Diane M Kellogg
- Oct 16
- 3 min read

Gingerbread Cup!

By Amanda Novaes

SURFACE:

Wood Surface 12” x 8” (30 x 20cm)

PAINTS:

Decoart® Americana:

DA179 Alizarin Crimson

DA052 Avocado

DA172 Black Plum

DA064 Burnt Umber

DA088 Charcoal Grey

DA391 Cinnamon Stick

DA259 Cocoa

DA166 Deep Midnight Blue

DA131 Hauser Light Green

DA164 Light Buttermilk

DA303 Pebble

DA155 Soft Black

DA030* Spice Pink (Terra Coral DA286 - Electric Pink DA231 - Driftwood DA171 - 01.01.02)

DA001 Titanium White

DA169 Tomato Red

DA324 Watermelon Slice

*Retired

BRUSHES:

Royal & Langnickel®:

Angle Majestic R4160 - 3/8, 1/2

Half Moon SG375 – 3/8

Round – Aqualon R2250 - 4, 2

Round Mini Majestic R4200R - 20/0

Script Liner Menta R88SL - 6

Shader /flat - Majestic R4150 – 4

Fan bristle brush SG825 - 4

MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES:

Americana acrylic sealer/finishers Decoart

Circle stencil (optional)

Masking Tape

Sandpaper

Tracing Paper - Graphite Paper

PREPARATION:

Sand the wood surface and basecoat with Deep Midnight Blue.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Previous information: There is no need to worry about basecoat all areas first. You can build the table area just masking off the table line. Here, the basecoat is done just to get better images. It is up to you.

Wood table: Using a Fan bristle brush with the dry brushing technique (similar to Patina, irregular texture with horizontal motion). Using three colors alternately Pebble, Burnt Umber, and Light Buttermilk. With an angle brush shade against the frame and the mug with Burnt Umber. Trace the marshmallows on the table and shade them with the same color against them.

Marshmallows: Basecoat with Light Buttermilk. Shade with Charcoal Grey (be gentle). Highlight with Titanium White. The face details are Soft Black. For the cheeks Spice Pink dots.

Mug: Basecoat with Tomato Red. Mask off the sides of the mug. Using a dry brush technique with a bristle brush build the gradient from Alizarin Crimson then Black Plum. Shade with an angle brush all mug shapes including the mug rim. For the Highlight, use a half-moon brush to start to build the area little by little. Use the sequence colors Watermelon Slice, then Spice pink then Light Buttermilk. For the handle use the same color scheme but with a smaller brush.

Candy crane: Basecoat with Light Buttermilk. Basecoat the red stripes with Tomato Red. Shade the red stripes with an angle brush using Alizarin Crimson. Using the half-moon brush with dry brush technique, highlight the top areas of each crane with Light Buttermilk and then with Titanium White. Using the same brush and technique shade the opposite side of the cranes with Charcoal Grey. Then Shade with an angle brush the dark area with Charcoal Grey. For the overlap shadow shade with Soft Black.

Gingerbread: Basecoat with Cocoa (basecoat the little area of the hot cocoa with the same color). Shade with Cinnamon Stick then Burnt Umber. The bow tie is Spice Pink. Shade with Tomato Red then Black Plum. The top frosting is Light Buttermilk. For the eyes, a circle stencil can be used with Soft Black. Highlight with Light Buttermilk.

Final touch: On the hot cocoa area use a liner brush to add some ripple lines with Burnt Umber. On the table section, add the cast shadow of the mug and marshmallows with Soft Black.

Branches: With a script liner brush with Cocoa, build the branches. It is important to alternate the pressure between the brush and the surface to achieve a thickness variation of each branch. If necessary, add one more layer. Use an angle brush to shade the branches that cross each other. Using the Burnt Umber to shade the branch that is underneath.

For the little leaves load your small round brush with Avocado, then touch the tip of your brush on the Hauser Light Green (double load), then just build each leaf as a drop.