DIY Santa Ornaments to Make for Christmas

A santa ornament is easy and fun to make. After creating these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ornaments I just knew I had to keep painting ornament balls. I have so many fun ideas that can be made very easily. This Santa Ornament had my girls asking who gets to put it on the tree. The answer is easy, Mommy does!

Materials Required to Make Santa Ornaments

Ball ornaments (glass or plastic)
Acrylic Paint:Black, red, gold, and white. (This is a great set if you are an online shopper)
Paint brush
Makeup Sponges/cosmetic sponges
Measuring Tape (if you do not have one you can do your measurement on a strip of paper with a ruler and then use that paper instead of the measuring tape)
Pencil
Black Sharpie (optional)
Yarn/Painters Tape (optional, but incredibly helpful)
Modge Podge

How to Make Santa Ornaments

Using a makeup sponge paint the entire ornament in red paint. You will be painting the outside of the ornament. This can be messy. I am a messy crafter…there is no doubt about it.

Once you have covered the entire ornament with red paint allow it to dry. I used yarn and painters tape and hung the ornaments up to dry in a doorway. I thought it was a pretty smart idea! Once dry you will need to apply a second (and possibly third) layer of red paint.

Please note: A few of the photos below are from the Ninja Turtle Ornament tutorial are are not meant to confuse you, just to fill in the missing pieces that I did not photograph for the Santa craft.

With your completely dry red ornament use the measuring tape to measure the area that will be Santa’s belt. You will measure the entire distance around the green ball. Use a pencil to connect the dots.

Finish Santa’s belt by using black paint. I used a makeup sponge cut down to size for this. You can paint a line around the edges later so you don’t have to be too too careful.

You can use a black Sharpie if you have unsteady hands (like me) to go around the belt. I felt much more confident using the marker than the paintbrush.

Allow the belt to dry complete and use gold paint to make a buckle. Paint with glitter is ADORABLE. It works perfectly with this craft.

Add white paint to the hanger portion of the ornament and you will have a fancy looking Santa!

At this point you may want to stop. But I want to throw out a word of caution. You just worked really hard creating an incredibly awesome project. The paint is fragile. Please seal it! You can use Modge Podge in a gloss finish , this Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating Aerosol Spray, this Angelus Brand Acrylic Leather Paint High Gloss Finisher, or similar.

Give the recipient a book or small toy with this present so they have something they can actually play with. Little kids appreciate something they can touch and don’t have to just look at!