23 Dec How to Paint Wood Slice Christmas Ornaments (Video Included)

A couple of years ago, my very-talented sister sent me a home-made wood slice ornament for Christmas. It’s one of my very favorite ornaments because it’s gorgeous, and it reminds me of the mountains and my visit with her. I loved this ornament so much that I wanted to make more of them with my children, for our own tree, as well as to give away as gifts. Making our own ornaments and other Christmas crafts is a way for our family to relax together and bond. Gathering around the table in the evening, crafting with my children is one of my favorite ways to spend my time. This is our process on how to paint wood slice Christmas ornaments.

Materials Needed:

• Wood slices, an ideal size is 2.5″ – 3″, with a pre-drilled hole
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Water
• Paper napkins
• Mod Podge
• Wooden beads with large holes through them
• String or twine

Preparing Your Space

Before jumping into the fun part, it pays to be organized. When crafting, we typically cover our table with a large plastic sheet. We’ve had it for years and it is completely covered in paint, which tells me it was a good idea. In the middle of the table, we put the different paint colors that we plan on using, along with the water container. Each person that plans on participating has their own set up, with a paper napkin, brushes, and wood slices. We do 2-3 at a time. This way, when one is drying, we can work on another.

First Steps

The first thing you will want to do when starting to paint wood slice Christmas ornaments is to wipe them down with water. Any wood slices we’ve purchased have been covered with saw dust, which will not look good when painted over. So take a few seconds to wipe down the slices with a damp napkin, then allow them a few minutes to dry.

One more tip, before getting into painting the details. If you plan on painting a light-colored background, I would also suggest taking the time to put base coat of white paint. Otherwise you will be able to see the wood grain, which you may find distracting. (Some people like to see the grain and even incorporate it into their painting, which is fine too.. It’s just a matter of preference.) If you are creating a painting with a darker background, such as a night sky, this step is not necessary.

The Fun Part

Next comes the fun part, where you get to paint your wood slice Christmas ornaments. If you want some ideas on what to paint, I would suggest doing a search on Etsy, or Pinterest for “wood slice Christmas ornaments.” You will find tons of beautiful ideas from many talented creators there.

Once we’ve decided what we want to paint, we outline the picture onto the wood slice. We really like the mountains, so in our video we will be showing how to easily paint two mountain scenes. There is no need to draw in the details – those will come later. We simply draw the outline of the mountain to start with.

The second version has three mountains and so we drew three lines with varying peaks. Remember that mountains are jagged and imperfect, so don’t even try to make perfect mountain ranges! Have fun with this!

Let’s Get Painting!

The next step is to start filling in the background. For the first version, this means painting in the sky. We blended yellow, orange and red to create a stunning sunset, but you can choose any sky color you choose. You don’t need to blend colors either – you could simply do a dark blue or black for a midnight sky.

In our second version, we have created three mountain ranges, dividing the wood slice into four sections. The top quadrant will be the lightest version of blue, and the bottom with be the darkest. You can use any color – we decided on navy blue.

A quick and easy way to do this is to start with white paint. Just put a small dab of navy blue into the white, giving it a slight hint of blue. Paint the top quadrant in this color. Next add another dab of navy blue, darkening the paint. Paint the second quadrant. Add another dab for the third quadrant and paint it. For the fourth, lowest quadrant, we started with navy blue and added a small amount of white. This resulted in a nice, graduated appearance to the mountains.

Let’s Add the Details

Once the background of your wood slice has dried, you can sketch in the details. This is an optional step. If you feel confident, you can certainly paint in the details without sketching them first. If you plan on finishing off your ornament with Mod Podge (which I recommend), do NOT do this step with a marker, or Sharpie. The water base of the Mod Podge will cause the lines to blur, destroying all of your hard work. You must paint on these details, so get a tiny brush.

We painted in the peaks of the mountains, then the mountain details and trees. The “stars” in the sky are paint spatters, which you will see in the video.

Finishing Your Wood Slice

Creating a glossy finish on your ornament is an optional step, but I recommend it because it seals the bark around the ornament and protects your painting. A coat of Mod Podge worked well for us.

Once the Mod Podge is dry, we attached the string and beads.

Happy Handicrafts: How to Paint Wood Slice Christmas Ornaments

This season, take the time to sit down with your children and craft together. It is such a wonderful way to spend time together and to learn and develop new skills.