Create custom, one-of-a-kind ornaments for the holidays

Dec 11

If you know me, you know I love gifting. I am the person that arrives at your party and asks you to open whatever I brought immediately. I am too excited to give you it. Waiting isn’t an option.

That’s the inspiration behind much of what makes Not Bad Design Co. but also what makes me, me. And with it being the holidays, I’m in full swing.

There’s nothing like getting someone the perfect gift. It’s the closest I get to understanding a gambling rush. The excitement, the rush of emotion, the knowledge that I found the perfect thing to make someone happy. I get the same feeling hunting around the Dillard’s Clearance Center. (If you know, you know).

When my husband and I started dating, he got it into his head to start an ornament tradition. Nine years later, and it’s still going strong. Each year we gift each other one ornament that represents an important part of our year. We love decorating the tree together and remembering our stories. Sometimes the ornaments are store bought, other times they are handmade. It’s all part of the fun.

We give each other the ornament on Christmas eve. It’s actually how he proposed to me, which makes this time of year and this tradition extra special.

So all this to say, ornaments are a big deal around my house. With my sister’s wedding this year, I knew I wanted to paint her an ornament, something special to remember this moment.

It took some digging, but I found these amazing ornaments perfect for painting and at a reasonable cost. They were only $30 for 12, making them $2.50 each. Even with paint and velvet ribbon, they are less than $5 to make, which is great because they do take a considerable amount of time. I can say that the ceramic bulb is high quality and so fun to paint.

Making these as a hobby leant itself to making a few personalized wedding bulbs to sell, but I did find it isn’t quite as fun to do when it isn’t for a loved one. However, making them for a good cause? That was the most fun a girl could have without going to Dillard’s Clearance Center.

My sister, Aubrey, did a food drive recently for a local poverty assistance center. When she was there, they told her that they were in need of clothes, food, volunteers and donations. I wanted to help out, so extra special, hand painted ornaments were just the thing. I also included one of my signature holiday paintings of a gold Christmas tree and made my first Instagram auction.

I used Jo Sonja acrylic paint on these, which gives full, deep matte color. I also used gold leaf paint to add some metallic accent. I hope you love them as much as I do!