Step by Step with Paints for Christmas

1. Start by laying out the items you want to use and sketching the basic shapes in pencil on a canvas panel.

2.  Lay in a muted background with the acrylic paints of your choice. A one inch hardware store paintbrush is inexpensive and works well for this pat and tap technique.

3. When you're ready to take a break from the background you can start laying in your other areas of color to get a feel for where the design is going. In this case I found it helpful to keep the garland on my easel so I could see how the beads should look when the light hits them.

4. Remember to take a break whenever you need to. Here's where I left the project today.