Homemade Glitter That Doesn’t Glitter

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

That was certainly the case when I tried to make homemade glitter from salt.

The instructions said to combine 1/4 cup of salt with a 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees and Viola! Homemade glitter!

Well folks, I’m here to tell you that what you end up with is colored salt.  It’s not really homemade glitter.  It’s kinda pretty and colorful, but glittery?  Ummm, no.  Sorry.  Not much glittery action going on at all.

Guess I’m going to have to delete this off my Pinterest boards gosh darn it.

Is this glitter? Craft Sand? Or just colorful salt?

I tried this with regular table salt first.  The finished results reminded me more of the colored sand you can buy at the craft store.

Then I had the bright idea to try it with the Sea Salt I use for my homemade body scrub thinking that the sea salt has bigger crystals.  Maybe bigger crystals would equal more glitteryness.  (is that a word??)

Pretty sea salt in the sunshine – but not really glitter

But no, it was still just colorful salt.

Now I suppose colorful salt could still be used in an art project to keep the kiddos entertained. Perhaps if you wanted to do some kind of craft project on the spur of the moment and had to make due with only what you had on hand.  Other than that, I can’t get very enthusiastic about colorful salt taking the place of glitter.

So this recipe is getting chalked up in my Half Baked Ideas category with my disappointing liquid soap, strange margarine spread, and bizarre brown sugar.

I’ve said this before but it’s worth repeating –  nothing is ever really a failure.  With every experiment or recipe that turns out a little strange, you learn and grow.  You now know one more thing that doesn’t work!

So let not your hearts be troubled by a failed recipe.  Remember, you just got a little smarter.