Christmas Blocks by Susan Kelley
Christmas Blocks By Susan Kelley Oh, what fun it is to paint a stack of wooden blocks! Display them as a set, or display them one by one. Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced painter, you re sure to enjoy the easy techniques used to create this festive stack of holiday fun. Palette: DecoArt Americana Acrylics Antique Gold #13009 Antique White #13058 Buttermilk #13003 Dark Chocolate #13065 Desert Turquoise #13044 Evergreen #13082 Hauser Light Green #13131 Hauser Medium Green #13132 Lamp Black #13067 Light Buttermilk #13164 Navy Blue #13035 Olive Green #13056 Titanium White #13001 Tuscan Red #13255 Watermelon Slice #13557 Surface: Large Blocks, set of 4 #62824 Misc. Supplies: Soft Grip Embossing & Stylus Set of 3 #70125 DecoArt DuraClear Matte Varnish #87395 Stencil Décor Stencil Tape #70812 DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer #87392 Large Sanding Pad Fine/Medium #70796 Checkerboard Stencil #70841 Old Toothbrush for Spattering Basic Painting Supplies Brushes: Papillon by the Artist s Club Glaze Wash, size ¾ #20102 Shader, size 2 #20125; size 4 #20126; size 6 #20127; size 10 #20130; size 14 #20132 Angular Shader, size 3/8 #20110 Round, size 1 #20157; size 10/0 #20155 Script Liner, size 18/0 #20136 Stipple Set #20172 Artist Inspired Brushes Maxine Thomas Mop, size ½ #27179 Laurie Speltz Stencil Brush, size 3/8 #29002 Preparation: Sand the wood pieces. Seal the surfaces with DecoArt MultiPurpose Sealer, let dry. Sand again. Painting Instructions: 1
Basecoating Basecoat the word blocks ( Christmas and Joy to the World ) withbuttermilk. Basecoat the snowman block and the houses block with Antique White. Paint at least two coats, allow to dry and lightly sand between coats. Spatter the Christmas block with Antique White. Stencilchecks on the houses block with Buttermilk. When paint is dry, transfer the pattern outlines for each block. Transfer details later as needed. Christmas Block Measure in about 1/8 and tape off the border. I painted the two opposing edges, let dry, then taped and painted the other two opposing edges. Basecoat the border and sides with Antique Gold. Shade just inside the border (against the edge) with Dark Chocolate. Transfer pattern. Paint the letters with Lamp Black. Add tiny Titanium White highlight dots. Add a sheer float of Dark Chocolate on the right and bottom sides of each letter. Snowman Block Float Dark Chocolate around the edges of the snowman s face, body, and arm. Repeat, this time with Navy Blue over top of what you just shaded. You will be applying these shadows before you stipple. Let dry. Use a dampened Stippler loaded with Titanium White to lightly apply the stippling on the snowman s face, body, and arm. Load brush with paint, push down on palette to open bristles, then tap on a paper towel to remove paint clumps. Stippling should take 2-3 layers if you use a light touch. Allow some of the basecoat and shading to show through. Transfer details as needed. Basecoat the hat band and the mitten with Hauser Medium Green. Double load the dampened Stippler with Hauser Medium Green and Hauser Light Green then pounce (tap hard) on the hat band and mitten. This will make the basecoated green appear softer and more like the look of fabric. Basecoat the scarf with Hauser Light Green. With Lamp Black, basecoat the hat. Also paint the eyes, lashes, and mouth. For the lashes, use the script liner with thinned paint. Load the brush fully then keep up on the very tips of the bristles. Pull light wispy strokes starting from the eye, pulling outward to create each lash. Use the same brush /paint to create the mouth line. Use the stencil brush loaded with Watermelon Slice to drybrush the cheeks. To drybrush, load the brush with paint then scrub hard on a paper towel to remove excess paint. Use light pressure and a scrubbing motion to blush the cheeks. You can add more pressure for more color, if necessary. Basecoat the nose with Titanium White. Add the red stripes with Watermelon Slice. Begin and end the stripes with Watermelon Slice. With Titanium White, float and dot the eyes. Float a highlight across the center of the nose. 2
Float along the edge of the hat brim with a brush-mix of Titanium White tipped into Lamp Black for a light-grey color. Paint the scarf stripes, one beside the other. Use the #6 shader with Desert Turquoise. Use the #4 Shader with Olive Green. Use the #1 Round with Light Buttermilk. Shade the Watermelon Slice nose stripes with Tuscan Red. Apply a wide sheer float of Navy Blue down the left side of the snowman s face. Shade the hat band, mitten, and scarf with Evergreen. Using Olive Green, add the stitches on the hat band and the x marks on the mitten (thin the paint, if needed). Dot the ends of the x s. Allow all paint to dry completely. Measure in about 1/8 on the top and bottom edges and tape off to undercoat the border with Antique White. Then paint the border with Tuscan Red. Let dry. Repeat on opposing ends. Basecoat the sides of the block with Tuscan Red at the same time. Carefully remove the tape as you go! Shade against the border. Using Dark Chocolate, shade against the border on the edges of the Antique White background areas and on the edges of the snowman s body/arm areas. Using Evergreen, shade the mitten along the edge. Using Lamp Black, shade the hat along the edge against the border (this might or might not show up much). Shade underneath the hat brim with Dark Chocolate (across the top of the face). Using a brush-mix of Navy Blue + Dark Chocolate, shade the white stripes on the nose. Also, add sheer floats around the eyes, underneath the nose, under the mouth and above/below the scarf. Using Titanium White: Touch up both sides of the face to make them fuzzy again. Also stipple a little white against the base of the snowman s nose. Paint the snowflakes and dot the ends. 3
Joy to the World Block Measure in about 1/8 and tape off the border. I painted the two opposing edges, let dry, then taped and painted the other two opposing edges. Basecoat the border and sides with Evergreen. Transfer pattern. Basecoat the stars with Antique Gold. Paint the letters with Lamp Black. Also paint the tiny star hangers and outline the stars. Using Dark Chocolate, shade just inside the border, then add a sheer float on the right and bottom sides of each letter. Houses Block Measure in about 1/8 and tape off the border. Basecoat the border and sides with Navy Blue. Transfer the pattern outlines. Transfer the details after initial basecoats. Using Dark Chocolate, shade just inside the border and paint the tree trunks. Basecoat the trees with Hauser Light Green and shade them with Evergreen. Basecoat the houses and chimneys with Watermelon Slice, Antique Gold, and Desert Turquoise. Shade the houses and chimneys. Shade the Watermelon Slide house with Tuscan Red. Shade the Antique Gold house with Dark Chocolate. Shade the Desert Turquoise house with Navy Blue. Transfer remaining details. Paint the roofs, doors, and windows with Lamp Black. Shade the tree trunks with Lamp Black. Using Titanium White, highlight the chimneys, roof tops, windows and doors (refer to photo for placement). Float snow across the bottom ground. Add garlands of white dots on the trees. Finishing: Allow all paint to dry thoroughly. Brush on several light coats of varnish to seal. Stain or paint the backs. 4
Pattern at 100% 1 x 1 To ensure your pattern is at 100%, this box should measure 1 x 1 when printed. 5
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Copyright 2015 by Susan Kelley and Crafts Americana Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. #331967 No. *A331967* Artist s Club. All rights reserved. For private, non-commercial use only. Please see our web site for terms of use.