First, clean the outside of your ornaments with rubbing alcohol and dry with newspaper to remove any dust or other particles. (Newspaper works better than paper towels or cloth because it doesn’t leave anything behind – a little trick I learned working in restaurants when I was a teen!)
Next, using a sponge brush, paint one of your ornaments in the darkest shade of color, working from the metal light bulb base to the tip. When the entire light bulb is covered evenly, sprinkle glitter to your desired coating all the way around.
Then, while still holding the metal light bulb base between your fingers, dry your ornament with a paint dryer or hairdryer on high heat. Hold about six inches away from your light bulb and rotate to dry evenly, for about 30 seconds.
Lastly, when your light bulb ornament is completely dry, knot a 6″ to 8″ length of jute string (or any other string or yarn that you like) around the metal base of the light bulb, knotting once – and tightly. Then knot the other end to create an ornament loop, and voila!
Repeat with additional light bulbs with your lighter shades, together creating the ombre craft effect when they are hung from the tree.