Saturday Snapshot: Ornaments

DIY Santa Ornament

I'm still working away at some final few gifts, and I've got another ornament for you to try.  I don't know why, but this little guy makes me think of a Muppet Santa...  Is it just me?

You will need:

• 2 paintbrushes: one flat and one pointed
• White porcelain ornament
• Martha Stewart multi-surface paint in:
• Some skin tone color (I used a mix of Gold Mother of Pearl and Brushed Bronze)
• Holly Berry (pearl finish)
• Putting Green (pearl finish)
• Sterling (metallic finish)
• Beetle Black (satin finish)
• Martha Stewart glass paint in Garnet glitter finish

First, paint on a red semicircle near the top of the ornament.  This will be Santa's hat.

Next, leaving a small gap below the hat, paint on Santa's face in a football shape.

Then, take your pointed brush and outline a silver beard starting at the face and making a curved base below.  To make Santa's mustache, just paint a wide "W"  If you'd like, add in a few straight lines at the bottom of the beard to add a little texture.

Next, take your silver and trace the space between Santa's face and his hat; this will be the fur trim on his hat!

If you need to, add a second coat of any of your colors until the white doesn't show through.

Finally, add the finishing details: two little black dots for his eyes, a red semi circle for his nose, and dots of red glitter and green to make a sprig of holly on his hat.

If you want, add a little silver circle to be a pom at the end of his hat.

I think he's pretty cute!

So, are you done with your Christmas shopping?

DIY Reindeer Ornament

I've been a busy little elf lately!  I love getting my Christmas gifts ready to go, wrapped and under the tree well before Christmas so that I can enjoy them longer.  This year, however, having a full time job has made things run a little slower in Santa's workshop (aka, my craft room).  So, I'm still churning out ornaments and other handmade holiday goodies!  This little guy is particularly cute :)

You will need:

• White porcelain ornament
• A small, flat paintbrush
• Martha Stewart multi-surface paint in:
• Beetle Black (Satin finish)
• Chestnut (Satin finish)
• Brushed Bronze (Metallic finish)
• Holly Berry (Pearl finish) 
• Clear spray coating (optional)

First, paint a brown oval on the ornament, letting it get wider at the base of the ornament, almost like a squat peanut.

Then, add in two little football shapes for the ears.

Next, take the brushed bronze and make two gently curving lines from the top of the reindeer's head toward the back of the ornament.  These will make the antlers.

Take your red paint and add a little cap on top of your reindeer's head and a scarf under his chin.  The cap can be as simple as a little semi-circle.  The scarf is as easy as one line around the chin and two wavy lines away from the chin.

Let this dry, then add a second coat until the white doesn't peak through.

Finally, add in a nose, ear marks, and two eyes with your black paint.  Make the nose an oval that is set near the chin.  The eyes should be two short, vertical lines.

And you're done!  If you want, finish this off with a clear coating to protect the paint.

Totally doable!

DIY Beaded Ornament

I absolutely love the look of these ornaments, and they honestly couldn't be easier to make!  It may take a lot of time, but it takes VERY little effort.

You will need:

• Small glass ornaments (the small size is important because they get too heavy otherwise)
• Glass beads- color of your choice
• E6000 Glue
• Paintbrush, pencil, something long and narrow
• Ribbon
• Tiny jingle bell

Simply squeeze a small amount of E6000 glue into the ornament, covering about one quarter of the ornament.  Shake it gently for just a few seconds to help it become slightly tacky and to help distribute it a bit more.

Then, pour some beads into the ornament, turning and gently shaking to help them find the glue.  You will probably also need to use a pencil or the end of a paintbrush to help spread the beads out by pressing gently on them to even out any clumps of beads.

Yep, that's a Lisa Frank pencil

Let this dry for at least a couple hours.  Then, repeat the process until the ornament is completely filled with beads.

Gently place the top back on the ornament, and string on a jingle bell with some ribbon.

So simple, and totally doable!  Are you making any Christmas crafts this year?

DIY Christmas Tree Gift Tag

 
It's December!  Can you believe it?  Where has the year gone....

Here is a cute gift tag for you to try- it's covered in jingle bells, so it's extra festive :)

You will need:

• Red stiffened felt
• White stiffened felt
• Red embroidery floss
• Tiny jingle bells
• Needle
• Hole punch

First, draw a Christmas tree in pencil on your white felt.  You can go crazy making it detailed, or you can go old school with a triangle and a rectangle on the bottom.  Cut it out, then trace the tree onto the red felt and cut it out as well,

Next, use your hole punch to put a few (3-5) holes in each tree.  These will be ornaments because the other color will peak through.  So, make sure you don't let your holes overlap.  Also, this takes a little muscle power... crafting isn't for wimps!

Now, take your red embroidery floss and use a running back stitch to sew the two trees together.  Start in between the two layers, so the knot at the end of the thread won't show.  Then, work your way across the trees in a zig-zag line.  The embroidery floss will look like garland going across the trees!

As you work on sewing the trees together, add in a couple of jingle bells!  I used three on each side.

Once you reach the top, thread the embroidery floss through the top of the tree to make a loop.  And you're done!

Totally doable :)

Golden Holly Leaves Ornament

I am absolutely in the Christmas spirit!  I have our tree set up, the mantle decorated, the stockings hung, and I'm well into my Christmas shopping :)  I just can't help myself- maybe I'm part elf?

Today I've got another simple ornament DIY for you to try.  The thing I like best about this one is that because the glass is left clear, you really only have to do about half the decorating! ;)  Now, I did this on a smaller ornament, but you could easily do it on a larger sized ornament as well.

You will need:

• Glass ornament
• Martha Stewart's glass paint in an opaque gold
• Glass paint in a translucent gold glitter
• Paint brushes
• Red ribbon
• Tiny jingle bell

Simply paint ovals in sets of three using the opaque gold glass paint and a small, flat brush.  You will probably want to do two coats to be sure it looks solid.  Paint sets of three all over the ornament.

sorry for the blurry photo!

Next, take a smaller, pointed brush and add three spikes on each side of each leaf.  This makes it look like holly!  Again, you might have to double up on coverage.

Then, take the applicator of the opaque gold to squeeze curly lines from one cluster of leaves to another.  This is easiest if you are always moving the bottle from the bottom of the ornament to the top, in an upward movement.  It helps keep the lines smooth.

Finally, once the opaque gold has dried, paint on some gold glitter.  Let it dry, then add a red ribbon and a jingle bell.

It's ready to hang on the tree or get wrapped as a lovely gift!

Merry One-Month-Til-Christmas!