Today’s project is a fun and easy way to decorate your house for Christmas: DIY photo ornaments for your Christmas tree. You can put these together really quickly using supplies from the dollar store, which means they’re very inexpensive to make.
Use them to decorate your own tree, or make a set for the grandparents as an early Christmas gift.
Or start a set this year and add to it with new photos year after year. What could be cuter on your Christmas tree than pictures of your family?
To make the ornaments, you’ll want photo frames that hold wallet size photos. I found mine at the dollar store. You’ll also need a glue gun and some ribbon, as well as the photos you want to use printed out at wallet size (3.5 by 2.5 inches). I made all of mine horizontal, but you could do vertical photos too.
Slide the glass and backing out of the photo frame. Cut a loop of ribbon that is 9 inches long. Place a dot of hot glue in the very center of the photo frame on the back, as shown above. Press both ends of the ribbon over the hot glue, making a loop. Then put more glue on top of the frame and press both end of the ribbon down so the ribbon is glue to the top of the frame as well as the back. Let the glue cool completely. Slide the glass, photo, and backing back into the frame, then hang on your tree!
Since you don’t glue the ribbon to the photo, you’ll be able to swap out photos at a later time if you want.
Looking for more DIY Christmas ornaments? Check out these posts:
Easy mini photo frame ornaments
Joy says
As always Autumn, you don’t disappoint! Love these! I”m printing up the 2016 calendars today for gifts, and might just have to include a few of these as well. Keep up the awesome work – you always make me smile when I get your email in my inbox. 🙂
Courtney @ I Watch Them Grow says
What a great idea Autumn! I love the simplicity of the frames (and the price!) so they won’t look dated over time. You could change the photos every year, or maybe add a new one each year to have a whole lifetime of photos on your tree! One thing I’d probably do is always print the photos in B&W, or sepia, to have a consistent look, especially if your tree has a color scheme other than multi-colored 🙂
Earlene Ginter says
I make ornaments out of fabric and felt, for grandchildren,I think of something. they did that yr like their driver lisence,or a frist at the fair,embroidery their name and the yr.on the back with my machine. It is fun to look back,when they leave home they will have ornaments.