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Hand Painted Mini Canvas Christmas Ornaments
Lots and lots of popular crafts right now include hand painting things. The most common medium is watercolor paints. While I have it on my to-do list to learn watercolors I just haven’t had the time… yet. But I love the hand-painted rage going on and wanted to get in on it. So I hand-painted some mini canvases to be cute little ornaments.
Now I purchased a 4 pack of small canvases and I dreamed up 4 simple and easy-to-copy ideas for each of my ornaments. Just so you know I’m not much of an artist at all but I really try I swear these really are simple and if you need a boost of confidence a few practice drawings on scrap paper will sort you straight out!
For this project you will need:
- Mini canvases
- Paints
- Pipe cleaners (ribbon or string would also work)
- Hot glue gun
I’m more confident drawing than painting and since I didn’t want these to take as long as a true masterpiece would (without true masterpiece results!) I decided to use oil paint markers instead of craft acrylics and brushes. Which you choose is totally a personal preference.
First up, Santa’s belt. Draw a yellow rectangle in the middle of your canvas and a larger rectangle around that. Fill in and you’ve got your belt buckle.
Fill in the center of the buckle with black and draw the strap of the belt on either side, running over the sides of the canvas.
Fill in above and below with red paint.
Finish off by tracing the buckle and writing Ho! Ho! Ho!
Draw an egg shape with a smaller egg shape below. This is a penguin and the outer shape is his body and the inner his belly!
Draw a yellow cone shape for the nose and draw two white eyes with a black dot in each. Fill in the rest of the outer egg shape. Embellish with a bow tie, hair bows or you can even glue on items. I love this idea but it just came to me so I drew my bowtie on!
Fill in the blank area with blue.
Draw simple snowflakes on the background. I actually have a really detailed tutorial here that might help you to draw snowflakes.
Now for my favorite, the snowman! Draw a large circle and inside around the middle an orange carrot shape. Make black dots for eyes and a mouth. Draw the shoulders/second ball of snow just beneath and give a few coal dots for buttons.
Fill in the background with solid green. And check out my process here. While I’m showing you each step for each painting in a row I actually had to flit around as the paint dried
Finish with yellow dots for the background. And if you’re wondering, I need to go to the store for peanuts, chicken, rice, and a freezer
Last, but not least, we have tangled up Christmas lights. Because tangled up lights are as much a part of Christmas as Santa Claus himself
Draw a “bulb” shape and fill it in. It doesn’t have to be perfect, by the by!
Draw the socket out of black by making a 3 shape on the right and a backward 3 shape on the left. Fill in.
Place your bulbs however you please.
Fill in the background with purple (FYI my purple paint marker sucked and this is like 4 uneven and awful coats – womp, womp!) Add highlights of lighter colors like pink on red, white on yellow, etc., and trace the outside of each bulb.
Draw winding and curling wires between the bulbs running over the edges of the canvas!
Cut a pipe cleaner in half and hot glue to the back to act as a hanger.
The string of lights is a lot of fun and it’s my favorite idea. Unfortunately, that mottled purple background is hacking me off and knocking it from my favorite ornament made here. But it’s still super fun!
The snowflake background here is definitely my fave but…
As much as I didn’t really like the concept, but felt it would be simple enough to execute, the snowman is surprisingly my favorite! By lots and lots and lots!
Hanging on my little lime green tinsel tree they are lots of fun and the perfect size. Because they are handmade they’d make lovely little gifts and they’d also be a great project to get the littles in on!
A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream BIGGER.
What Do I Need to Start Painting on Canvas?
Now, the first step to begin your canvas painting journey is gathering a step-by-step instructions and the following art supplies:
- Paints: Oil and acrylic paint are best on canvas, but if you’re a beginner or strapped for time, acrylic paint is the way to go. But if you want to follow these easy canvas paintings using oil paints, that is totally fine too.
- Paintbrushes: Beginners would benefit from having a collection of a few brushes, which will help you try different brush strokes without blowing your entire budget.
- Canvases: Canvases come in many shapes and sizes, but my recommendation is to use a basic cotton, pre-gessoed blank canvas. If you’re looking for a manageable canvas size, go for an 11″x14″.
- Palette: Pick a painter’s palette or a plate to create a paint mixing surface.
- Smock: If you don’t like paint getting on your favorite shirt, be sure to grab a smock or old t-shirt.
- Paper Towel & Water
A Note on Paint Colors: anything winter-related is perfect, especially blue hues, greens, white hues, and reds are perfect. However, different colors like orange and teals is a great idea for making your Christmas-themed paintings pop even more. The color selection is totally up to you. Plus, you’ll want to stock up on a lot of white paint…because it’ll go really fast.
EASY CHRISTMAS CANVAS PAINTING IDEAS YOU’LL ABSOLUTELY LOVE
In this in-depth video tutorial, you’ll paint this special snowman looking up into the wintery snowy sky. It’s adorable and an easy way to spread a little cheer.
Red House in Winter
This winter home painting is a landscape featuring a little red house, a snow-laden pine tree, and a quiet flurry of snow. A bit more subtle, but gorgeous in this totally doable step by step tutorial.
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November 30th, 2020 Supply List for how to make an Easy Christmas Canvas Painting
You will need: (items shown in the photo or any substitution you prefer) Don’t forget, you are not required to use the exact items! “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
- Dollar Tree canvas flat or stretched (your choice any size) I am using 11X14
- Painting tools – brushes and/or palette knivesplastic or metal I will be using the metal set.
- Acrylic paint of your choice. You can use heavy body or basic acrylic paint (I prefer to use the Liquitex heavy body personally) You can also use paint from Artist Loft as well. Don’t forget to use the latest Michael’s stores coupon and if you happen to be shopping Hobby Lobby use your 40% off Hobby Lobby weekly coupon!
- You will need the basic colors for this project. Because we will be mixing colors to make other colors I can not say exactly which colors.
- The colors shown are the majority of what I will be using. Black, White, brown, green, yellow, blue, red. I will most likely be using other colors as well.
IMPORTANT: I am using the more expensive paints however you can absolutely use the basic acrylic paints including using APPLE BARREL acrylics or Craft Smart paints!
The supply list is a list of what will be used, but there are no specifications as to how much of the items you will need. This will be determined after the project has been completed.
Please substitute where you can!
If it is not in your budget to purchase supplies, please get creative and think outside the box! Ask yourself, “What else could you use?” Furthermore, do you have things at home you can use? You can still craft with us! BUYING SUPPLIES FOR THE CRAFTS in the Creative Haven is not a requirement. I simply want you to craft with us and make it your own.
Use your creative imagination to make this your own!
All items suggested are simply that, a suggestion. If you can not use the items selected, please substitute where you can! In the Creative Haven, we craft together in a private group and share our DIY IDEAS. You gain access to bonus content and exclusive members-only content. This content is not available to the public for at least 30 days but there is no promise that the content will ever be made public.
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