Tuesday S. is a Hallmark designer and illustrator who has some serious creative talent. She recently hosted a holiday craft workshop in which Hallmarkers painted wooden objects to create inexpensive Christmas decorations. And this craft is so easy the kids can get in on the fun, too! The photos blew us away, and we just had to share. Read on!
Tis the season for chopping down trees and turning em into decorations! But why stop at just the Christmas tree? I’m kidding, of course—you don’t have to chop down any trees. The craft stores have done all the work for you. All you have to do is get out those paintbrushes and craft paints, because it’s time for some holiday crafting. We’re dressing up some painted wooden objects!
As artists here at Hallmark, we have fun with paint all year long. But I have a real soft spot for Christmas crafting. In this particular workshop, we were playing around with painted wooden objects and imagining fun ways to style them for photos. We gathered up pretty much every single format of wood you can find at a craft store, threw on some Christmas tunes, and painted away. So many unexpected, quirky, fun things came out of it.
We rounded up a lot of wooden spoons, but since we were only using them as photo props, we didn’t use paints that are food-safe or dishwasher-safe. There are a lot of tutorials out there with tips on how to create dishwasher-safe wooden spoons, if you’re interested in that. I personally think these could make super cute holiday decorations (bunched up together in a wide-necked vase, for instance). Paint a variety of spoon sizes and heights so they all display well together.
Another really great format we used was wooden clothespins. Huge hint here: Kids love this one! I know, because I tried it. We simply painted them to look like people and added fun accessories using felt, yarn, string and fabric scraps. These are super fun as decorations on the tree or to dress up a Christmas package. They just have so much character!
Another favorite format was peg people. They make so many different sizes! Lots of storytelling potential here, people! Plus, they’re pretty darn cute as Christmas decorations, scattered around the house with a few little sprigs of pine or any other sweet, traditional Christmas accessories.
I love, love, love this season, and my weekends are chock-full of all the fun holiday goodness—shopping, wrapping, baking and some good ol’ crafting. And getting started is simple: random found wood objects, basic craft paint in quirky, fun colors, your favorite crafting crew, and some eggnog. That’s all you need to get this party started! Happy Christmas Crafting!
Do you craft during the Christmas season? Share your Christmas creations with us on Instagram @Think.Make.Share or on Facebook! For more ideas and inspiration, check out our other holiday recipes, crafts and decor posts.