Monday, December 12, 2011

Paint Swirled Christmas Ornaments

Kid friendly project!  It didn't hold Steel's attention too long so I finished myself.  I had never made them before, didn't know what to expect, etc.  Fun!  We will do again!


Materials
Assorted Clear Ornaments  - I bought plastic ones from Michael's
Assorted Acrylic Paints
(I bought the ribbon and cording for hanging...I will have a separate post on that tomorrow)


The How To
1.  Remove hanging stem from ornament.
2.  Squeeze paint into ornament and swirl and/or shake away.



-Our paint was too thick to really swirl easily.  We remedied the situation by adding more paint or we would have been there all night.  The problem is then you have way too much paint.  I thought about thinning the paint but I'm afraid that we won't get the same swirl effects that the paints would end up blending together to make new colors more easily.  So after I was all done I google'd it... check out another how to here.  Well, in a nut shell it takes a long time.  Turning every 5-10 minutes... Wow, I am SO not that patient!  Anyhow...I think I would rather just deal with too much paint.  BUT, since now I know it take quite a bit of time to complete this project, I will allow for the extra time. 

3.  Let dry upside down.


-I had the extra paint drip into a small plastic bowl and used that paint in other ornaments to check down on the waste.

-I used old magazines and styrofoam plates under the ornaments to handle the excess paint dripping out of the ornaments.  The newspaper would never handle the paint.

-I also moved the ornaments a few times to new locations so that the paint wouldn't be sitting at the opening of the ornament.

Don't they look great?!

4.  Replace the stem and hang.
I using ribbon to hang on a tension rod above the kitchen sink...


2 comments:

  1. That's a neat idea! I'll have to save it for a project to do with my girls at church. They would get a kick out of it.

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  2. Thanks! I suggest that you save egg cartons to use to hold them while they dry to catch the paint and for easier transporting.

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