Dollar Tree Jar Ornament Ideas

I found these plastic jar ornaments at Dollar Tree during one of my pre-Christmas visits and fell in love. I had a very specific idea in mind for one, but I bought several because I knew I’d find a use for them. I’ll show you what I did for three of mine, but I also hope you’ll find yourself inspired to try some different things. I will definitely be looking for these again next year.

Before my husband and I were even married, I remember sitting in my college apartment, making ornaments for my family and his. I had some round glass ornaments that each had a side opening. I created a scene in each one for each family, and I loved making those ornaments so much.

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For my [now] husband, I made a little replica of the bench he proposed to me on. That ornament stayed on display year-round until some little hands got ahold of it, and one day I found it in pieces. So although those little hands are bigger and more trustworthy these days, when I saw the little jar ornaments at Dollar Tree, the idea of recreating the bench—in an enclosed ornament—was very appealing.

That’s just what I did with my first jar ornament! I used the same basic supplies I used the first time around—Model Magic, scrap cardboard, paint, glitter, scissors, and glue. I also used wire and alcohol ink markers (something I didn’t have 20 years ago) for flower stems and to get a wood look for the bench. I love using Model Magic because it’s so lightweight. You don’t have to worry about the finished ornament being too heavy to hang on the tree.

Here’s how I made my little scene in an ornament.

You could make whatever kind of scene you’d like! I’ve made a little house, church, Christmas tree by a fire… so many possibilities. The technique I used for making the bench? You could make a whole building that way! Model Magic makes adorable little trees.

I built up the base of the ornament using Model Magic. I made a disc that just barely fit inside the opening of the ornament and let it dry. Once it had dried, I brushed on some glue and sprinkled it with glitter.

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To make the bench, I colored part of my scrap cardboard with my alcohol ink markers to look something like wood. I cut wood “planks” out of that colored cardboard and colored the edges so there wasn’t any white showing. Then I glued them together to look like a bench. I added a little glitter “snow” to the bench with a tiny bit of glue.

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To make the roses, I first attempted to make them entirely out of Model Magic. I wasn’t happy with the stems, but then I had the thought to use wire instead. I just happened to have some green wire, so I cut little pieces of that and added little rose blooms to them out of Model Magic. I carefully painted the flowers red, and then I made tiny leaves by coloring a patch of a piece of paper green with an alcohol ink marker and then cutting them out with scissors. I used a tiny bit of glue to attach them to the stems. Once the roses dried, I glued them to the bench.

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I glued the completed bench to the Model Magic base I’d made, and then attached the lid to the jar. I thought I was done, but I decided I needed more snow. There are a couple of ways I could have done this, but I decided to add the snow from the top. I took the little silver cap off the top of the ornament made a paper funnel, and poured some glitter around the bench. I gave the ornament a little shake to make sure I was happy with the snow, and then I put the cap back on the ornament.

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Colorful tree ornament

Making the colorful tree ornament quick and easy. I used the same trees I made for my colorful tree and pompom wreath as well as my colorful forest ornament.

I used three of the smallest trees I had, and I had to kind of smoosh them together to get them to fit. Once I knew they’d fit, I hot glued them to the inside of the jar lid. I poured some tiny foam balls (the smallest I found at Dollar Tree) into the jar, and then I screwed the lid onto the jar. Once I flipped it around, the snow fell to the bottom. This one is pretty fun to shake up. 🙂

Tree ribbon ornament

The last ornament I made this year, with the tree ribbon, is one I may remake next year in a better way. I did basically the same thing I did for my winter tree candle holder, but I attempted to glue the ribbon inside the jar. The problem I had was that I didn’t want the glue to be visible. I used Tacky Glue for this, but if I had it to do over again, I would either use hot glue and glue the ribbon to the outside of the ornament (like I did on the jar) or use Glue Dots or something similar to attach them on the inside again. I do like the foam snow I used, so I would definitely use that again.

Have you used the Dollar Tree jar ornaments? If so, how did you use them? You can show me on Instagram or Facebook!

Happy crafting!