How to Make Oversize Christmas Ornaments
- 1). Don eye protection and latex kitchen gloves.
- 2). Prepare an outdoor working area or open all doors and windows and place a fan in the doorway with a second fan pointing out of a window to ensure adequate ventilation.
- 3). Mix 1 gallon chlorine bleach into 10 gallons water in a 30-gallon plastic storage bin.
- 4). Plunge one gourd at a time into the bleach water and scrub it all over with the green kitchen scrub pad to remove any mold spots, dirt or discoloration.
- 5). Lay all cleaned gourds in the sun to dry for at least 24 hours.
- 6). Rub the gourds all over with medium and fine sandpaper to remove any slickness that might interfere with painting. Wipe the dust off of each gourd with a clean rag.
- 7). Drill a pair of 1/16-inch diameter holes, 1/2 to 1 inches apart, into the top of each gourd; this enables you to add a hanger later.
- 8). Apply a base coat of white acrylic paint to each gourd and allow it to dry.
- 9). Make a rough sketch of your chosen Christmas tole painting pattern or Christmas coloring page onto your gourd if you want a patterned decoration. Feel free to change the lengths and widths of any design elements to make them fit your gourd.
- 10
Using a paper dessert plate as a palette, mix white, orange and brown paints until you have a range of flesh tones from light peach to dark coffee. Paint any flesh tones on your design before painting other areas, to ensure that any clothing you paint will overlap flesh areas more naturally. - 11
Paint your desired details, such as facial features and shading, working from a central point outward to prevent smearing. Allow detail areas to dry before proceeding. - 12
Apply your main decoration color in all areas that are not covered with detail paint. Coordinate the main color to the most prominent detail color for a softer look, or use a contrasting color to make the detail areas "pop." Use royal blue as a main color, for example, if your sketch includes a Madonna and Child, to coordinate with her veil, or surround a trio of green holly leaves with red to provide contrast. Outline a yellow or gold area with purple. - 13
Apply any final accents, such as leaves and vines, dots, stars holly leaves, ribbons or harnesses to the design, and allow the gourd to dry. - 14
Apply three to five coats of clear acrylic sealant to the entire gourd, allowing the sealant to dry between coats. - 15
String metallic ribbon in your chosen color through the holes drilled in the gourd and hang it outside in your tree or shrubs.