As the holiday season approaches, there’s no better way to add a personal touch to your decorations than by crafting your own ornaments. Kids will learn an easy watercolor technique to paint the colorful sky and practice using a small detail brush to paint the trees.
These ornaments make a great handmade gift idea, kids can write their name and the date on the back of their ornament making them a keepsake to be enjoyed year after year! This is a great Christmas art project for older kids and tweens.
If you are looking for more Christmas projects for kids to make take a look at our collection of creative Christmas arts and crafts for more fun ideas!
We have made lots of ornaments over the years, these clay pot gingerbread house ornaments are absolutely adorable!
For another Christmas watercolor painting idea, take a look at this gingerbread house painting that uses watercolors and oil pastels.
Create your own watercolor Christmas ornaments
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you would like more information please review my privacy & disclosure policy.
Supplies
- Watercolor paint
- Watercolor paper
- Paint brushes
- Paint palette (if you are using liquid watercolors) and water dish
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Plastic lid, jar, tape, or something to use as a circle template
- White and gold acrylic paint
- Small dotting tool (or end of a small paintbrush)
Instructions for your ornament craft
1. First you want to use a template to draw the ornament circles. I used a roll of painter’s tape as my template, you could also use a big plastic lid or jar or make a template out of cardboard to trace.
Decide if you are going to cut your circles out before or after you have finished painting. I ended up cutting my ornaments out first, which made them a bit tricky to paint. I suggest just drawing out your circle and waiting until you’re done painting and they have dried to cut them out.
2. Choose two colors that you are going to use for the sky. You want a lighter color on the bottom and a darker color at the top. I used a combination of a watercolor set and liquid watercolors, depending on the colors I used.
Start with a clean brush and clean water, and paint over your ornament with clear water. While the paper is still wet, paint the lighter color on the bottom of the ornament, rinse your brush, and paint the darker color at the top of your ornament.
As the paint dries, it mixes together creating a nice blend for the sky. Let your paper dry completely before moving on to the next step.
3. Using a small dotting tool, or the end of a small paintbrush, carefully dot on white acrylic paint for the stars. You don’t need to dot stars all the way to the bottom of your ornaments, only about three-quarters of the way down.
Let the paint dry completely before moving on to the next step.
4. To paint in the trees you will need a small detail brush and black watercolor paint. Start by painting in 4-5 black lines to indicate the tree trunks and to help place where the trees will go.
Paint one tree at a time. Start at the top of one of the black lines and slowly paint in the tree branches. Move your brush back and forth, varying the length of your brushstroke to add interest to your trees.
Some kids might want to practice painting trees using this technique on a scrap piece of paper before painting on their ornaments. Using a small brush and really loading your brush up with paint will help with this technique.
Keep painting one tree at a time until you are finished. Let the trees dry before moving on to the next step.
5. If needed, cut out your ornament. Using a small brush, carefully paint around the edge of your ornament with gold acrylic paint and let this dry.
6. Use a hole punch to punch a circle at the top of your ornament and tie a loop through the hole with string or ribbon to complete your ornament.
Kids will love making these gorgeous Christmas ornaments this holiday season! They are perfect for gift-giving and will look beautiful on your tree.
More watercolor Christmas ideas kids will love
Paint an Easy Watercolor Christmas Tree
Adorable Watercolor Christmas Cards
Follow me on Pinterest for more amazing project ideas.
Pin this Christmas art project for later
Beautiful Watercolor Christmas Ornaments for Kids to Make
Use easy watercolor techniques to create these gorgeous watercolor Christmas ornaments. A great handmade ornament idea and Christmas art project that kids will love to make!
Materials
- Watercolor paint
- Watercolor paper
- White and gold acrylic paint
Tools
- Paint brushes
- Paint palette and water dish
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Plastic lid, jar, tape, or something to use as a circle template
- Small dotting tool (or end of a small paintbrush)
Instructions
- Create the circle template
Find a template for your ornament circle. You can use a roll of painter's tape, a plastic lid, a jar, or make a cardboard template to trace. Draw the ornament circles onto your watercolor paper. I recommended drawing the circles, painting them, and then cutting them out once they've dried. - Paint the sky
Choose two colors for the sky, with the lighter color at the bottom and the darker color at the top. Paint your ornament with clean water using a brush. While the paper is still wet, paint the lighter color at the bottom and the darker color at the top. Allow the paint to blend as it dries.
Let the paper dry completely before moving on. - Add stars
Use a small dotting tool or the end of a small paintbrush to dot white acrylic paint for stars. Only dot stars about three-quarters of the way down the ornament.
Allow the paint to dry completely. - Paint the trees
Use a small detail brush and black watercolor paint to paint 4-5 black lines as tree trunks and placement markers for the trees. Paint one tree at a time, starting at the top of a black line. Create tree branches by moving your brush back and forth, varying the brushstroke length for visual interest.
Consider practicing on scrap paper before painting on the ornaments. Let the trees dry before moving on. - Cut and add gold edging
If needed, cut out your ornament. Carefully paint around the edge of the ornament with gold acrylic paint and let it dry. - Complete your ornament
Use a hole punch to create a hole at the top of your ornament. Thread a loop of string or ribbon through the hole to finish off your ornament.
