Mixed-media Christmas ornaments

mixed-media ornament 3

mixed-media ornament 2

mixed-media ornament

Picture it.

A little townhouse in the year 2000.

A newly married wife with a bent for all things creative {and very little extra cash to spend}  wondered what to do for family Christmas gifts.

A big sale at the local Michaels store on clear Christmas ball ornaments had the light bulb flickering to life.

And thus began my love affair with painting and decorating Christmas ornaments.

On a recent jaunt to some thrift stores with the Hubs (yes, he enjoys shopping with me), I came across a forlorn box of ornaments.  They were intact but had some spots on the inside where the paint was showing it’s age.  Ornaments with age spots…who knew?

Anyway, once I saw that they were only a dollar, I snatched them up and brought them home to my little studio.

I liked that the ornaments were showing their age and I wanted to take that further.  With some fine sandpaper I very, very gently sanded away even more of the paint and polish using circular motions, then cleaned them with a soft paper towel.  Some leftover sheet music and pages from an old bible -an earlier thrift store find- were perfect for my little heart cut outs.  Once that was done I used acrylic matte medium (mod podge works, too) and a small foam brush to adhere the cut outs to the ornaments.  If the cut outs were particularly small, tweezers came in handy.  Any excess medium was carefully patted away with a paper towel.  I hung them up to dry using little ornament hooks.

I’m currently on the hunt for the perfect ribbon to add to the top…or something.  When I told the Hubs that I wanted to put these in my next arts and crafts show, he only had this to say-

“They’re really nice!  You are keeping one for here, right?”

He always knows just what to say! ;o)

{Forgive me for going all Sophia Petrillo on you up there at the beginning!  I’ve always loved watching the Golden Girls…}

Thanks so much for stopping by!

New Art~


No, I haven’t lost my calendar. I’m just excited about some of the mini-paintings that I’ve done for Christmas and I couldn’t wait to share one with y’all! Some will have their own mini-easel while others, with the addition of a ribbon hanger will become ornaments. I’m pretty sure that a couple of these might make their way onto our tree…or in a wreath…or– Well, you get the idea!

The crown has been finding its way onto my doodle pads and paintings, lately. Every year I’m drawn to a particular object or symbol when I’m thinking about Christmas decorating. Snowflakes, the Moravian star, etc. Sometimes I’m in sync with the trends of the season but, more often than not, I’m on a different page dancin’ to the beat of a different drummer.

Well, thank you for letting me interrupt your regularly scheduled Summer program for a Christmas special!

Blessings,