I love a good quality store bought ornament as much as the next person, however when you want to update the whole look of your tree and have over 400 stems on it, things can get really expensive really quick! So this year, with some help from Rust-Oleum, I decided to mix up the decorations with some spray paint which changed the whole look of my tree.
Given that almost everything in my house in monochrome, I decided black and white was a pretty obvious choice and well, being a gold girl, I had to have some of that in there too.
I had a whole box of traditional gold and glass ornaments in the garage so I didn’t need to actually go out and buy any. However, if you do need to buy any, I can tell you that the cheapies from the junk shop actually came out nicer than the expensive ones I sprayed!
Here is just how simple and easy it is..
Step 1: Pick up supplies
Step 2: Set up spray zone
Hang your ornaments outdoors on a suspended line to be able to spray paint them from different angles. I set up a makeshift rack in the backyard with string between branches and a drop sheet behind, which made the clean up super easy. If you set up a string system it also serves as a drying rack 😉
Step 3: Spray away
Make sure you wear gloves as you will need to hold some of the decorations to spray them properly. Spray the decorations from at least 20cm away and use light layers and several coats to eliminate drip marks on your ornaments. It’s honestly really simple and you are done within minutes. I left the decorations out in the sun for a few hours and then they were ready to be hung!
Step 4: Decorating time!
It’s always fun watching other people put up their trees; it’s like everyone has a different process they go by. I always fluff the branches then put the lights on. I group the decorations into different lots (really nice ones that I love and then fillers) I always hang the ones I love evenly all over the tree and then add the fillers inbetween.
All in all, I may have a new obsession with spray paint. So expect some more DIY stories to come!
–Kathryn Bamford is our girl on the ground in Melbourne; you can follow her DIY & design adventures on Instagram @thedesignrookie.
