Introduction: Homemade Photo Christmas Ornaments

By Beth Erickson Designs
About: Beth discovered the simple pleasure of creating at a young age and she has been honing her artistic skills ever since. She began, as most artists do, with drawing and painting, but has expanded her love of cre…

I know it’s a bit late in the Christmas season for this post but hopefully some of you will have some time to give this idea a try! This project is super simple and takes less than an hour. It’s perfect for children with just a little help.

The other wonderful thing about this project is that it will create memories and bring back old memories as you make the ornaments and as you put them on the tree each year.

I also think that most of us have the supplies needed for this project sitting around our homes, just waiting to be used and if you don’t they are not expensive or hard to find.

In this post I will go over two different ornament ideas and give you step-by-step instructions for both.

Step 1: Supplies Needed

Supplies:

  • Mason Jar Rings and Lids (Wide Mouth or Regular Mouth)
  • Glossy/Matte Photo Prints, subject matter is up to you. (These can be printed at home, Wal-Mart, Costco, Walgreens or Rite Aid.)
  • Mod Podge
  • Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue
  • Ribbon
  • Scissors/Circle cutter if you have one
  • Pencil

Optional Supplies:

  • White Chalk Pen
  • White gel pen
  • Chalkboard Paint or other paint
  • Christmas Stickers
  • Glitter
  • Christmas Charms

Step 2: Cut Your Photo

Trace a circle the size of the flat area of the Mason jar insert. You don’t want your photo to all the way to the edge of the insert as the will make it harder to glue in place.

Step 3: Sizing

Make sure your photo fits in the Mason jar ring and that everything shows that you want to see.

Step 4: Embellish

Embellish with Christmas Stickers or a white gel pen or chalk pen if you wish.

Step 5: Glue to the Lid

Glue your photo to the Mason jar lid insert using Mod Podge as your glue. Spread it evenly over the insert and them place your photo image side up on the insert. You can then coat over your photo with Mod Podge if you wish.

Step 6: Ornament Hanger

Tie a ribbon around your Mason jar ring. (This will be your ornament hanger) Add any Christmas charms to the ornament hanger at this time.

Step 7: Assembly

Gluing the insert inside of the ring. (Now is also a good time to write with a sharpie on the back of your ornament if you wish.) Run hot glue along the inside rim of the mason jar ring and quickly place your lid insert with the photo facing down into the ring and press down to glue in place. Then, to make sure it stays place hot glue in several places along the “crack” between the ring and the insert to form a hot glue “tab” to hold the insert in place.

Step 8: Chalkboard - Paint

Paint your Mason jar insert with chalkboard paint or another solid color (ex: red or green) let it dry. (Coat the lid with your chosen color several times.)

Step 9: Decorate

With the white chalk marker decorate your painted Mason jar insert with Christmas images or seasonal sayings. (When making my own chalkboard ornament I found that a gel pen scratches off the chalkboard paint, so its better to use a chalk marker.)

Then complete steps five and six above to finish your ornament.

Optional decorating ideas

After you have completed the steps above you can wrap the outside edge of your Mason jar ring with ribbon or paint the edges if you wish!

Optional Ornament Ideas:

This is also a fun way to preserve images from Christmas cards, gift tags or wrapping paper if you don’t want to use family photos. You could also cover the backside of the ornament with holiday paper to give the back a more finished look.

Wasn’t that simple and now you have a few keepsake ornaments to place on your tree each year. These ornaments would also make wonderful gifts for grandma and grandpa.

Please feel free to leave any comments, or photos of your completed projects below.

Source: www.bethericksondesigns.com