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Christmas crafts handmade gifts holidays photo crafts
November 12, 2015

easy & cheap DIY gift idea: photo gift box

I don’t know if many of you know this (or care) but I used to be quite the queen of scrapbooking. I worked on scrapbook pages almost daily and even had my first real job since becoming a mom:  contributing writer for Creating Keepsakes, the flagship scrapbooking magazine. And I loved it! Telling the stories that went with the photos and preserving those memories in an artistic way was awesome.

And then I stopped. The magazine went under, I got busy with my blog, I started sewing more and scrapbooking less, and I just stopped. I still take plenty of photos, but now they sit on my hard drive instead of living in books we can look through, and that’s a shame. I don’t think I need to start scrapbooking again, but in one way or another, I do need to start doing something with my photos again!

I know it’s hard to find time to scrapbook, so I’m sharing a couple of mini projects we can do to showcase some of our favorite photos. I’ve shared a few in the past: the heart photo collage and the printable photo calendar (& mini version) are a great way to showcase some favorites. Here’s another, which also happens to be a fantastic handmade gift idea: a cute little photo gift box.

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

This is so, so easy, and turns out really cute. Wallet size prints are adhered to accordion folding paper with a little ribbon on top, and tucked inside a simple wooden box. Tie it up with a pretty ribbon and give it to someone special.

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

They’ll get to open the box and pull out the stack of photos inside.

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

It’s a great DIY gift for just about anyone on your list: make one for the grandparents for Christmas with photos of all the grandkids; make one for your spouse as an anniversary gift with photos of the two of you over the years; or make an heirloom version filled with photos of Grandma when she was a child and photos of her parents and grandparents. It’s just a nice way to keep and celebrate photos that are meaningful to you (or the recipient).

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

And it’s even more meaningful if you take the time to handwrite a little about each photo on the back of the paper.

This easy DIY gift can be put together for under $5 with just a few minutes of effort. Here’s how:

Start with an unfinished hinged wood box that’s about 5 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and 2.5 inches tall. (I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.99. If you don’t have a Hobby Lobby you can find a similar box online, but you may have to adjust the measurements of the photos strip and/or photo size.) You’ll also need a sheet or two of white 12×12 cardstock, a paper trimmer (it’s helpful it if also scores), and your photos, printed out wallet size (2.5 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide). note: link in this paragraph is an affiliate link.

Referring to the photos below, start by cutting the 12×12 cardstock into 3, 4-inch wide strips. Then score each strip at every 2 7/8 inches. This will give you 4 large sections on each strip as well as a half inch section at the bottom. Fold at each score, folding back and forth to get an accordion strip. Place adhesive on the 1/2 inch tab at the bottom of one strip, and place the top of the next strip on it, to make one continuous strip that is now twice as long (with 8 sections). Repeat until you have enough sections to accommodate all the photos you want to use.

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

Adhere photos onto each section of the accordion photo strip, and then adhered a loop of ribbon to the center back of the top photo. Write stories and details on the back of the photo strip, if desired. Place folded photo strip inside the unfinished wood box.

What a great gift idea! DIY photo box - easy & cheap, and perfect for mom, dad, grandparents, spouses, and more.

 

 

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Home » holidays » Christmas » easy & cheap DIY gift idea: photo gift box


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Comments

  1. Chelsea @ Life With My Littles says

    November 12, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    This is so cute! It would be perfect for grandparents!

    Reply
  2. Joy says

    November 16, 2015 at 8:46 am

    OMG – Autumn, you really know how to find and create awesome projects that fit right in with my budget, and are fantastic! One addition I would make to this – if the kids wanted to paint the box for Gramma & Grampa, then you modge-podge it, it’s a lasting piece of artworks too! (Dated of course before you modge-podge it).

    Reply
  3. Allie says

    November 16, 2015 at 11:51 am

    Super cute kids if I do say so myself 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave says:
    November 13, 2015 at 2:30 am

    […] easy & cheap DIY gift idea: photo gift box – 1 freebie(s)? […]

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  2. 26 DIY Ideas To Turn Your Photos Into Creative Gifts says:
    December 4, 2015 at 10:16 am

    […] How to do this? […]

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    […] How to do this? […]

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  4. 20 Stylish Ways To Display Your Cherished Memories says:
    December 14, 2015 at 8:59 am

    […] Photo Box – If you’ve too many pictures to keep in frames, try this adorable pop-out style wooden box. The accordion fold is space friendly and very portable. […]

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  5. 20 Stylish Ways To Display Your Cherished Memories | Prepper's Survival Homestead says:
    December 14, 2015 at 9:27 am

    […] Photo Box – If you’ve too many pictures to keep in frames, try this adorable pop-out style wooden box. The accordion fold is space friendly and very portable. […]

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  8. 20 Unique DIY Photo Gifts – LiveIt says:
    August 27, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    […] 5. A simple wooden box and an accordion folded card stock make a great home for a pretty pull-out photo album. Combine photos of grandkids and notes or drawings from the children for an extra special gift. From It’s Always Autumn. […]

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  9. Medium Blog says:
    March 7, 2017 at 11:47 pm

    Buy A Ribbon Of Memories Photo Box

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  15. 10 Simple and Meaningful DIY Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Loved Ones | Colour My Living says:
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    […] Here is a lovely DIY gift for grandparents who absolutely adore their grandchildren. It is actually a perfect present for a grandparent who lives far away but loves their grandchildren to pieces. If, for some reason, you can’t meet up with them this year, make them smile with this thoughtful present. Take a plain wooden box with a fancy hook, a ribbon, some of your child’s best pictures and an accordion paper. Stick photos on each section of the accordion paper and put a small loop of ribbon on the top. Place it inside the wooden box and send it off to the grandparents. Check out the full tutorial at It’s Always Autumn. […]

    Reply

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I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

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