5 Ideas for DIY Painted Christmas Ornaments You Can Make with the Whole Family!
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Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? If you’re still in the preparation process and are trying to decide on a theme for your Holiday decorations, why not switch the store-bought baubles for DIY painted Christmas ornaments? Gather your family together and immerse yourselves in creativity with an activity that will get your festive spirit going! In this article, we’re going to look at 5 different ideas for eco-friendly hand-painted tree decorations suitable for both kids and adults!
DIY Painted Christmas Ornaments
Decorating the Christmas tree has always been a shared activity in my family that we all participated in with great enthusiasm. One year, we decided to try something new and make our own ornaments. They turned out so well, that we haven’t looked back ever since! We’ve experimented with all different kinds of materials – both ready-made and nature-found. I’m about to share with you some of my absolute favorites that you, too, can easily make with your family!
Eco-Friendly Walnut Tree Decorations
Walnuts are ideal for Christmas tree ornaments, especially if it’s small in size! Their shape is very similar to that of a regular bauble, and their texture is incredibly easy to paint on. What you’re going to need is walnuts, obviously, twine, acrylic paint, one thick and one thin round brush, and hot glue. The first thing you need to do is open the walnuts and remove the kernel. Then, cut the twine and fold it in two. Tie a knot at the bottom and lay it on top of one of the halves of the walnut. Apply hot glue around the edge of the shell and quickly place the other half on top, leaving the twine in between. Let it set for a minute and start painting!
Hand-Painted Air Dry Clay
An all-time favorite material that I like to use to create decorations for any occasion and Holiday is air dry clay. The first you need to supply is either a clay or a cookie silicone mold with Christmas-themed shapes. The air-dried clay is incredibly easy to use. You start by cutting out small blocks that will go in each slot of the mold. Knead them on a flat surface, then place them in each opening, making sure that there are no gaps. Flatten them and leave them to air dry. I suggest you poke a hole in each of them where the twine is going to go through before they’ve hardened. Once they’re done drying, use acrylic paint to decorate them as you wish!
Read also: DIY Decorating Ideas for Salt Dough Ornaments for Christmas
Hand-Print Keepsake
Another thing you can do with the air dry clay is create a cute keepsake of your kid’s handprint. Oddly enough, it makes the perfect Santa Claus silhouette! Use watercolors or acrylic paint to draw his face and Christmas hat as shown above, and use a bow or twine to hang it on your tree! Note: To create the sparkling effect of the hat, right after you’ve painted it, sprinkle some red glitter on top. Once it’s dry, pat the ornament face down to get rid of any excess.
Personalized Wood Slice Tree Ornaments
You’ve probably seen these ornaments all over Pinterest and Instagram. If you’re wondering how and why all of a sudden everyone turned into a lumberjack – they haven’t! These tree decorations are far more simple to make than you think, and you won’t have to cut a single branch in the process! You can buy pre-cut unfinished wood slices off of Amazon in bulk for pretty cheap, some of which even come with predrilled holes! Once you’ve supplied those, what’s left for you to do is get your creative juices flowing and paint your Christmas images on them! A piece of advice – to make the colors of your painting appear more vibrant, first apply a white base layer.
DIY Craft Wood Decorations
Craft wood is much thinner than the wood slices, which allows them to be cut in different shapes using a laser cutter. They come in various designs and sizes that you can buy in pretty much every craft supply store, as well as Amazon. They also have predrilled holes, so you don’t have to worry about that! Customize them with handwritten “Merry Christmas” lettering, and let your imagination run free by painting beautiful festive images! If you want to go for a rustic, minimalist aesthetic, feel free to hang them as they are!
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