagement party decorations
• Anniversary keepsakes and decorations
• Wedding registry table decorations
• “Will You Marry Me?” proposal ornaments
• “Mr. & Mrs.” keepsakes
• Ornaments holding dried flower petals from the bridal bouquet
• Miniature wedding photos
• The couple’s names and wedding date
• Ring bearer gifts
• Cake table decorations
• Fill with fairy lights and organza ribbon or iridescent beads for table decorations

Cute Candy Filled Critters Made with Half of a Fillable Ornament

I don't know who had more fun making these, the kids or the adults. There is just something about turning candy and craft supplies into silly little critters that makes it hard to stop at making only one.

Before long our craft table was covered with feathers, foam sheets, candies, and googly eyes and we were trying to decide what animal to make next.

These were pretty easy to put together. You only use half of the ornament so one ornament will make two candy animal pops. The hardest part was probably deciding which to make and figuring out the pattern. We cut the hanger off of the ornament half, figured out the critter shape and traced the shape onto a foam sheet to create the backing, added the candies, then glued the backing onto the ornament half. We then glued on a tongue depressor or craft stick and finished them with whatever decorations seemed to fit the character we were making. The candies can be color coordinated with the color of your animal or creature.

We used foam sheets, matching candies, wiggle eyes, chenille stems (pipe cleaners), craft feathers, tongue depressors, pom poms, cotton balls, beads and a little imagination to make these. Other things you could use are acrylic paints, felt, buttons, construction paper, ribbon, glitter foam, sequins, stickers, rhinestones or miniature flowers.

(Cut the tail off of the black dragon and it becomes a bat!)

One fillable ornament makes two animal critters, which would certainly help if you're making twenty-four of them for a scout project, birthday party, Halloween giveaways, classroom school project, Valentine's party or Sunday school class.

I think if I had to say which category was my favorite it would be these candy critters. (Can't you tell from all the ones we did?)

Here are some other ideas for candy critters:

• Frog
• Owl
• Bee
• Flamingo
• Penguin
• Crab
• Octopus ( I picture this one using curled ribbons for tentacles)
• Turtle
• Unicorn (lots of glitter and pastel colors)
• Dinosaur
• Lion Head
• Monkey
• Puppy with floppy ears
• Cat
• Clown
• Duck (similar to the chick)
• Jellyfish (maybe with ribbons too)
• Shark
• Spider (for Halloween parties or to give away)
• Ghost
• Monsters or Aliens that you could shape any way you want.
• Peacock (this one screams craft feathers!)
• Reindeer (perfect for Christmas parties and classroom projects)

Baby Keepsakes & Baby Shower Ideas

With a lot of baby miniatures laying around we decided to give the subject a try. Baby showers, birth announcements, nursery decorations, and baby's first Christmas all seemed like a natural fit for fillable ornaments and keepsakes.

After doing the half ornament candy pops we found ourselves still thinking about half ornaments and came up with something I thought was really special, half ornaments used on framed birth announcements holding the baby's hospital bracelet. We also did a few full ornaments, newborn photo ornaments for family members, one for a baby shower, and another as a Christmas ornament to celebrate baby's first holiday season.

There are so many baby keepsakes that could be displayed with the fillable ornaments and you can make them as simple or elaborate as you'd like, using things like photographs, hospital bracelets, baby booties, birth statistics, a lock of hair, adding tiny embellishments that help tell the story of a very special little person.

More ideas ...

• Pregnancy announcement ornaments for grandparents and other special family members.
• One for each child or grandchild on display.
• Gender reveal party decorations and keepsakes.
• Baby shower centerpieces and party favors.
• Birth announcement wall hangings featuring baby's photograph and birth statistics.
• Hospital bracelets, baby socks, booties, pacifiers, or a tiny rattle displayed inside an ornament.
• Nursery decorations coordinated with the baby's room theme and colors.
• Baby's first Christmas ornaments and stocking decorations.
• Christening or baptism keepsakes.
• Grandparent, aunt, uncle, and big brother or big sister announcement gifts.
• A time capsule ornament filled with little notes and keepsakes to open on baby's eighteenth birthday.
• Monthly milestone ornaments for baby's first year.
• Decorations for baby's first birthday party.
• Adoption celebration keepsakes.
• Miniature ultrasound photographs and due date announcements.

Easter & Spring Decorating Ideas

Easter gave us another excuse to pull out the flowers, moss, miniatures, and pastel colors. Some of these ideas lean more toward spring decorating while others would make cute Easter basket fillers, table decorations, or classroom projects. We also changed things up a little and grabbed a few mason jar collars and painted them which became great display bases.

Easter took us in several directions. We used bunnies, chicks, Easter baskets, Easter trees, spring flowers, candy critters and even made a wonderful Resurrection Sunday keepsake.

These types of Easter decorations don't have to be put up with the other Easter decorations. Flowers, butterflies, baby animals and spring colors work just as well throughout the entire season.

Other thoughts for using fillable ornaments for Easter and spring...

• Easter basket decorations and keepsakes.
• Miniature carrot patches and bunny gardens.
• Spring flower arrangements displayed inside ornaments.
• Easter egg hunt party decorations.
• Easter table centerpieces and place settings.
• Church and Resurrection Sunday decorations.
• Easter basket tags featuring children's names.
• Spring birds' nests filled with tiny eggs and flowers.
• Baby lamb and duckling decorations.
• Pastel candy-filled ornaments for children's Easter baskets.
• Decorative Easter trees and ornament displays.
• Garden-themed spring decorations featuring butterflies and bees.
• Easter party favors for classrooms and Sunday school classes.
• Decorations celebrating the arrival of spring.

Favorite Things & Decorative Displays

These fillable ornaments don't celebrate a holiday or special occasion but they were just plain fun to do. Everyone has a favorite hobby, sport, place, or interest. These decorations can sit on a shelf, windowsill, desk, or countertop all year long.

Golf, music, the beach, favorite cars, and pretty home décor pieces were all easy to turn into fillable ornament displays. They also make thoughtful gifts when you're trying to come up with something a little different for someone who's hard to shop for.

They also make fun decorations for bedrooms, offices, craft rooms, dorm rooms, she sheds and man caves. This category is probably one of the easiest to personalize because almost everyone has a favorite something.

Other ideas...

• Favorite sports teams and school colors.
• Fishing, hunting, and camping themes.
• Miniature sewing and quilting decorations.
• Cooking and baking themed displays.
• Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and tennis decorations.
• Dance recital and gymnastics keepsakes.
• Horse lovers and western décor themes.
• Garden and greenhouse decorations.
• Patriotic and military-themed keepsakes.
• Teacher, nurse, firefighter, and police officer decorations.
• Piano, guitar, choir, and band-themed ornaments.
• Coastal, lake house, and cabin décor.
• Favorite vacation destinations and travel keepsakes.
• Decorations celebrating hobbies and collections.
• Miniature scenes inspired by your favorite things.

This particular topic goes in all directions. You can create something for anyone for any occasion.

Fall & Halloween Decorating Ideas

Halloween was one of the harder categories for us to come up with ideas for. Hanging ornaments just don't seem to fit the holiday as naturally as they do for Christmas. Then we started thinking more about table decorations, bowls of fall colored potpourri, miniature scenes and spooky little displays and things began to come together.

The fall decorations were easy. Leaves, pinecones, acorns, raffia ribbon and warm autumn colors practically decorate themselves. Fillable ornaments fit right in sitting in decorative bowls or nestled among other seasonal decorations. We were particularly pleased with the "potions tray". A few common items inside a fillable ornament, add a potion sounding name tag on each, lay them on a black tray with some fairy lights and voilà! Instant Halloween decoration.

Other ideas...

• Miniature haunted houses and graveyard scenes.
• Fill with orange or green battery operated fairy lights and draw or glue facial features onto it.
• Witch's brew and potion bottle decorations.
• Fill with glow in the dark beads and draw or glue facial features onto it.
• Candy corn and pumpkin themed displays.
• Miniature black cats, bats, spiders and owls.
• Fill with candies or pine cones, glue a few feathers to the back and add some foam sheet pieces to the front for a turkey.
• Halloween party table decorations.
• Decorative bowls filled with autumn ornaments, pinecones and acorns.
• Thanksgiving centerpieces.
• Harvest festival decorations.
• Rustic farmhouse fall decorating ideas.
• Miniature scarecrows and hay bales.
• Woodland animal and mushroom scenes.
• Decorative branches hung with fall ornaments.
• Pumpkin patch miniature displays.
• Halloween party favors and classroom decorations.

Family

Some occasions don't really fit into the holiday or home décor categories. Sometimes you're just proud of someone and want to celebrate a special moment or accomplishment.

Sports photographs, Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts, school activities and special milestones all work well as fillable ornament keepsakes. These are the kinds of decorations that are fun to pull out years later and remember.

I can also picture grandparents displaying several of these together of each of their children and grandchildren.

Other ideas...

• Graduation keepsakes and senior portraits.
• Dance recital and gymnastics awards.
• Little League and youth sports memories.
• Scout badges and achievement keepsakes.
• Teacher appreciation and classroom accomplishments.
• Music recital and band concert photographs.
• First place ribbons and competition awards.
• Fishing tournament and hunting trip memories.
• Family reunion keepsakes.
• Employee appreciation gifts.
• Retirement celebrations.
• First day of school and kindergarten memories.
• College acceptance announcements.
• Pet show and 4-H accomplishments.
• Favorite family photographs and milestone moments.

Independence Day & Patriotic Decorating Ideas

This category was easy and difficult at the same time. The colors were a given but there aren't nearly as many miniature accessories available for Independence Day as there are for some of the other holidays. Fortunately, red, white and blue do most of the work for you.

The ornament with the metallic foil streamers hanging from the top is made almost entirely from red, white and blue pom poms. Sometimes simple really does work best. The metallic foil streamers reminded us of fireworks bursting in the night sky and turned out to be one of our favorite patriotic decorations.

You don't have to just stick with the usual flags, stars, patriotic ribbon, military themes and summertime decorations, anything red, white and blue work for this category.

Other ideas...

• Uncle Sam themed decorations.
• Patriotic wreath decorations.
• Military appreciation keepsakes.
• Red, white and blue fairy lights displayed inside the ornament.
• Stars and stripes ribbon and bow decorations.
• Firework inspired ornaments made with metallic foil streamers.
• Memorial Day and Veterans Day decorations.
• Patriotic picnic table centerpieces.
• Summer BBQ and party decorations.
• Eagle and American flag themed displays.
• Parade and community celebration decorations.
• Patriotic tiered tray decorations.

Star Shaped Fillable Ornament

Fillable ornaments aren't limited to traditional round shapes. Star shaped fillable ornaments open up even more possibilities for seasonal decorations, keepsakes, gifts and year-round crafts. Fill them with flowers, shells, beads, miniature decorations, photos and other small treasures, or use several together to create colorful hanging displays. The shape itself can become part of the design, making the same basic ornament work for spring, summer, fall, Christmas, patriotic celebrations and special memories.

Other ideas for star shaped fillable ornaments:

• Wedding keepsake stars filled with dried flowers, lace, pearls, ribbon or small pieces saved from the wedding day.
• Baby keepsake ornaments with a hospital bracelet, tiny photo, name, birth date or other small mementos.
• Memorial stars containing a photograph, dried flowers, meaningful charms or other small remembrance items.
• Vacation memory stars filled with tiny souvenirs, photographs, ticket stubs, sand, shells or other reminders of a favorite trip.
• Garden and fairy stars with moss, miniature flowers, butterflies, fairies, mushrooms or tiny garden decorations.
• Snowy winter stars filled with artificial snow, snowflakes, silver or blue beads, glitter and miniature winter scenes.
• Halloween stars filled with orange, black and purple beads, tiny bats, spiders, ghosts, candy or spooky miniature decorations.
• Thanksgiving stars with miniature leaves, acorns, berries, raffia and other harvest-themed decorations.
• Valentine stars filled with tiny hearts, red and pink beads, flowers, ribbon, candy or a special photograph.
• Birthday stars filled with confetti, curled ribbon, tiny balloons, beads or small treats in the recipient's favorite colors.
• School spirit stars decorated in school colors and filled with ribbons, beads, pom-poms or miniature team-themed items.
• Sports stars made in team colors with small balls, numbers, ribbons or other sport-themed embellishments.
• Pet keepsake stars with a favorite photograph, name tag, ribbon, paw-print charm or other small remembrance.
• Nature stars filled with dried flowers, seed pods, tiny pinecones, leaves, feathers or other natural materials.
• Candy-filled stars coordinated to a holiday, party theme or special occasion for favors and small gifts.
• Craft supply stars filled with colorful beads, buttons, sequins, pom-poms, ribbon snippets or other pretty supplies.
• Miniature scene stars featuring tiny characters, animals, houses, trees or other pieces arranged into a small scene.
• Suncatcher stars filled with translucent beads, iridescent pieces, sequins or reflective materials that catch the light in a sunny window.
• Personalized name stars featuring a name, initial, date or short message with coordinating decorations inside.
• Party and event decorations made in coordinating colors and hung individually, grouped together or incorporated into garlands and displays.

You don't limit fillable stars to just individual ornaments. You could make several in coordinating or contrasting colors and hang them together as a garland, window decoration, porch display or party decoration. Add tiny battery-operated lights or other translucent and reflective materials to create stars that glow after dark. With a string of regular lights you can enclose each light with a star and create a whole different atmosphere with them. Change the colors and fillings for birthdays, holidays, weddings, showers, seasonal decorating or outdoor entertaining.

Fillable Ornaments for Christmas Decorating

And now, we've finally reached the group of fillable ornaments that started out being where I expected this craft to go. Christmas ornaments can be elegant, cutesy, sentimental, personalized, or simply fun. Pretty much every idea on this page could be done with a Christmas flair with a little ribbon and some holiday colors.

Here are some ideas we came up with.

If you are interested and in case it isn't obvious, the top of the gum ball machine is a red soda bottle cap with a slit for the hanger (Yay no painted needed). The base of the gum ball machine is a "red solo cup" with the bottom portion cut off (again, no paint needed). The dispenser mechanism is a pull tab from a soda can.

These projects are intended to inspire. Mix the ideas, change the fillings and embellishments, and use materials you already have.

The nature of a fillable ornament, round and fillable with a hanger on top, automatically says Christmas. But after all of the ideas for weddings, babies, Easter, Halloween, and everything in between, we, or at least I, don't see them that way anymore and I'm not sure at what point I began seeing them as being useful for so much more.