How to update or change the colors of your Christmas decor by chalk painting the ornaments you already have to create a new look.
Ever wanted to change up your Christmas decor colors or theme but don’t want to buy all new ornaments? Well, I have a solution – just paint the ones you have to match your new colors! 
Partly because I enjoy sharing new ideas here on the blog and partly just because I love changing up what I do, I change up my theme and colors for my Christmas decor each year. That can get expensive if you feel like you have to go buy all new decor. I try to find many pieces that can mix and match with different themes – like black or white decor can go with all neutral or a classic red Christmas, metallic decorations can go with either, etc. But sometimes it’s fun to change up certain decor just by giving it a new paint job.
I had done a rustic red and brown Christmas theme one year and have an overabundance of brown plastic ornament balls. I had seen an idea of painting some cheap plastic ornament balls with chalk paint and so grabbed a handful of extra brown ornaments to try it on.
I removed all the plastic caps so they wouldn’t get messed up with paint and then painted 2 coats of Rust-Oleum Linen White Chalked paint onto the balls. Rust-Oleum also makes a spray paint version of the same paint if you preferred to spray paint them. I found the easiest way to prop them up while they dried was to rest them on toothpicks poked into a box. (By the way, I LOVE Rust-Oleum chalked paint or milk paint – I use it for almost all my furniture makeovers and they turn out great.)
While they were drying, I also spray painted the top caps with a coat of black spray paint. I think doing this extra step made a HUGE difference. I really want to pop the tops off all my plastic ornament balls and spray paint them now.
I used some medium grit sandpaper to distress the ornaments especially along all the ridges and details. This step is completely optional but I love the look this created. If you plan on distressing the ornaments I would definitely make sure to start with ornaments that have some detail to them and aren’t completely smooth balls.
See how much changing the tops made them look so much more fancier/expensive? These look like fancy glass ornaments but yet my little girl (or me!) won’t break them when they fall of the tree. I just LOVE how they turned out!
Basically I just want to undecorate my tree and paint all my ornaments now. 
I love the more matte finish the chalk paint creates too.
This creates all kinds of new possibilities too – like the design of an ornament but not the color? Buy anyway and paint! Shopping after Christmas sales and only colors you don’t use are left – buy them and paint them! I will definitely be looking for some uniquely designed ornaments this year on the 75% off Christmas clearance just to create some more painted ornaments for next year! I love that chippy, distressed finished!
What colors do you do for your Christmas decor? Do you switch it up every year or do the same each year? Have you ever painted Christmas ornaments?
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