Calligraphy decorations

Add a personal touch with these Calligraphy Decorations

Brush up on your penmanship to create Milly Withers’ beautiful Christmas stars that double as a gift

One of the best parts about Christmas is decorating the tree with the family, reminiscing over decorations you've collected through the years. Milly’s project is a great way to create all-new memories, by decorating ceramic stars and writing the name of someone special in calligraphy. From simple motifs to dip-painting, you can make beautiful ornaments that will be treasured for years to come.

Kit List

◆ Ceramic star decoration ◆ Porcelain paint ◆ Paint pens ◆ Paintbrushes: medium, fine ◆ Twine or ribbon ◆ Scissors ◆ Rubber ◆ Pencil ◆ Large bowl to dip star into

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3 Ombré star

1Mix together porcelain paint and water in a pot that you can easily dip the ceramic star into. Dip the star into the mixture so it almost reaches the top of the star. Hang the star up to dry. 2Add another layer of dip paint, but this time only dip the star to about halfway. Again, hang up to dry. For the

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final dip, lower the bottom of the star into the paint. This should create a layered dip-dye effect (1). 3Once the paint has dried, sketch the chosen name or sentiment lightly with a pencil on each side of the star (2). Draw over the pencil lines with a paint pen. Go slowly and lift your pen off the decoration after each stroke, to ensure you don’t make any mistakes (3). 4Once the paint pen has dried, rub out the pencil marks (4). Cut a piece of twine to twice the length you would like it to hang. Fold the twine in half and thread the folded part through the hole, then loop the other end of the twine through the folded end. Navy blue star

1Paint both sides of the star with acrylic paint in your choice of colour. Hang up the star to dry, then see if you need to paint another coat. If not, then you can paint the top bit around the ribbon. Lay it flat on the edge of a surface for this part to dry. 2Using a metallic paint, colour the edges of the star. You can bring the metallic edge around to the front and back too for extra decoration. If you make any mistakes with the metallic pen, use the base paint colour and a small paintbrush to cover them. 3Write your chosen name in the same metallic pen that you used to paint the edges. Attach twine as described before.

White star

1Sketch the chosen name on the star lightly with a pencil. Draw over the pencil lines with a paint pen. Go slowly and lift your pen off the decoration after each stroke, to ensure you don’t make any mistakes. Once dry, rub out the pencil marks. 2Using a fine paint pen, draw little stars, starting by drawing a plus shape, then connecting each point with a curve. Once you have drawn the base shape, you can fill it in. Add dots with varying sized paint pens to fill in the white space. Attach twine as before.

Helping Hand

◆ You can practise your lettering by drawing around the star a few times on a piece of paper. This will create a template for you to try out different layouts ◆ Darker background colours look fabulous with metallic lettering ◆ If you make a mistake, you can paint over it to hide it, or paint the whole star and start again! ◆ When you’re cutting the string, make sure it’s long enough that it can easily fit over a Christmas tree branch. You can always cut it shorter later if it’s too long

Last minute make

Personalise your crafts!

“Christmas is such a special time of year with family and friends, and I love making it even more meaningful with personalised gifts like these ceramic decorations”

MILLY WITHERS, DESIGNER