“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” -Albert Einstein

I’m so glad to be blogging today and super excited to share this special craft with everyone. For the last few days our kitchen table (and almost every other surface within 10 feet) has been awash in paint and glitter…all in the name of these festive little nuggets of joy!

I can’t quite remember what inspired this project…other than seeing holiday images in magazines and perusing the web for a kid-friendly craft idea. I wanted to create a set of cute ornaments to decorate a small tree just for Gemma. The art supplies I needed were already in my craft closet. Unfortunately, we had just donated some puzzles that would have been perfect for this project, so I had to find another set (which only set me back $1.50).

This craft is super cute and super easy to make. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and catch a creative bug this holiday season!

Festive Puzzle Ornaments

Materials:

• Large puzzle pieces
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes (small and medium tip, firm and loose bristle)
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Other materials you might consider: buttons, glitter, string, sticky-back jewels/pearls, glue, etc.

1. I found an inexpensive box of large puzzle pieces at a local kid’s consignment store. It helps to have a few ideas of what you want to create so you can set aside pieces with corresponding shapes before you start painting.

2. Grab your paint and give the pieces a base coat. White is a classic base for Santa, the Christmas Tree and angels. Green works well for the poinsettia and Rudolph. Red and blue are great for presents or gingerbread people. Feel free to play with colors…you can always paint over it if you don’t like the way it looks. Let your base coat dry completely before you start the next step.

3. Use a pencil to faintly sketch the designs, then begin painting. Use the wider or fuller brushes to fill in larger spaces or blot in the paint to create textured looks (like on Santa and Frosty below); use the smaller, fine tip brushes for things like the eyes, noses, polka dots or other dainty features. Once the paint dries, you can embellish with goodies such as buttons, pearls or poms. If you are worried about materials falling off, you can give these a quick seal with glossy, clear Mod Podge (or for more festive-glittery goodness, use the Sparkle Mod Podge…and don’t worry, it goes on opaque but dries clear so only the glitter remains visible). Here are some pics of my ornaments as they were drying:

4. Once your paint/topcoat and all glued adornments have successfully dried, use your hole punch and find a good spot to make your hole. Next, cut about 6-8″ of ribbon or fishing wire (or just use a simple ornament hook) to hang your new decorations. Before you use your hole punch, be sure to think about how each piece will hang on the ribbon. (I.e. I put a hole in the neck of my angels so when hanging, the ribbon covers their faces; I’ll be replacing the white ribbon with clear fishing wire for better viewing as they hang on the tree.) 

Here are my finished ornaments all snuggled into the lighted garland on my mantle. Can’t wait to let G hang these on her special little tree!!!