Retro Ornaments

   I was really torn this week on what design to paint for Christmas. I have seen some really cute Christmas/wintery bird fabrics, cards, and the like. But then I found some old ornaments that I really liked too! I got a free gel manicure a few days ago so I really wanted to choose something I really liked since it would last a lot longer than my own manicures do. I finally decided on the ornaments because I really really liked them and I could always paint the birds later as just a winter design instead of a Christmas one. So you'll probably see some birds in a few weeks!

    I really liked the shapes and potentially detailed designs I found in a lot of the 60's ornaments. I was inspired by this pin and this one, as well as somewhat by this fabric.

   I used a lot of acrylic paints this time. I bought a bunch of new paints and I wanted to see how much easier it would be than regular polish. And let me tell you, for the most part, it is infinitely easier! It doesn't dry up half so quickly as it set on my paint plate. It's not half so gloppy either. I'm not sure how often I'll use the acrylic paints, but they are nice and easy when I do use them!
   I have mostly Apple Barrel acrylic paints pretty much because they're the cheapest at JoAnn Fabric. There's nothing like convenience to get you to by one product over another! The colors I used were Regency Blue and Cardinal Crimson in the Apple Barrel brand and Rose Layette and Blanc d'Osier in the Folk Art brand. My base color was an OPI gel; maybe Did You 'ear About Van Gogh? I'm not 100% sure what color I picked... I also used my white Stripe Rite striper as well as Loreal New Money, Royally Reinvented, and Club Prive.

   I hope you all have an awesome Christmas!