Hand painted baubles often look oh-so pretty and charming when you see them hanging from the tree. However, they are usually done by professionals who have a flair for festive embellishments.
Would my attempts need to be hidden deep amongst the pine needles, or could they nestle undetected next to the professional ornaments?
Embracing The Festive Feeling
Do you remember the last few weeks at school before Christmas when things would wind down? The TV would be wheeled out for festive films, rehearsals for school plays took over lessons, and there was lots of cutting and sticking as decorations were made to take home.
Well, this year I felt like I was fully embracing that feeling as I seemed to have found lots of new seasonal crafts to try – and I was loving it!
This was my third festive craft experience of the season. Along with the embossed tin decorations, and fused glass Christmas tree, these were yet more ‘unique’ home made decorations to hang on our tree.
Crafty Creations
The middle of Lidl is a treasure trove at the best of times, and at Christmas there is an abundance of kits and decorations on offer. That’s where I picked up the kit to hand paint baubles. By the way, I’m not sponsored by them, I’m not getting anything in return for saying that, I just genuinely love the shop!
Decorating The Hand Painted Baubles
Four delicate baubles sat naked in the box, waiting to be embellished with colourful acrylic and sparkling glitter.
Due to my inability to draw well, I had hoped there would be some sort of template or stencil included in the kit. Instead, there was a QR code which should have taken me to the online instructions, but they didn’t play ball when I tried to access it. I was left to my own devices!
Delicate Decorating Design
I had little faith in my painting prowess, and felt very apprehensive about brushing directly onto the shiny smooth surface. So, using a pencil I tried to sketch out a bit of a rough design. It sort of worked. Well, it worked enough to give me a bit of a guide as to where to apply the colour.
The paint went on really easily. A little too easily at times which left marks and smudges in places I didn’t want. Luckily, any mistakes were easy to wipe away with a damp cloth so all was not lost!
To zhuzh them up and give them a bit of sparkle, I swirled some of the glitter glue into patterns around my main design.
These baubles were the conventional round variety. This made it a little tricky to not only apply the decorative brushstrokes, but also for leaving the decorations to dry. Thankfully I hadn’t put the packaging in the recycling yet as it proved to be very useful place to safely rest them.
Hand Painted Baubles - The End Result
Well, once dried, the baubles made it onto the tree. But around the back and not in pride of place. I think they turned out ok, it’s just my poor artistic skills which have them down.
If I was to do this again, I would attempt a pattern rather than an actual image. I think it would be more forgiving of my childlike drawing abilities. Having said that, it’s lovely to have another home made decoration to hang on the tree, and it will make me smile each December when we bring the box of baubles down from the loft.
Want To Try It Yourself?
The kit that I used was from Lidl.
There are lots of kits available which usually include all that you need to be able to hand paint your own baubles.
Cost Of Experience
The kit cost £5 from Lidl to make 4 baubles.
- Prices will vary depending where you purchase your kits from.
Recommendations
If you’re looking for some festive crafts to try that won’t break the budget, it’s worth taking a look in supermarkets as they often stock kits like this at very reasonable prices.
Put down an old cloth or some newspaper to protect your work surface from any rogue paint splatters.
You could draw your design on paper first before committing to the bauble.
- The baubles that I painted were very delicate so be careful when handling them.
Don’t discard the box! It can be quite tricky holding the bauble whilst applying the paint. It’s also helpful to leave it in the box to dry.
Pop on some festive tunes to really get into the seasonal spirit.
Don’t forget to take some pictures of your creations!