Easy, Breezy Gallery Glass for Christmas

Fabulous 10" Rounds
Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa is in the house. At least he will be when you complete this easy Santa head shot. It is a great design for kids to do as they wait for the anticipated "eve" to approach. The colors are traditional and most children pick this project as their favorite. Although the design is less detailed than I prefer, the subject matter can't be beaten. I often lead up all 3 round designs (Candle, Bells & Santa) and offer the artists a choice at holiday classes. That gives them a very pleasant dilemma--which one do I choose.

Try this candle as a warm up. It's quick and easy and makes a great gift (recurring theme of shopping network presentations). Once you get the supplies assembled, you can probably complete the whole project in about an hour of leading and painting. I often hang this piece with the Christmas Bells 10" Round because the colors and scale compliment each other.

At holiday time, bells often remind us of church services and family gatherings, and this piece certainly fulfills it's potential. Although it is an easy design, it will be admired by everyone that sees it. The colors are bright and cheerful--sure to bring joy to any heart that looks at them.









Wall Art or Window Art?

Bells are such a traditional holiday theme that it's hard to think of a new way to display them. But this round project has a lot of appeal--because of the carved detail on the bells and the opportunity to alternate the Silver Sparkle and the Silver Glitter. I know, I know--Silver Sparkle is discontinued and I have the only remaining bottle.
But did you know that you can make a similar color with White Pearl and Black Onyx. Shake them together in the bottle so that they are thoroughly mixed. I also used Red Glitter on the Bow--also discontinued, but you can mix Plaid's Red Extreme Glitter into Crystal Clear and get the same effect. Why would you want to go to all that trouble? Here's one reason.

People often ask me if you can hang Gallery Glass on the wall. Here is a good opportunity to do that. I used a number of Glitter colors in this piece. With the larger glitter chips, light is actually blocked so that the segments look "peppery" when strong light comes through it. So, the projects with glitter and sparkle paints look good against a wall because the chips reflect light. Notice how dark the Silver Sparkle looks because it doesn't let the light through. Look at the difference, and you be the judge.  Better yet, make a project with lots of glitter paint and move it around because it will look good anywhere.












Four of the Easiest Christmas 6"x9" ovals

Sometimes you need something fast and easy--both to lead and to paint-- especially when you are hosting a party of young artists or the young at heart. These designs are classic subjects and good line design, but the spaces are large and paint up quickly. The 6"x9" ovals are discontinued, but these designs work well on the plastic plates from the party store, or as suncatches, if you make them a little smaller than shown.

I like to offer a variety of designs for the artists to choose from because you may have leftovers and the fast kids can complete 2 or more designs (which they will love to do). It helps that they all use about the same colors. The good thing about the Gingerbread House and the Snowman is that they can be used after Christmas. Soon we will be adding a lot of designs of January snow scenes, but these two designs can bridge the gap. I prepare designs for every week of the year, so the "bridge" designs between holidays are very important.