Colleen Mauer is a Closet Craftaholic

It’s true.  I love to craft.  Born into a family of creatives, I was a die hard art student, girl scout and craftaholic.  As a child, you would most likely find me in my bedroom creating massive collages, sketching, painting, latch-hooking, cross-stitching or whatever crafty things I could get my hot little hands on.  I loved it — and still do!

Crafting at home in the evenings has become my life force during this busy time of year at Colleen Mauer Designs.  I thought it would be fun to share some of these ideas with you.  I have made a handful of these ornaments so far and they look really fabulous on my tree!

What you’ll need:
– white ceramic Christmas balls (I bought mine at Michael’s)
– black and metallic oil-based Sharpie markers (available at most craft/art supply stores)
– festive string (I bought gold)
– scissors
– pencil and scrap paper (for brainstorming)

1.  When I purchased the Christmas balls they had a very gaudy red ribbon attached, so I just went ahead and snipped it off and replaced with gold string once we are finished painting the balls.

2. Get yourself situated at a really nice desk or table with something to put the balls on while you make your patterns/designs.  I used a place mat and that worked really well. Really good lighting is also a must! Oh, and be sure to play your favorite music alongside a piping hot cup of tea.

3.  I would recommend that you sketch out possible designs before you start drawing directly on the ceramic balls.  Lines and circles are the easiest ways to create fun designs. Think zebra or chevron patterns, strands of lights, checkers, etc.

4.  Shake the heck out of those Sharpie markers.  I must admit, it took a while of shaking them before you can actually use them.  See directions on the pen’s labels for more info.

5.  Start creating your masterpiece.  There is no “messing up” here as things that are perfectly imperfect tend to look the most appealing to the eyes.  Be sure to slowly rotate the balls as you draw so that the pen’s paint has some time to dry.  I was impressed at how quickly the paint dries (within seconds).  Be sure to put your initials and the date on the bottom side of the ball – this is your masterpiece!

6.  Attach a 6.0 – 8.0″ piece of gold string, depending on how low you would like it to hang from the branch.  Now you have the perfect DIY ornament for your tree OR the most amazing little gift.  Taaaa daaaaa!

I hope you enjoyed this post and I would love to see some of the designs that you come up with!

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