Working Wednesday with La: Hand-painted Ornaments

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, this is a Working Wednesday blog all about La’s unique project. She has been busily making ornaments around schoolwork, band, etc. so that she can make money to cover her (multiple) school trips! She has spent weeks giving the ball ornaments, color, decoration, and a few with a bit of middle school sass! We wanted to share the process with all of you to enjoy!

Hand-painted Ornaments

Supplies:

Plastic Ball Ornaments Clear

Acrylic paint mixed with a bit of water

Paint Brushes

Resin (mixed when needed)

Disposable measuring cup

Mixing stick

Small foam paintbrush

First, she removed all the tops from your plastic ornaments. Then she add the acrylic paint inside the ball. She also added a few DROPS of water to dilute it a bit to help it cover the inside thoroughly. Then the ornaments need to be put on a drying rack (with a catch tray) to dry completely. This process usually takes 24- 36 hours. This step can be repeated as many as many times as necessary to get the color and coverage you desire. (We personally like uniqueness of run lines, we like things with a bit of character!)

Once the inside is completed, you then paint the desired decoration on the front of your ball. Do not dilute the acrylic paint for this part because it will streak and run. If you happen to make a mistake, you can wipe it off or let it dry and scratch it off (we had to do both throughout this step, just depends on how much and how many layers your design is.) Once you have painted your design, they go back to the drying rack. It must be put in place where they will not get bumped or knocked down because it will mess up if it falls before it is all the way dry. It should not take more than 24 to dry.

Now that all the painting is done, its time to seal them. You mix a the resign (only need a little bit for this step, but the exact amount depends on how many ornaments you are sealing). She mixed one tablespoon for this particular set. The resin comes in two parts: a resin and a hardener. You mix it at a 1:1 ratio of equal amounts of both resin and hardener. Mixing the resin and hardener together creates a chemical reaction, transforming them from a liquid into a solid. Then she painted a very thin layer of resin over each painted design. Then let dry for 24 hours. We did this on wax papers because we did not have to worry about it dripping.

The next day she added resin to the inside of the ornaments. She poured all that was mixed and carefully rolled it around to cover the paint inside. Then she poured all the extra into the next ball and repeated until each ornament had been sealed. Then they ornaments go back to the drying rack. She Another 24hour wait and then replaced the tops to each ornament. (you could replace the tops if necessary, only 5- 10 hours would be long enough for it not to drip anymore, but it could seal the top permanently to the ornament. ) Lastly she added a ribbon to hang them on the tree for everyone to enjoy!

If you are interested in check out these fantastic ornaments you can check out the “La’s Creation” page on the website. (link: https://www.sixfivefourcreations.com/la-s-creations )

Thanks for taking time to be part of our Craziness on this “Working Wednesday!!!” Until next time….