Winter is quickly approaching, so it’s time to change out my seasonal porch decor. I created a whimsical colorful Winter wonderland using Walnut Hollow Large Snowmen, Rustic Sled, Open Stars, and Rustic Stars. I used DecoArt paints and chalkboard coating to decorate the wood. My bright color palette is a change from the traditional green and red Winter color scheme. You can choose any color palette. Contrasting colors and shades make the details pop. The sled is a countdown board for Winter. You can change the wording for a holiday instead of season. I used a series of lines and dots to create this project. The instructions are broken down by item, to make the painting process easy to understand.
SUPPLIES:
Walnut Hollow and DecoArt provided me with their products for this project.
- 2 – Walnut Hollow Large Snowmen
- 1 – Walnut Hollow Rustic Sled
- 5 – Walnut Hollow Rustic Stars
- 5 – Walnut Hollow Open Stars
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Primary Red
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Primary Yellow
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Primary Blue
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Festive Green
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Lavender
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Snow Titanium White
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Carousel Pink
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Bright Orange
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Turquoise Blue
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Magenta
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Tiger Orange
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Lemon Drop
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Limelight
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Turquoise Sparkle
- DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint in Purple Passion
- DecoArt Americana Clear Chalkboard Coating
- Various paintbrushes
- Pencil
- Paper plate – Use a paint palette
- Cup of water and paper towels – To wash paint brushes between colors
- Twine
- Scissors
- Staple gun with staples
- Nails
- Hammer
INSTRUCTIONS:
LARGE SNOWMEN
1) With a wide paint brush, basecoat both snowmen with DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Snow Titanium White. Paint the front, sides, and crevices completely white. Let dry.
2) Lightly draw detail outlines with a pencil. Customize the snow people with accessories. Add stick arms, facial details, something around the neck and down the center. I chose items that I might use on a real snow person…gems, buttons, nuts, accessories, etc.
3) Using small paint brushes, fill in the details with DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint. I used a rainbow of soft and bright colors, for a cheerful whimsical twist on traditional Winter decor. Let dry completely.
4) Using small paint brushes, paint over the details with matching DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint. This paint has a sheer tint and glitter. For more intense glitter, use multiple coats, letting the paint dry between layers.
5) Using detail paint brushes and contrasting paint shades, add fine details over the previously painted details. These help define what the details are, and add more interest. I used darker or lighter paint shades, to keep it simple. Black is also nice, for consistency.
RUSTIC SLED
1) Using wide flat paint brushes, basecoat the sled with DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in Turquoise Blue, Carousel Pink, and lightened Festive Green (add white). Paint the sled skis on the top, sides and bottom, with Turquoise Blue.
2) Using small detail paint brushes, add details with contrasting paint colors. Leave the green center blank.
3) Write your words lightly on the pink slats, with a pencil. Paint over the penciled words with a small flat paintbrush. I chose “Winter” to match the Winter Solstice, but “Christmas”, “Hanukkah”, etc. would work well too.
4) Paint over some details with DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint for extra sparkle. I glittered the words and snowflake.
5) With a stiff flat paintbrush, paint 4 layers of DecoArt Americana Clear Chalkboard Coating. Let dry 1 hour between each coat. The finish will be matte and smooth when finished. Let cure 72 hours. Prime by rubbing chalk over entire chalkboard coated section and wiping off. Write your countdown number.
RUSTIC STARS
1) Using a wide flat paintbrush, basecoat the 5 Rustic Stars with different colors. Paint the fronts and sides.
2) Using a small detail paintbrush and contrasting DecoArt Americana acrylic paint colors, add lines and dots to each star. I start with large details, filling in the negative space with smaller details. Keep the designs symmetrical on each star.
3) (OPTIONAL) Using a small detail paintbrush, paint over some details with DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint for extra sparkle.
OPEN STARS
1) With a flat paint brush, basecoat each open star a different color. Paint the front, sides, and back.
2) Using a small flat paintbrush and contrasting DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint colors, paint evenly spaced stripes along each star slat.
3) OPTIONAL Using the same small flat paintbrush, paint over some stripes with DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint for extra sparkle.
HANGING
1) Cut seven 6″ pieces of twine.
2) Fold one piece in half. Tie the ends together with an overhand knot. Repeat for each piece.
3 ) Using the staple gun, staple the twine above the knot, to the back of a Rustic Star or sled skis.
4) Decide the arrangement. My husband hung the big section, while I stood back and made sure everything was close to even. I hung the smaller section.
5) Use nails and a hammer to hang each piece. We used furniture nails for the twine hung pieces, because their heads are wide. Flat head nails are long enough to hang the snow people and Open Stars.
This is a big project with a lot of painting. Feel free to scale it down to fit your space, or scale it up with other Walnut Hollow Christmas products. It would be a great group project to decorate a community space. Use DecoArt Americana Spray Sealer over the finished pieces, if the decor is hung in a high traffic area. Add a big greeting with Walnut Hollow Wood Letters. I used DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint to add sparkle. For a more sophisticated shimmer, use DecoArt Dazzling Metallics and Metallic Luster. However you choose to decorate this Winter, have fun with it. Happy Makery!
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Abby has been an artist and crafter since she was a young child. She has been sewing and creating for 30 years. She has a degree in Fashion Design. She started her blog, Crafty Lady Abby in 2009, as a way of documenting her creations and motivating herself. She creates tutorials to share her creative knowledge and empower others to be creative.
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