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Have Fun Making Christmas Art
The holidays are the perfect time for making home decorations or special gifts for loved ones. After all, you’ve probably got some time off from work, the kids are out of school, and making things to paint is always fun. We’ve got 15 Christmas artwork ideas we hope will inspire you. Whether you like to use paint, markers, colored pencils, wood slices, heat transfer vinyl, or felt, we’ve got just the holiday art projects and crafts you’re looking for!
15 Art Ideas to Make This Christmas
Giving and receiving art supplies for Christmas is always a good thing! Each Christmas inspiration includes the name of the product the artist used. If you would like to use the same product or want to give it as a gift, just click on the product name. So, gather your supplies and let’s get started!
1. Penguin Holiday Card
Send a delightful Christmas message to your friends and family with an adorable holiday greeting card. Greeting cards are easy to make and don’t require a bunch of art supplies—just lots of creativity! Our artist used Arteza Real Brush Pens - Set of 48 to paint this card that’s sure to bring a smile to the face of whoever receives it.
2. Christmas Tree Frameable Art
Everyone appreciates receiving original art, especially pictures they can hang during the holidays. Here’s a beautiful example of frameable art that is inspired by the family’s keepsake Christmas tree ornaments. Long after these ornaments are lost or broken, they’ll still have this picture so they can be reminded of these special Christmas mementos. This picture was created using dual-tipped EverBlend Art Markers - Set of 120. This set provided our artist with all the colors she needed.
3. Christmas Ornament Painting
Here’s another example of an artist using Christmas ornaments as the subject for a painting. This time, instead of using markers, the artist used Gouache Premium Artist Paint, 12ml Tubes - Set of 60, which is a rich, opaque paint that allowed him to make this colorful painting pop against the dark background.
TIP: Look around your home or think of something that has a special meaning for whoever you’re making this painting for. Use those objects for the most meaningful art they’ll ever receive.
4. Gingerbread Picture
Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh-baked cookies and gingerbread men at Christmas? You can use your favorite holiday cookies, candy, or pastries as inspiration for a yummy picture to frame. Send it as a holiday greeting card or as a cute invitation to a cookie swap. Arteza’s Professional Colored Pencils - Set of 120 has a wide selection of bright colors. Each pencil is pre-sharpened and has a break-resistant core.
5. Let It Snow Greeting Card
You can create greeting cards with a multi-dimensional feel by cutting your image from one sheet of paper and adhering it to your card. Here, the artist painted the little fellow first, leaving a white space around him when she cut it out. By attaching him to the card, it looks as if he’s coming off the page! The artist used an Arteza Watercolor Artist Bundle, as it comes with everything she needed, including a set of 60 watercolors, two pads of thick watercolor paper, and water brush pens with various brush sizes.
6. Reindeer Dog Portrait
Christmas is the best excuse to dress up pets in silly outfits! The only thing better is recording the moment with a painting of your best friend. Whether it’s an ugly Christmas sweater, a Santa hat, or reindeer antlers, your dressed-up pet is always a fun subject for holiday art. Here, the artist’s dog looks festive in his reindeer headdress and winter scarf. To make sure the painting looked professional, the artist used 48 Real Brush Pens, a self-moistening water brush pen, and two Expert Watercolor Pads.
TIP: When making cards, invitations, or paintings with wet media, always use at least 140lb (300gsm) paper that can withstand getting wet and keeps your artwork from warping or buckling.
7. Time for Cocoa Painting
Capturing those special moments, like the time you went ice skating and stopped for a mug of cocoa in a cafe, can make some of the most touching holiday art. You can easily do this wherever you are by using an Arteza Watercolor Painter Bundle since it’s got all the essentials, is lightweight, and portable.
You can also go through your photos to use as a reference or take some new pictures specifically for this purpose.
8. Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Christmas just isn’t Christmas without wearing your ugly Christmas sweater at least once during the holidays. Don’t have an ugly or funny Christmas sweater? Well, we can remedy that with an easy project that uses heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and a sweatshirt. Here is an example of the kind of sweatshirts you can create using HTV and a little imagination. Create your one-of-a-kind sweatshirt with Arteza’s Heat Transfer Vinyl, Assorted Colors, 10x12" Sheets - Set of 22. Click here to read the guide and watch the video showing how these Christmas sweatshirts were made.
9. Fun Christmas Tree Ornaments
Handmade ornaments add a sentimental touch and become beloved keepsakes. If you like to sew, felt ornaments are fun to make. If you like to paint, use wood slices for a nature-inspired ornament. And, if you love glitter, add sparkle to plain plastic ornaments and make them shine!
We’ve posted the blog with video on how to make these ornaments. If you want to try to make one or all of them, visit the blog and click on the product that goes with the ornament. The artist used these: Felt Fabric Sheets, Tempera Paints, Glitter Shaker Jars, Chalk Markers, Wood Slices, and Outdoor Paint.
10. Fun Penguins Drawing
Whimsical illustrations are a fun and imaginative way to celebrate this season of happiness and gift-giving. This playful painting would be perfect for brightening up a child’s playroom or any area you want to add a fanciful touch. It’s easier to recreate than you think. First, choose something or some situation that makes you smile or find an image on the internet to use as a reference and make a sketch. Using Real Brush Pens, paint everything in. Then, come back with colored pencils and darken some areas for shadows. By using the pencils over the ink, you get a real 3D impression of your subjects.
11. Christmas Wreath Painting
Collections with a theme make great subjects for your art. In this case, the artist has arranged a collection of Christmas-related items—Santa’s hat, a poinsettia, ornaments, holly, cookies, etc.—into a wreath with a holiday message in the center. Keep a list of all the different seasonal things you see and then sketch them in a neat arrangement. Use your Real Brush Pens, Set of 48 to paint everything, and now it’s ready to display.
12. Christmas in the City Painting
Let your imagination run wild! Have fun with color by creating a Christmas village in your own style. Here, the artist used Santa’s beard to create the roads in his village and filled them with people having fun enjoying the holidays. This Christmas city is bright, interesting, and just plain fun to look at! By using Watercolor Pad, 32 Sheets, "9x12" and 48 Real Brush Pens, you’ll have all the tools you’ll need to create your own yuletide town.
13. Fantasy Christmas Tree Frameable Art
This is a magical time of year, and the best way to show that is with fantastical drawings. It’s easy to do by taking a traditional symbol of Christmas, in this case, the Christmas tree, and adding a touch of fantasy to it. This drawing may look complicated, but the artist only used Inkonic Fineliner Pens to draw it and color it in. The secret is to add lots of details and a wide variety of shapes.
14. Santa’s Bag Framable Art
We all love presents, so why not use colorful wrapping paper and bows as a cute subject for a greeting card? These presents and candy canes are exploding from Kris Kringle’s bag. By using simple shapes and the huge selection of colors in the EverBlend Art Markers - Set of 120, you can make this card or use the actual presents under your tree as your subject. Add a merry message and it’s ready to send.
15. Santa’s Reindeer Wreath
Another important part of the holidays is hanging a festive wreath on the door. By using wood slices and your imagination, you can create a wreath unlike any other. On this wreath, the artist painted eight tiny reindeer plus Rudolph on wood slices using Wood Slices and Outdoor Acrylic Multi-Surface Paint. To learn how to make this wreath, visit the blog we created about it that includes a video.
We hope these ideas have inspired you to make your own holiday-themed gifts and decorations. Christmas is a time of getting together with those you love, and what better way of connecting this season than by hosting an art party where everyone can get in the spirit and make something special. Who knows, it may become your new favorite Christmas tradition!
16 comments
How about some step-by-step tutorials for these projects? Or at least a few large sized images of the projects as they were being completed??? Thanks!