« Neon Stenciled Ornaments with Martha Stewart Paints »
Sunday, November 4, 2012 
I have been told that I make things more difficult than they need to be. Perhaps I get it from my father as my mother, sister and I all accuse him of the same thing. Unfortunately I also managed to inherit his stick out from your head ears which are much more difficult to hide but moving on...
When I received a massive, and I do mean massive, box of goodies from the Martha Stewart Paints I quickly went from excited to perplexed. With so many options I really didn't know where to start, what kind of project to do... it was kind of crazy. I read all of the descriptions and directions for each and every product that came in my box and came to a very quick conclusion:
These adhesive stencils and paint looked really, really easy to use. I decided to make it my mission to use these easy stencils without making it far more difficult than necessary. I give you my latest and hopefully easiest DIY.
Now, I totally understand if you're not yet feeling the Christmas decor thing so bookmark or pin this post for when you are ready. I probably should have been listening to Christmas carols or something while working on this, but I just couldn't do it. Instead I had this rolling through my head, apparently on repeat. Not exactly seasonal but what are you gonna do?
For this project you will need the following Martha Stewart Paints supplies:
- dauber set
- multi-surface satin acrylic craft paint (I used Beetle Black)
- adhesive stencils
You will also need glass globe ornaments in your choice of color (I went neon - heck yeah!!)
There is a bit of learning curve when working with these stencils since a globe ornament is, well, globular in nature.
Carefully peel your adhesive stencil from the backing it comes on in the packaging. Place it on your ornament and use your fingers to rub the stencil down. You may have to pick up a corner a time or two to get it situated right the first few times but it will get a lot easier.
Next, take your acrylic paint and make a small pile to work from. Place your dauber into the paint and give it a little tap on some scrap paper to remove any overly excessive globs.
Lightly daub the paint in an up and down fashion on the on the stencil taking care to cover every interior edge while keeping away from the stencil's edge. FYI - this paint does not clean off well if you make mistakes, so you may want to practice on some older globes.
Remove the stencil while the paint is still wet and clean off. I really got into it so rather than cleaning every stencil off after each use I would toss them into a bowl of slightly soapy water and then clean off the lot and start over when I needed one that was in the bowl. This wound up being much more time friendly for me but you may have to work out your own system.
You can choose from a variety of holiday themed stencils, or bust out a letter set and make some Christmasy sayings. I made a "holy night", "peace on EARTH" and "12" (for 2012) and I'm really stoked with how well they came out. On some of my first attempts I didn't get the stencil down so there are some blobby things but I'm cool with it.
I used a very obvious stencil letter shape as my inspiration for my neon and black balls actually came from local gig posters and those hand painted signs made for smaller clubs and bars that shine brightly even in the dim lighting when a show is going on. Some of you may know exactly what I'm talking about and some of you may be sporting a confused frown because you've obviously never been in a dive bar. FYI - you're probably not missing much.
There are also some fun pattern stencils. Mine were actually included with my lettering that I used above. To make a continuous pattern, use the stencil as is, remove and allow the paint to dry all of the way. Maybe even let it sit a bit longer just to be safe. Match up the end of the painted pattern with the holes in the stencil and you're set up straight and ready to paint!
You may be wondering, as I was wondering just how many times you can use and reuse the adhesive stencils. It seems like something like that is gonna give out and pretty quickly. Honestly, I didn't have a single one not be as tacky as it was in the beginning. I can't really say for sure now, but I have a good feeling about these suckers being useable for a good long time.
That is it for today. I do feel kind of strange about drafting up a post that talks about both Martha Stewart and dive bars at the same time. But then again, it feels kind of right because I saw Martha on the cover of her Halloween special mag and I think she's got some spice!
So, if you're looking for some easy to personalize tree ornaments this year, I really couldn't receommend this method and the Martha Stewart Paints enough. It's a ton of fun and it's really easy. Plus, like in the instance of my Ho cubed ornament you just might get some really big smiles out of it. Happy Monday!
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I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Martha Stewart Paints and The Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.
Check out the other posts from this campaign:
Christmas, Sponsored Post, Tutorial 
Reader Comments (11)
I love it! How clever to use black paint on neon ornaments for a fun and funky Christmas tree. Great project!
Those are adorable!!! The ho3 is my favorite. I really love the black on those crazy neon ornaments!
Thanks so much, ladies! I'm very happy that others are digging the neon for 2012 also :)
Where do you buy the neon ornaments?
Hey, Melissa. They sell them at Hobby Lobby for $5.99 for 6 but they regularly run them 50% off.
Allie, I adore your neon Christmas ornaments! They are so fun, and look so perfect! Love your inspiration music too! LOL
Thanks so much Laura!
Very cool! I love the bright colors!
Groovy! Posted a link on my "partycraft secrets" facebook page to share with friends - hope you don't mind!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Partycraft-Secrets/239045209469228
Awesome. Thanks!
The ornaments are SO COOL! There are so many amazing holiday DIYs out there and so little time! This may have to go to the top of the list though, thanks for sharing and happy friday!
xo Hannah