At home, it was always a tradition to decorate the tree while
eating M&Ms and listening to Christmas music. And with tons of ornaments
gathered over the years, it usually took a few hours! From gifted ornaments to
first Christmas teddy bears, and the precious little homemade trinkets my
parents got far too many of, there was seldom empty space on our Christmas
tree. There were popsicle stick reindeer, and rice wreaths, and handprints
galore! And NOW, since me and my
roommate/sister have our own tree (snagged on Craigslist for quite a discount
by the way), the ornament making has commenced once again! As cheaply and
simply as possible…
This first DIY is pretty basic, but could be adapted in so
many ways! I think it would be totally great for kids too, because they
probably have just about as much fun experimenting as I do! There are a few fun
techniques we used, but you could do anything you’d like!
You will need:
Watercolor paper (we used this 9 x 12, 140 lb weight
Canson brand)
Watercolor paints
Paintbrushes
A ruler
A circular object roughly 2.5-3” in diameter
Gold curling ribbon and scissors
Creativity and whatever other supplies your heart
desires! (Our additional supplies were gold acrylic paint and cookie cutters.)
The basic process:
Measure and divide your watercolor paper into twelve 3”
squares, paint the paper, trace your circles on the back, and cut out the circles.
Punch a hole near the top. Fold a 7” piece of ribbon in half, and feed through
the hole. Then feed the loose ends of the ribbon through the loop created by
the fold, to make a somewhat flat knot resembling an ornament hanger. Tie
another basic knot at the top of the ribbon so that your ornament can be hung
from the tree! If your ribbon is only shiny on one side, follow the pictures
above to keep the shiny side facing outward.
Now here are a few painting techniques we used:
Pick 4 simple patterns, and using a very small brush,
paint each in 3 different shades, as shown above. This is obviously up to your
discretion, but I really loved the cohesion continuing patterns and colors
brought to our little tree!
Create an ombre wash by using more saturated paint
at the bottom, and adding water as you move upward. This may take a little
practice but never fear, you can always go solid or embrace the messy. I used
the same technique of the three different colors, because I wasn’t sure I could
extend the ombre across the width of the page! Then add patterns similar to
those above with gold acrylic paint or liquid leaf! (The patterns also hide the
fact that my ombre is pretty subpar ha!)
Or experiment with other gradients by mixing paint colors!
This is actually way easier than the ombre and almost always comes out really
pretty!
Last but not least, we used the initial painting
techniques then cut out different fun Christmas shapes! Make sure the size of
you initial squares (and therefore areas of pattern) are still big enough,
paint, then trace your shapes on the back using Christmas cookie cutters! Cut
from the paper, punch, and tie in the original manner!
As you can see, these ornaments come out a little crafty
and definitely homemade, but they totally work for our simple, whimsical, and
surprisingly coordinated approach to our tree! Plus talk about an inexpensive
project and easy storage! (I’d rather spend my money on all the cute gifts I
plan on making my sisters!) If you try this DIY out, tag me on Instagram or
leave a link so I can see what painting techniques you experimented with! :D
What traditions do you have for decorating the tree?
Stay lovely,
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