DIY Rustic Textured Christmas Ornaments
Textured Christmas ornaments are everywhere these days – West Elm, Target, Crate and Barrel, and the list goes on! But why spend the money at these popular retailers when you can make your own? Grab some inexpensive glass ornaments (or even better, reuse some of your old ornaments), and a few other supplies, set aside the afternoon and you’ll love the result. Plus that satisfaction of having made something beautiful on your own. I’ll show you how to make textured Christmas ornaments in this tutorial.
This time of year I’m always thinking about how I can add a little something fun into my existing Christmas decor. Let’s be honest, we’ve been in our home and decorating the same space for over 10 years, so we really don’t NEED anything. But we do have several trees that we put up every year, so making ornaments is a perfect way to add a little something.
The rustic textured look
This is a painting technique I’ve seen done to make vases and lamps look like concrete or stone. And I thought it would also be a fun look for a Christmas ornament. You need at least 2 colors of paint and the possibilities are endless. You can keep with that natural stone palette, or pick something like a burgundy or green or other jewel tones. You can do any combination of colors you want. I had some leftover white paint from another project so I decided that was going to be my base and I wanted a natural stone look.
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How to make textured ornaments
supplies Needed
The biggest decision for this project is what color paints you are going to use. As I mentioned already, it can really be anything you want. The type of paint doesn’t much matter either. Becuase I am a furntiure painter, I have lots of furniture paint lying aroud, so that’s what I used. For my base color, I used Perfect White and for my second color I used Saturday White (both by Melange Paints).
For ornaments, repurpose some that you have lying around or buy new. Either glass or plastic works! I purchased glass ones at Michaels for this project – they are much cheaper than Amazon at this time of year, especially if you have a coupon or they are running a sale.
Step 1: Prepare ornaments
The first thing you need to do is take apart and clean up your ornaments. I wiped the glass downwith a glass cleaner to remove any dust or oils (especially important to give them a quick clean if you are re-suing older ornaments.
Becuase you are painting them and its fastest to paint the entire ornament and let it dry, you should set up something where they can dry. Use what you have on hand. I took some pencils and taped them to the insides of the ornaments. Crafiting paint brushes work well too! Then placed them up side down in mugs.
Step 2: Painting the base layer
Now its time for paint! The base layer is what will have the texture in it. Do get this textured finish, I mixed baking soda into the paint, an approximately 50/50 ratio. Then just paint it on! It can be a little messy, but I hold onto the top with the pencil and just rotate it around until it’s painted.
You can stipple as you go or use more traditional brush strokes depending on the texture you are wanting to acheive. I did a little of both. You will probably need to do a few coats to get the coverage and texture that you like. I did two. Then set the ornament aside to dry.
Step 3: Dry brushing the accent color
After the base coat and texture have dried, it is time to add the accent color. I did this using a dry brushing technique. This is as easy as it sounds. Add a small amount of paint to your brush, brush the excess off onto a paper towel, and then lightly brush over the textured surface. Continue to add color until you are happy with the look. And if you overdo it? No problem, just go back to you base color and add that over top again to counteract the accent color. You can go back and forth between colors until you like the outcome!
Step 4: Finishing touches
Once the paint completely dried, I sealed them with matte Mod Podge. While technically they paint I used doesn’t need a topcoat, I felt sealing them gave them a tougher finish and keeps the baking soda from flaking off over time. I was worried that the Mod Podge might make them too shiny but it didn’t change the sheen at all.
Using Eurpoean Gold Rub N Buff, I changed the color of the metal tops. Then put everything back together and tied some crafting twine to hang the ornaments with.
Summary
So what do you think? Do you love these rustic textured Christmas ornaments as much as I do? I can’t wait to make some more in other colors – they are quick and easy to do! In addition to hanging them as traditional ornaments, they would also look great displayed in a bowl or nestled into a garland.
I’d love to know if you try this project and if so, how it turns out! Be sure to head on over to my Instagram page and tag me there so I can see! Happy crafting!
Like this project? Check out these other DIY Tutorials:
- Make Your Own Chinoiserie Christmas Ornaments
- How to Make a Lighted Fabric Garland
- Feather Christmas Tree DIY
- Learn How to Paint Wood Furniture
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the latest furniture and DIY projects delivered directly to your inbox!