I shared these Santa ornaments last year over on Instagram and you guys LOVED them. I made them probably in the early 90s. They have traveled through time with me. I’ve donated a lot of my older decorations but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to let go of these. They have been through….1, 2…3, 7 houses to be exact. ???? I haven’t displayed them on a tree at all for YEARS. They were wrapped in a shoe box. I found them last year and decided to tie them all individually on a piece of cotton twine and display them as a garland.
I have had SO MANY questions this year when I pulled them out again of people wondering how I made them, so I decided to make them again. Honestly, I couldn’t remember all of the little details until someone messaged me the exact recipe I used found in an old Gooseberry Patch book from the 90s. It all came flooding back. And… yes… these are the famous maxi-pad Santas that I’ve talked about before. My friends and I ran out of paper mache and decided that the inside of maxi pads would work great for the details. And they did. This time, I stuck with paper mache. ????
Allow all steps to fully dry after each application.
As you can see, I make all of mine to look different. Some of my Santas have a round face, some have a slender face, some have a really full beard, etc.
I let them dry over night and then painted them with the white gesso.
When the gesso dries, it’s time to start added character. I paint all of the white first: his beard, pompoms on his hat, mustache, eyebrows, etc. Then, I paint the color of his hats. I used two different shades of brown, green, and a mustard color, make a black dot for his eyes, and red in his mouth.
Now it’s time to make them look old. This is my favorite part. I took water based stain and covered them, face and all, and wiped each one off with a soft cloth immediately after covering the entire Santa. They are hanging on this little tree in my kitchen to dry, but may end up on a garland like the older ones… who knows.
They all have different personalities and characters. Tag me over on Instagram or Facebook if you make them. I love seeing everyone’s creations.
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I freaking love these!! I made them last year when you shared them and I made more this year! So obsessed! Thank you for sharing again!
Yay… I’m glad you love them. They are a fun little project.
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