Decorating & Design
DIY Holiday Paint Projects From Annie Sloan To Try This Weekend
Updated on November 17, 2023
We can always count on paint maven Annie Sloan for some festive crafts. Using her famous Chalk Paint®, she’s compiled projects and decorating ideas that are simple enough for the kids to make, and they can be personalized to your holiday style. Scroll down to get inspired!
Note: Pricing for the paint starts at $14.95 for a 120 mL tin. Here is a list of retailers to find one near you.
“Baubles aren’t just for trees,” says Annie. “You can source giant ones from craft shops or online, and transform them with a lick of Chalk Paint®. A fun way to decorate your hallway or stairs, they’re easy to paint over. Why not create a holiday tradition, giving your baubles a new look every year?” The sideboard and baubles are painted in Capri Pink Chalk Paint®, while the walls are Louis Blue, with floorboards painted Louis Blue and Greek Blue.
We love how the ornaments are painted in a fancy scalloped contour, with a hit of gold paint for extra sparkle. Embellish with a long, flowing bow for extra presence. Embrace the checkerboard trend and breathe fresh life into forgotten floorboards and plain tiles. Start by painting the whole floor with two coats of Chalk Paint® in Louis Blue. Cut a square template from strong cardboard (a 10″x10” template was used for this floor). Once the base paint is dry, use the template to mask out the squares and paint them in Greek Blue using a small roller. Leave to dry overnight and finish with two coats of Chalk Paint® Lacquer in Gloss for durability.
Add flair to a DIY painted console by adding a gilded edge for dimension. The lamp base is painted in Firle while the candlesticks are given a coat of Greek Blue, Louis Blue and Firle.
“Traditional holiday colors are of course red and green, but at the brighter end of the spectrum,” notes Annie. “Warm parchment tones combine beautifully with olive for a more elegant take on the festive palette.” The golden ochre wallcolor is Honfleur Chalk Paint® with rich Burgundy on the floor, topped with Matt Chalk Paint® Lacquer (get directions for painting a floor here). The table legs are also painted Burgundy, and the juicy mismatched chairs are Barcelona Orange.
Create an inexpensive arrangement by hanging a branch wound with fresh-cut ivy tendrils and handpainted ornaments, and suspend over a table or buffet.
“Save leftover fabric from projects throughout the year to make DIY stockings and sacks for the holidays,” Annie advises. “They’ll make great little gifts on their own, but of course, they work best filled with lots of lovely treats.” Walls are painted Aubusson Blue, with Paloma and Clear Chalk Paint Wax (here’s a video on the technique) on the fireplace and mirror. The Scandi-look floor is Paris Grey with a Matte Lacquer finish.
Making your own gift wrap lets you customize a color scheme. Here, inexpensive wooden candle holders (pick them up at flea markets or thrift stores like Value Village) are given a color-block treatment. Give a fleamarket find a bold look by painting the shade and base in the same hue, here it’s Antibes Green topped by Clear Wax. The striped candlesticks are painted Napoleonic Blue, Antibes Green, Barcelona Orange, and the malachite-green Florence with a Clear Wax finish.
“What better way to welcome friends and family this holiday season than with a freshly painted front door,” says Annie. “Be brave and go for bright yellow for a warm, inviting entrance. It’s the first thing your guests will see, so why not make it bold and expressive!” This front door and frame were painted with Chalk Paint® in Tilton and finished with Chalk Paint Lacquer.
Look to nature to create a woodland-inspired tablescape, complete with a mobile of dried citrus slices, twigs and pine cones suspended from a branch. No paint was used on the garland, however Bright Silver Gilding Wax was applied on the wreath to give the leaves some luster. The walls are painted in Old White; the table top is in White Chalk Paint® Wax; the table legs are Olive and Clear Wax, the chairs are Country Grey with Old White and Matte Chalk Paint® Lacquer on the floor.
Dress up the kids’ table with a paper runner, and give crackers a homespun look with a strip of humble burlap. Subtly scent linens with holiday fragrance by bundling up citrus slices and cinnamon sticks. A potato is used to make the circular patterns on the gift wrap with Pure paint. The pine cones are gilded with Bright Silver Gilding Wax for a touch of frosty sparkle.
Dried citrus slices top a natural wreath, with olive ticking used to make advent calendar bags that can be filled with treats. Natural Kraft paper is an environmental-friendly alternative to commercial wrap, while olive is a sophisticated twist on the traditional red and green holiday scheme and accents natural materials in a low-key way. Cardboard tags for the advent calendar are painted Olive and topped with Pure.
Not every house needs (or has room for) a tree. In this setup, a sparkly star steps in and takes its place. This gift wrap is made by hand, and looks charming grouped together on a bar cart. Black walls are having a major moment: in this case, it’s Chalk Paint® in Athenian Black, while Emperor’s Silk is brushed onto the bar cart to make it pop. Large polystyrene balls are given a coat of peppy hues as an alternative to traditional ornaments. The colors on the wrapping paper include Pure, Barcelona Orange, Primer Red, English Yellow, Antibes Green, Giverny and Napoleonic Blue.
To make the wrapping paper, you will need:
- A large roll of white paper
- 2 large potatoes
- Chalk Paint® in Napoleonic Blue
- Chalk Paint® in Barcelona Orange
- MixMat
- Using a knife, cut the potato in half, width ways to create two circles, then cut the design into the flat surface. Remember that the areas removed will be negative space.
- Pour a small amount of Chalk Paint® in Napoleonic Blue and a Barcelona Orange onto a MixMat (be careful not to mix these together). Press the potato print into Chalk Paint® to load it with paint, dab it off on the MixMat so as to not overload the paper with paint.
- Apply potato to the sheet of paper, alternating between the orange and blue print. Clean your potato between turns, or concentrate on one color, leaving a space to go in with the other.
An advent calendar is strung along a Moroccan-style bunk bed in this kids’ room using the cheery ticking fabric seen on the scalloped curtain (or you can buy remedy-made fabric bags from craft stores). Hand-paint a tag to identify the days leading up to Christmas. They don’t have to be displayed sequentially — feel free to mix things up! Potato print gift wrap uses Pure, with Napoleonic Blue and Scandinavian Pink on the gift tags.
Color coordinate your wrapping paper to the advent bags, and sprinkle gifts around the house as festive decoration.
Annie Sloan