Painting Santa and Mrs. Claus Wreath Rails

With fall in full swing we crafters know that it is time to turn our eyes towards Christmas! Today I’m painting Santa and Mrs. Claus rails that will become some adorable door decor when they are all ribboned and bowed.

If you sell or gift your handmade creations you know that we are hitting the stride of our busiest crafting season. Fall runs into Halloween meets Thanksgiving blends to Christmas. It is a non-stop season of holiday crafting fun! Today I’m painting Santa and Mrs. Claus rails to help you get started on your Christmas crafting way. I also have my favorite guest host with me in the studio today. Amelia is painting an adorable Christmas cactus and joins us for some chatting and fun.

Paint Your Own Santa and Mrs. Claus Rails

You probably already know that I really enjoy painting. There is something so meditative and calming about it. We all know how crazy (and sometimes stressful) the holiday season can be. Being able to get in the studio with my paints can be so soothing. If you’ve never painted before I highly recommend you try it! If I can do it you can do it so don’t be nervous. Our wood cutouts are all lined too so all you have to do is follow that lead. Easy peasy and so much fun!
The ribbon I will be using to complete these rails has a super cute Santa boot pattern. The top of the boots has a nice sparkle to it so I will add some glitter to my rails too once they are painted. The white areas of both Santa and Mrs. Claus’s hats and boots would look so good with some iridescent glitter on them!
These two rails are going to look so cute together once we get them all decorated. They would look perfect hanging side by side on double doors. They would also look adorable hanging on either side of a single door or on either side of a mantel. Wherever you hang them they are sure to give you a big ole holiday smile!

Painting Santa and Mrs. Claus Supply List

• Santa and Mrs. Claus wooden rail attachments
• Paint brushes (I use a medium and a fine tip)
• White acrylic paint
• Black acrylic paint
• Red acrylic paint
• Green acrylic paint
• Light green acrylic paint
• Burgundy acrylic paint
• Black acrylic paint marker
• Green acrylic paint marker
• Red acrylic paint marker
• White acrylic paint marker
• Yellow acrylic paint marker
• Light orange acrylic paint marker
• Dark orange acrylic paint marker

Santa and Mrs. Claus Paint by Line Instructions

1. Start with the Santa pieces and the white paint. Paint the top of the boot and its outlines white and also the brim and ball of the hat.
2. Next, paint the rest of the boots black.
3. Use the red paint for the rest of the hat and for the holly berry.
4. Next, paint the holly leaves green and then go back over it with the light green staying towards the middle of the leaf. This will give it a shadow like appearance.
5. Now it’s time for Mrs. Claus. Use the red paint to cover her boots except for the soles and the “leather” patches on them.
6. Use the black paint to cover the soles and the leather patches.
7. Next, use the white paint for the brim of her hat.
8. Go back to the red paint and fill in the rest of her hat.
9. Next, paint the holly leaves the same way you did on Santa’s hat, using the green and then the light green paint.
10. Use the burgundy paint to fill in the holly berry on her hat.
11. Outline the holly leaves with the green acrylic paint marker.
12. Outline the holly berries with the red acrylic paint marker.
13. Use the white acrylic paint marker to add a shading line to the holly berries.
14. Next, use the yellow acrylic paint marker to color in one of the flowers on each boot. After it dries go back and add the black center.
15. Now use the dark orange acrylic paint marker to color one flower on each boot.
16. Use the light orange acrylic paint marker to color one flower on each boot.
17. Ust the red acrylic paint marker to make the dots along the seam of the “leather” patch.
18. Next, take the green acrylic paint marker to outline the vines on Mrs. Claus’s boots.
19. Finally, use the black acrylic paint marker to outline the “leather” patch on her boots and around the white brim of each hat. Outline the boots with black too to clean up the edges. You can also add some shading along the edges of the hats. (There are a lot of details here but you’ll see how I do it all in the video!)

And that’s it you guys! This is a fun and easy painting project for you to kick off your Christmas crafting with. Remember too that you don’t have to use the same colors that I do. Find a ribbon that you would love to use in your wreath rail and let that inspire your color choices. You could also use these on a wreath instead of the rail! The hats and boots would look super cute on a traditional wreath too. The only important thing is that you have fun and get creative!

If you want to make your very own wreath rail exactly like this one, then check out the recipe card below for all of the details.

If you need any help with painting your own wood signs or wreath rails and decorating your custom wreath rails, be sure to check out more of our tutorials on Hot Mesh Mom Blog.

We would love to see your amazing wreath rail designs! Please share with us over at the Hot Mesh Mom Facebook.

Just pin this project tutorial to save the instructions for later!