Wood Round Ornament
decor crafts -> wood
Hand Painted Wood Ornament
Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any holiday
Easy - with our tips & video!
Winter Holidays
I love walking by the farms in my area when the air is crisp and frost is heavy. Winter is a peaceful time of year - a time of rest and reflection.
Fall and winter holidays are a fun time to decorate, and I like to get started early on my projects. Winter days are short, and sun may not make much of an appearance. Holiday decor brings cheer and brightness into our home.
This year, I wanted to bring the outdoors in - by painting natural wood rounds. I love them! I hope you enjoy making them as much as I do.
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Use These Directions For Any Wood
I used these same steps when painting the gnome. I purchased the gnome at the Dollar Tree. They have a great selection of wood cut-outs.
Paint A Wood Round
A video of the process follows the instructions.
SUPPLIES
Pattern
I used a line drawing from a Scandinavian folk art coloring book for my bird. Draw yours freehand, go to the internet for free drawings, or use coloring books for ideas. Print, then re-size copies as needed. I used a pattern for the bird in order to show you how easy it is to trace a shape. I free hand painted the other ornaments.
I will be adding a few patterns for you to use - stay tuned.
Wood Rounds
I purchased wood rounds from Amazon. Mine were pre-drilled, 2.5” rounds with bark. My package of 50 rounds was approximately $15 (September 2022). Twine (for creating the hanger shown above) was included in the package.
I use all artist grade paints. There are several good brands, but my usual paints are Grumbacher, Liquitex or Golden. I get good results with good quality paint. Purchasing a set of acrylic paint can be cost affective.
COLOR CHOICES:
I used red for the background, and Titanium White, on my Nordic designs. I used various shades of blues, greens, black, and landscape colors for my other ornaments.
I painted on a coat of Gesso before painting. It is a good idea to prime wood before painting. I painted the entire painting surface, even though I left a border of wood showing around my paintings.
Paint / Ink Markers
Optional, but can be used for detail. I used a white paint marker to create the bird outline and snowflake lines. I went over the lines again with paint and a fine brush, but the initial outline was helpful. A white pencil could have been used instead.
Protective Spray or Gamblin Gamvar Varnish
My favorite protective coating is Gamvar. It provides a nice shine, and really helps the colors pop! Choose gloss or satin. The varnish, like the paints, are all water soluble (they wash out with water).
I used dotting tools to make my little white circles on the red ornaments. They create perfect circles of various sizes. The fourth image below shows dotting tools on my plate of paint.
Other Supplies
Protective covering for your working surface
Coated paper plate (to hold squirts of paint)
Paint Brushes - small flat, and detail brush for acrylic paint
Small flat brush for varnish
Tracing paper (if you need to trace design)
Stencils - I used dotting stencils for mandala painting to assist in keeping various lines straight.
Cup of water - to rinse brushes and hold them when not in use
Twine - twine came with my rounds. I used approximately 11 inches.
Ruler - I used my Omnigrid 6.5” quilter’s square (for painting straight lines) - this is one of my most used tools!
SAFETY NOTICE
REMEMBER TO FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS listed on product labels. Work in a well ventilated area. Use a dust mask and eye protection for all cleaning and sanding. Use gloves when using cleaners such as TSP. I did not clean or sand my rounds. They were fine as is.
NOTE: The first image shows Golden Glazing Liquid. That is used for thinning paint (better than using water for acrylics). I didn’t use that, but I show it because it can be used.
Click on photos for larger view.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Sand Wood (optional)
Sand and clean wood wood as necessary. Let dry.
2. Apply Gesso
Paint on one coat of clear gesso. It looks white in the container, but will dry clear. Let dry completely.
NOTE: the wood color may appear a bit darker when painting on the gesso, but it will lighten up when the gesso dries.
3. Start Painting
BIRD ORNAMENT
1. Place some paint onto your artist palette or plate. I used just red and white for my bird and snowflake ornaments.
2. Apply the red paint as the base coat. I used only one coat. Let the base coat dry completely.
3. Trace a pattern onto the wood round (I chose a bird), OR cut out your pattern piece and trace around it.
6. Finish the details of your design. I placed the bird paper pattern onto the painted round first, to make sure it would fit properly. Then I removed it to create the dots, using the stencil. The third image below shows the stencil. I purchased it for dotting art. It enabled me to place my dots in a perfect circle. They were painted on with a fine brush.
Then I replaced the bird pattern, and traced around the bird.
Further details were the heart and leaf designs.
After everything else was done, I used a small dotting tool to create the larger dots around the outer circle. A paint brush could also be used.
7. When the paint is thoroughly dry, apply one coat of Gamblin Gamvar Varnish (or varnish or coating of your choice). The varnish will make the wood appear a bit darker while it is wet. The wood will lighten as the varnish dries.
8. Run a piece of twine from front to back through the hole (or back to front). Tie it off at the top. Bring both ends straight up and tie off again, creating a hanging loop.
SNOWFLAKE ORNAMENT
I used my quilter’s square to draw my snowflake lines. It is one of my favorite painting tools! It also gets a lot of use in sewing. I could have used my stencil for drawing the lines (see photo above of stencil). Then I used my dotting tools to add the circles. The photos below show the steps of creating the snowflake.
Finished Ornaments
Don’t be afraid to try new designs. I created the dog portraits as a gift for my daughter.
Christmas Projects
I turned a fallen tree disaster into a beautiful evergreen bouquet for my front porch. Easy! Use holiday items from your stash.