Looking for a beautiful, budget-friendly way to decorate your home this Ramadan? Last year, this craft tutorial for “stained glass” ornaments was so popular on Instagram, and for good reason too! Not only are they an eco-friendly choice (using recycled card), super easy for kids to help with, but they also look stunning when they catch the light.
The best part? You’ve probably got most of the materials at home already- the only thing I bought was the tissue paper and paint. So here’s a tutorial on how I made these lovely decorations for less than £6 and read on for instructions on how to get your free template.
Just a heads-up: some links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you click and buy, I might earn a little commission– but don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything extra. And as always, I only share my genuine opinion.
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What You’ll Need
- Recycled Cardboard: Cereal boxes or tissue boxes are the perfect thickness for this project
- Tissue Paper: In colours of your choice. I got this 100 pack for £3 from Hobbycraft which is perfectly sized and has so many colour options
- Gold Paint & Brushes: To give that elegant festive finish. This is the paint we used for £2.50.
- Glue Stick: A standard Pritt Stick works perfectly (I prefer the branded one).
- Scissors: Sharp craft scissors are best for clean edges. My favourite are the ones that come in the Cricut Basic Tool Set because they’re so sharp *and* have a cover. But these are similar too.
- String/Twine: To hang your finished pieces.
(You can find a list of all the items you need here on my ShopMy).
Pro Tip: If you don’t want to draw your own shapes, you can subscribe to my blog to get access to my free library of printable templates!
Step-by-Step Tutorial: Make your own DIY Stained Glass Ramadan Ornaments
1. Prep Your Frames
First, collect your cardboard. Tissue or cereal boxes are great because they are easy to cut. You will need to cut out two identical shapes for every ornament (one for the front and one for the back). You can make a template by folding a piece of paper and drawing your shape on it or use my free printable which includes some other shapes too (just subcribe here.)
Here is where a sharp tipped pair of craft scissors really comes in hand!
2. Add Some Glow
Paint the “frames” of your shapes with your gold paint. This is a great stage to get the kids involved! Let them paint the cardboard and set them aside to dry completely. Tip: do thin layers of paint to avoid soaking the cardboard. While the layers dry you can move onto the next step.
3. Create the Stained Glass Effect
Prep your tissue paper. Cut the paper into “organic” chunks, roughly the size of a 50p coin. Another step that’s perfect for the kids to get involved with as they don’t need to be perfectly shaped. In fact, the less perfect the better!
4. Layer the Colors
Apply glue around the inner edge of one frame. Start sticking your tissue paper down, working from the outside in.
Layer it up: You’ll need to layer the tissue paper as you work your way into the middle. But don’t worry, the tissue paper creates a gorgeous, blended stained-glass look when the light shines through.
Continue until the entire “window” of the shape is filled.
5. Seal and Hang
Once your window is full, glue the second gold frame onto the back. This hides the messy edges of the tissue paper and makes your ornament look beautiful from both sides. Once the glue is dry, leave them under some heavy books overnight to keep their shape flat.
Finally, trim any excess cardboard/overlap and punch a small hole in the top, loop through some string, and you’re done!
Why I Love This Craft
Eco-Friendly: Uses up all those empty cereal boxes! And you can use them year-in-year-out. I’ve kept mine stored safely to use again!
Developmental: Great for kids to practice their fine motor skills through gluing and layering.
Versatile: Hang them in your windows, on a tension rod (like me) or string them together to make a garland. Plus you can match them to the colour of your decor or go multicoloured like us.
What do you think?
Did you make these? Please do tag me in your photos if you do- I’d love to see your colorful creations!
love,
