Purple Santa

I found this sad Santa at the Salvation Army. I passed by him three times before grabbing him on my way to the register. His odd colored coat and silver boots really took me aback. He was made of plastic and looked dirty and sad. Where did he come from? Could I give him a new life?

At $2.99, I wanted to give it a try. After a reverse image search, I was no closer to discovering where this navy Santa came from. Other than a Macy’s barcode on the bottom of his base, I had nothing to go from. With that mystery still lingering, I started work on re-inventing him.

First order of business was a deep cleaning. With some warm water, dawn and a toothbrush, I got to scrubbing. To my surprise, what I thought was dirt around the white base and fur trim of his coat must have been an intentional paint job. I definitely didn’t want my Santa to look weathered and grimy, so that was the first to go. Luckily, all it took was a couple coats of white paint and he started to look much better.

Next, I tackled his dark navy coat. It looked almost black it was so dark. After giving it some thought, I painted it a pretty lavender. Do you a purple person in your life? You know, everything they wear and decorate with is purple?

I painted his belt in a bold eggplant color to coordinate. I thought he’d have a much better chance of finding a good home if he was painted in shades of purple. If anyone knows a purple person in their lives, you know what I mean.

I ditched the gold sack for a more subdued brown then I painted the all-gold pinecones and branches in the sack in festive holiday colors. I toyed with the idea of painting his boots to match the royal violet of his belt, but my daughter convinced me not to do it. I thought the silver boots looked a bit like space boots, but they actually don’t look bad with the lavender paint and matching silver mittens. To finish, I sprayed him with a clear sealer.

I think my new purple Santa looks so much better than when I found him. A little bit of paint took him from dark and dreary to bright and cheery. I want to find some purple ornaments to help make him look even better. All he needed was a good cleaning and some paint and he’s got a new life. Happy crafting!