Rustic and Rusty DIY Christmas Ornaments

I think I have 27 boxes of Christmas ornaments in my attic. I cannot help it...as the holidays approach, making Christmas ornaments is my FAVORITE thing to do by myself and with my kids! I dream of one day having 27 trees in my house (OK, maybe not 27) to accommodate all of these ornamnets...because I cannot bare to part with any of them. Each ornament reminds me of a special time with my kids, what type of crafting I was loving that year, or reflects a decorating style I like.

Funky, rusty ornaments are my thing this year. I have been using this same technique on some larger Texas shapes (made from wood) and people have been buying them like crazy! I thought this was a perfect application to mix with my past rustic wood ornaments and burlap banners on my tree...and they will look marvleous with my Buffalo Check Plaid tree skirt...I see this years "theme" emerging!

For the last few years, I have been lucky to participate in the 31 Days of Handmade Ornaments Party. I love seeing the creativity and uniqueness of the bloggers ornaments and it gets me ready and moving on making my own Christmas ornaments. This year I am day 16...so there are already 15 fab ornaments posted and 15 more to come!
Be sure to visit the Pinterest Board for more ideas and inspiration!

SUPPLIES

• Wood shapes. I have laser cut wood shapes for this project. Some were purchased online (Texas, angel, and wreath), some I had in my stash (plain stars), and the deer, ornate star, and angel wings were recently purchaded from Michaels

• Optional: Round or square wood scraps (see directions). I say optional becasue my intention was to use only the shapes for my ornaments, but then I attached a few to some shapes and fell in L-O-V-E.

• Twine (or ribbon)
• Newspaper/scrap paper/drop cloth to protect your work surface
• Paint brushes: The ones for the rust past can be old, icky, and cheap. For the paint you can use which type of brush you would like.
• Paint: I use an acrylic paint, white and bahama blue (DecoArt). You can use any colors you want, I just happen to like this combination
• Rust Paste: FolkArt Painted Finishes, Light Rust and Dark Rust
• Metallic paint: I use a metallic (DecoArt Dazzling Metallic - Champagne Gold) paint and a gold gilding (Martha Stewart)
• Glue, my choice E6000

MAKE IT! 1. Cover your work surface and wear gloves if desired.
2. Drill a hole in the wood shapes for hanging.

3. Paint each shape the base color, white, let dry. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT.

4. Paint each shape the accent color (DecoArt, bahama blue) let dry. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT, let the white show a little. Let dry for a few minutes.

5. Use the lighter rust past and one of the junky paint brushes and "pounce" the rust paste on the ornament. You do NOT need to cover the entire ornament...leave the base paint showing. This can get messy! 
TIP:do not put too much Rust Paste on your brush. Play with it first on a scrap piece of wood, etc. to see how it applies.

5-A. And you may question whether or not I have lost my mind (I have lost my mind....but not about this!)

6. Use the darker rust past and one of the junky paint brushes and "pounce" the rust patste on the ornament. You wil be pouncing on top of the paint and the first rust paste color. You want them to mix and overlap.

7. Take another (old/junky) brush and pounce all over, essentially blending the rust pastes together and making seamless transitions with the base paints. If you want, grab some of the base and accent colors on another brush and lightly dab on top to bring some more color forward. Let dry.

8. Here is another messy part - cover your work area - paint will be flying! Using the metallic paint, dip a paint brush, tap it off: Hold the brush horizontally with one hand and either flick the brush or aggressively tap the end of the brush (toward the bristles) with the other hand. You want splatter (think Jackson Pollock)

9. I repeat step 8 using the Martha Stewart Gold Gilding - it gives a really luxurious look. 

10. Let the ornaments dry completley. Go to step 11 or is you like that mounted look....go to step 12
11. Thread a length (about 12") of twine/ribbon through the hole and tie at the top.

12. You can also mount the rust ornaments to a plain wood block (I have a ton of scraps from past projects) or to wood disks I found at Michaels. The round disks were about 99 cents! This photo was taken prior to finishing the shapes.

12-A. After I painted and rusted my shapes, I let them dry completely. Then is placed them on the wood shapes, which I painted white and sanded and drilled a hole in. I affixed the shapes to the wood blocks with E6000 glue.

And there you have gorgeous faux finish rusty ornaments. I promise they look so good. At the last craft maketplace I sold at, people were amazing these were wood! And you can use all different shapes!

So, are you ready to make some amazing handmade ornaments!?

Every year that I particpate in this ornament blog hop, I am more and more amazed and the unique ornaments. Be sure to check them all out.

Here are all 31 Bloggers in order of their appearance!

Be sure to visit Inspiration for Moms tomorrow!

Day 1 - Pet Scribbles | Day 2 - Yesterday on Tuesday Day 3 - Cupcakes and Crinoline | Day 4 - An Extraordinary Day Day 5 - Celebrating Everyday Life | Day 6 - Hunt and Host Day 7 - Love of Home | Day 8 - Celebrate Creativity Day 9 - Petticoat Junktion | Day 10 - What Meegan Makes Day 11 - Atta Girl Says | Day 12 - Sweet Pea Day 13 - Exquisitely Unremarkable | Day 14 - Imparting Grace Day 15 - In My Own Style | Day 16 - 504 Main by Holly Lefevre (YOU ARE HERE - DAY 16 !) Day 17 - Inspiration for Moms | Day 18 - The Chelsea Project Day 19 - I Should Be Mopping the Floor Day 20 - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | Day 21 - Hearth and Vine Day 22 - Shabby Art Boutique | Day 23 - Remodelando la Casa Day 24 - Domestically Speaking | Day 24 - The Everyday Home Day 26 - Stone Gable | Day 27 - My Creative Days Day 28 - Swoodson Says | Day 29 - Knick of Time Day 30 - Lovely Etc. | Day 31 - Live Laugh Rowe

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Will you be making Christmas Ornaments? Which ones!?
Here are some more Christmas ideas from 504 Main! No Sew Buffalo Plaid Tree Skirt and Christmas Tree Crate

Rustic Wood Scrap Ornaments

Joyous Ornaments

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre These blog posts - tutorials and recipes and advice - are meant for inspiration. You must always keep your own skill level in mind when attempting a project. You should take proper safety precautions and wear proper safety equipment. Undertaking a project with my tutorials, suggested products or tools is at your own risk.