Sand Fiddler Crab Coastal Christmas Tree Ornament

 

*This post is sponsored by Oriental Trading and DecoArt.

It’s DIY Ornament Day at the 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Ideas Blog Hop. You can access and print the calendar of events by clicking on the highlighted link. The blog hop runs from November 11th through December 6th. Be sure and drop by on the the 6th to see my Coastal Christmas Tree, and the trees decorated by my fellow bloggers. Also, you can enter our amazing giveaway at the end of this post!

Living on the beautiful South Carolina coast gives me access to gorgeous beaches, salt water marshes, and tidal pools year round. Sometimes I take my surroundings for granted. At other times, I bask in the beautiful marsh view as I ride through the Ace Basin (my favorite Lowcountry view), or sit on the warm beach with a good book in my hand. If you’ve been to the beach in coastal South Carolina, you’ve probably seen the little fiddler crabs, burrowing in the sand. If you’re interested, you can read about the sand fiddler crab of South Carolina here.

On With the Tutorial!

The little tin buckets were given to me by Oriental Trading, for my Coastal Christmas Tree. What could be more fitting (or fun) for my theme than a Sand Fiddler Crab Coastal Christmas Tree Ornament?

Materials Needed:

• mini tin pails (thanks Oriental Trading!)
• Apple Barrel Paints- 2608 Country Tan, 20432E Nutmeg, 20774E Aquamarine, 20404 Black
• DecoArt Americana Snow (thanks DecoArt!)
• pink chalk
• Elmer’s Glue All
• sand
• pearlized beads
• metallic stretch cord
• 1” sponge brush, Plaid brushes- 10/0 round, #2 flat
• scissors
• sand fiddler crab pattern
• pencil
• Max Fill Touch N’ Foam
• Aleene’s Acrylic Gloss Sealer Spray

Directions:

Paint the front of the pail (I made 6) with the 1″ sponge brush and Aquamarine. Use the center of the metal pieces under the handle as your guides for where to start/stop painting. Use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process throughout this project.

Use the Max Fill Touch N’ Foam to create a surface for gluing on your sand. It is lightweight, and perfect for this project. However, you only need a little squirt. We (ahem) overfilled them. The pail looked fine at first, then the foam quadrupled in size! No worries though. We let it harden overnight, then sawed off the top with a serrated knife. I saw this idea in an ornament tutorial by my friend, the Coastal Bohemian. You can see her sand pail ornaments here.

• 

• 

• 

Find the center of the pail and mark it with pencil. Draw or print a pattern for the sand fiddler crab. Rub pink chalk on the back of the pattern. Fold the pattern in half to find the center. Line the center of the crab pattern with the center of the pail, then trace the pattern onto the pail with a pencil. The chalk will leave a nice pattern on the pail.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Paint the claws and lower face with the round brush and Black.

Paint the top of the face, mouth (I guess that’s a mouth?), and fiddler claw with DecoArt Americana Snow and the #2 brush.

Shade with the #2 brush and Country Tan. Paint the eyes (?) and the smaller claw with the round brush and Snow.

Stipple with the tip of the #2 flat brush and Nutmeg.

Make lines between the eyes, on the lower face, and on the little claw, with the round brush and Nutmeg. 

Highlight/stipple with the round brush and Black.

Highlight/stipple with the #2 flat and Snow. Sign the pail with your initials and the last two digits of the year with Snow and the round brush.

• 

• 

Take the pail outside and spray it with acrylic gloss sealer. This is a must-do, in my opinion, for all acrylic paint projects. It will give your paint great shine and protection.

Place Elmer’s Glue All on the top of the hardened foam, then add sand.

Cut a 10″ length of metallic stretch cord. Tie a balloon knot, leaving a 1/2″ tail above the knot. Loop the knot through the cord around the pail handle. Slide a pearlized bead over the top.

• 

• 

• 

• 

I hope you enjoyed my Sand Fiddler Crab Coastal Christmas Tree Ornament!

Enjoy the Season!

Kristie

Subscribe to Love My Little Cottage here.

This post was featured on: Snickerdoodle Create Bake Make

Enter the 12 days Of Christmas Holiday Ideas Giveaway here.