Poinsettia Christmas Ornament

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Paints - Delta Ceramcoat
Black 2506
White 0202
Bright Red 2503
Seminole Green 2009
Dark Forest 2096
Empire Gold 2412

Accent
Bright Gold 547

Other Supplies
Pigma Micron Pen 25 mm
white charcoal pencil
round glass ornament

Brushes
#6 shader
#8 round
#2 liner
2/0 liner
#2 stippler
old small scruffy round

Optional Supplies
Delta Glass Etching Kit

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Instructions

Right-click (or click and hold for Mac users) on the line drawing at the bottom of this page and save it to your hard drive. Open the image in any browser or graphics program and print. This should print out the correct size for the above project. Repeat the same procedure for the image of the finished ornament. Click here to print these instructions.

You can purchase a pre-frosted ornament or you can purchase a clear glass ornament and do the etching yourself with the Delta Glass Etching Kit. The glass etching kit is very easy to use and gives very good results. Just remember to use the etching cream in thin coats and allow to dry completely between coats. If you apply the etching cream too heavily, you'll wind up with streaks or possibly even drips.

Wash the outside of the ornament well with soap and lukewarm water and then wipe down with alcohol. Allow to dry completely. Handle the ornament as little as possible during the painting process, as the oils from your fingerprints will affect the adherance of the paint. To avoid handling, I place my ornaments in one of the small containers you can get applesauce in. These are the perfect size for a Christmas ornament; it allows the ornament to sit down inside just enough to hold it steady so you can hold it by the base of the applesauce container rather than by the ornament itself. Use whatever container you can find that fits your ornament. A small yogurt container might also work well.

Transfer the design to your ornament. Using the white charcoal pencil, turn the design over and trace all outlines on the back of the design. Clip around the design, leaving about a 1/4" margin of paper around the outline. Cut along the dotted lines (in between the flowers). Find the "equator" of your ornament and mark it with your charcoal pencil (I used the applesauce container to find the equator, as the ornament sits exactly halfway inside the container). Tape the design around the ornament, being sure to stay along the line of the "equator." Tape the "flaps" down on top and bottom. Now trace along the outline of the design; the white charcoal you applied to the undersurface of the design will be transferred to the ornament. Once all your basecoating is finished, be sure to erase any remaining white charcoal.

Lightly stipple the pattern area of your ornament with Seminole Green.

Poinsettias
Using a #8 round brush, basecoat the poinsettias with Bright Red. (This will take several coats to cover well). Mix some Bright Red with a small amount of Black and use a #6 flat brush to shade the back petals (marked with X's on design). Then using a small scruffy round brush, use White to drybrush some highlights on the front petals.

Using the handle of a small brush, use Empire Gold to place the "dots" in the centers of the poinsettias. Place 5 or 6 dots per flower. Then using a #2 liner and Seminole Green, place tiny green dots inside the Empire Gold dots.

Leaves
Using #8 round brush, basecoat the leaves with Seminole Green. Shade with a float of Dark Forest on a #6 flat brush.

Garland
Using your 2/0 liner and Empire Gold, base in the garland. Use short, wispy strokes and criss-cross them occasionally so your garland doesn't look TOO neat and orderly. Allow to dry and then go over the garland again with the same brush in the same technique using Accent Bright Gold.

Outlining
Use the Micron Pen to outline the poinsettia petals, leaves and leaf veins. Add a dainty red ribbon and hang on the tree or wrap it up and give as a gift.