Traditional Hand-Painted Christmas Village
Recreate the snow villages of old by hand-painting these classic town icons to decorate your mantel. Get the family involved and let each family member paint a different store front.

Other Things You'll Need

  • Flat wooden house, church, and store
  • Cup of water
  • Plate
  • Medium Mason Jars
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Painters Tape
  • Craft knife
  • Fairy lights

Instructions

  1. Basecoat the houses with Cardinal Red, Classic Green and the church with Linen. Paint the roof with Licorice and Medium Gray.
  2. Use the ruler and the pencil to make windows, doors, awning and siding for each piece.
  3. Paint all windows Medium Gray. Paint all the window frames with Wicker White.
  4. Paint the door on the toy store door, the door on the house Linen and the church door Cardinal Red.
  5. Paint the wreaths, garland, trees and bushes first with Lime Green and then with Classic Green and lastly Thicket using the ¼” scruffy brush. Add highlights on with Wicker White. Add dots for on the wreath the bushes for colored lights in a variety of colors. Paint the ribbons with Cardinal Red. Paint the star on tree with Daffodil Yellow.
  6. Draw lines on the house, church and toy store using the ruler for siding.
  7. Shade each piece of siding with Licorice. Highlight siding, roof line, windows and doors by dry brushing Wicker White.
  8. Paint the awing Cardinal Red and Wicker White. Shade with Licorice and highlight with Wicker White.
  9. Paint the TOYS sign in Cardinal Red. Paint the letters with Licorice. Highlight the letters with Wicker White.
  10. Draw the scalloped roof on church with pencil and then paint Wicker White using the liner brush.
  11.   On the front of the mason jars apply several pieces of tape from the top of the jar to the bottom.  Draw the tree onto tape.  Cut out around the tree with craft knife.  Remove all the tape around the tree so that there is only a shape of a tree remaining.
  12. Paint the jar with Classic Green.  Allow to dry and then apply a second coat.  Next paint over the green with Linen.  Allow to dry and add a second coat. 
  13. Score around the tree with the craft knife and remove the tape.  Add battery operated fairy lights.