Hold on to those beach memories over the holidays with these rustic coastal Christmas ornaments made using found driftwood.
DIY Hand Lettered Coastal Christmas Ornaments with Driftwood
One of our favourite things to do as a family is walk the beach collecting driftwood and seaglass. We would never think to go to the beach without an empty bag to hold all our found treasures! Things like “seaglass”, “sandy toes” and “waves” are the first things that come to mind when we think of the beach.
If it’s more of a feeling that comes to mind, then you can also hand letter words such as “relax”, “unwind” or “fun in the sun”. The options are endless!
We love that these coastal Christmas ornaments capture our memories of time spent at the beach with our family. And now that I think of it, we should have made one to say “beach combing”. Each ornament is completely one of a kind and would make a sweet handmade gift idea or even a stocking stuffer.
Around the holidays, we tend to feel extra beachy and it shows with all of our beach-themed DIY projects like these driftwood reindeer ornaments, our sea glass Christmas trees and this easily upcycled coastal Christmas wreath. And if you’re eyeing the tabletop driftwood tree, we sell those in our Esy shop in 3 different sizes!
Driftwood Ornament 
Materials Needed for these Coastal Christmas Ornaments:
- Flat driftwood pieces
- Decoart Vintage Effect Wash in Turquoise, Patina and Green
- Decoart Americana Acrylic paint in Titanium White
- Lettering Template (use these words or choose your own)
- Flat paint brush, fine paint brush
- Paper towels
- Sandpaper
- Drill and small drill bit
- Black wire and clippers or twine and scissors
How to make Coastal Christmas Ornaments:
Make sure that your driftwood pieces are clean and scrubbed free of sand or any dirt.
Starting with one of the Vintage Effect Wash colors (we have Turquoise here) paint a generous coat on to each of the driftwood pieces.
We also tried using a regular wood stain but found the wood absorbed most of the color, whereas the Vintage Effect Wash really worked well on the driftwood.
While the paint is still wet use a paper towel to scrub off the excess. Leave the paint thick inside the grooves of the wood.
After the paint dries, flip them over and repeat on the reverse side as well. In the meantime, repeat with the other two paint colors.
When the paint has completely dried, with coarse sandpaper, sand along the edges and any bumps and ridges on the driftwood to achieve a weathered effect.
Next, using a fine tip paintbrush and acrylic white paint, begin hand lettering words on to the driftwood pieces. Use a mix of lower and upper case letters for a playful touch.
Next, drill two holes near the top of each ornament.
Finally, use either black wire or twine to create a hanger on the ornaments.
We originally shared this project idea on Crafts By Amanda.
What comes to mind when you think of the beach?
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Coastal Christmas Ornaments
Materials
- Flat driftwood pieces
- Decoart Vintage Effect Wash Turquoise, Patina and Green
- Decoart Americana Acrylic paint Titanium White
- Flat paint brush
- fine paint brush
- Paper towels
- Sandpaper
- Lettering template
- Drill and small drill bit
- Black wire and slippers or twine and scissors
Instructions
- Paint a generous coat of Vintage Effects Wash on to the driftwood piece.
- While the paint is still wet use a paper towel to scrub off the excess.
- Set aside to dry.
- Using coarse sandpaper, sand along the edges and any bumps and ridges on the driftwood to achieve a weathered effect.
- Using a fine tip paintbrush and acrylic paint, paint a beachy word on to the driftwood.
- Next, drill two holes near the top of each ornament.
- Finally, use either black wire or twine to create a hanger on the ornaments.