First of all, how is Christmas less than a week away?!  Time is flying by, and I find myself scrambling to finish off last minute Christmas presents, as well as taking time to slow down and enjoy the season.  This Christmas I really felt like making some homemade ornaments, and it was so lovely to just sit for an afternoon and create.

I love the look of chalkboards and handlettering with chalk...but I knew it would be a nightmare to do on ornaments.  So, I chose to do black backgrounds and white lettering.  You still get the chalkboard effect, without the nightmare of chalk smudging everywhere whenever you pick up the ornaments!

I'm not going to lie....painting words on these ornaments was a bit tough, so if you're not super confident in your writing skills then definitely go crazy with little drawings!  I painted a few trees, mountains, and mitts onto a few of the ornaments, and it was a lot less stressful. Ha!

Materials:

-glass ornaments

-black paint 

-white paint

-large sponge brush/large paint brush

-small round/liner brush

Directions:

1)  First use a large sponge brush/paint brush to do two (or three) coats of black paint on each ornament.  I used a blow dryer to help each layer dry faster, just be careful as the glass will heat up quite quickly!
*Make sure to remove the metal top off each ornament before you start.*

2)  Then pick a few phrases that you'd like to paint onto your ornaments.  Short ones are best, and I drew them out on paper to get a better idea on what style I wanted, as well as what the spacing should be.

3)  You can use a white charcoal pencil to gently trace the letters/shapes onto each ornament before using the white paint, or you can jump right in and start painting!

4)  Paint your phrases/shapes onto each ball, and let dry.

5)  Gently place the metal tops back on, and hang on your tree!

NOTES: I found most of my materials at Michaels Craft Store, and the smaller ornaments I picked up at Target.  For paint, I just used cheap acrylic from Michaels.  Glass paint would be ideal for longer lasting ornaments!

I love how they turned out!  Having a bit of a homemade touch on the tree is so lovely.

-kels

[p.s. get ready for some diy adventure time ornaments coming in the next couple of days!]