Rustic and Fun Wood Slice Ornaments for the Holidays

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Give me an afternoon off, or even just a part of it, and you’ll find me either in an antiques shop or a craft store. Either way, I’m always looking for a unique twist on a familiar idea, such as turning these unfinished birch coasters into Christmas ornaments.

I started by sealing the unfinished wood with a couple of coats of aerosol Minwax® Polycrylic™ Protective Finish. This will prevent my stain from seeping under the stencil I plan to use.

I always keep stencil blanks around so that I can draw or trace a design onto the clear sheet, then cut it out. In this case I started with a simple Christmas tree design, and squeezed out a small amount of “Emerald” Minwax® Express Color™ Wiping Stain & Finish, which contains both a water based stain and finish.

I used a piece of sea sponge as my applicator. I moistened it with Express Color, pressed it against a paper towel to remove the excess stain, then gently dabbed the Express Color onto my stencil until I got the amount of color I wanted on my ornament.

After drilling a small hole for my string, I was ready to hang the first ornament of the season on our mantle. But I suspect Leigh Ann will be asking me to make a few more as gifts, which is fine by me.

Until next time,

Thanks for stopping by!

Bruce