Real Slate Makes the Perfect Rustic Christmas Ornaments

When you mine, haul, cut, clean, and ship thousands of pounds of slate, you have some leftovers. Not all slates stand up to the quality we send for use at restaurants, bars, breweries, caterers, and artists. As a result, we have piles of seconds, or rustic Christmas ornaments – as our artists like to see them.

Finding Inspiration

All of our slate pieces and sizes are hand cut with a traditional slate cutter, giving the edges a rustic, beveled look.

Often, when hand-cutting the slate for our smaller pieces – like the tapas, skinny and coaster slates – we have breakage. Too small now for a typical serving platter, the slate often gets discarded into a pile. Seeing the size of these pieces inspired our in-house artist, Krisy. She asked if she could take some and play with a concept.Digging through piles, she found some interesting pieces. Selecting a few, she began working with Zig Posterman markers on the slate’s surface. And for this project, the size and shape of the slate dictated the imagery.

Taking Form

With a vision in mind, Krisy began to paint the slate. Rough edges, a textured surface, and not-square corners played right into her vision of rustic ornaments. A tall skinny piece became a candy cane, a round fat piece a wreath.

The results? Amazing (in our opinion) little rustic Christmas ornaments perfect for any tree.

Rustic Christmas Ornaments

After using waterproof markers to paint her designs, Kris drilled a hole for hanging. Although the traditional method is to punch a hole through slate, it was safer to drill them to avoid breaking the piece. Each piece was then sprayed with an overcoat for added protection.

The ornaments feature a collection of festive images. Select from a wreath with the year or a small bunch of holly berry. Enjoy a hand painted candy cane or a cute little snowman.

Have an idea for your own ornament? Contact us and share your thoughts. We’d love to help make your vision come true!