How to Make DIY Vintage Christmas Frame Ornaments
December 17, 2024
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How to create sentimental and beautiful custom ornaments with these tiny DIY vintage frames.
These photo ornament ideas are so easy to DIY and add a personal touch to
your Christmas tree! I'm sharing a few I've done over the years, including
my most recent (and favorite!) version.
I love celebrating the events and special moments of each year by adding
photos to our holiday decor, and the tree is the perfect place to display
them.
EASY PHOTO TREE
Years ago I did the simplest version of this by printing out photos from my
phone and just tucking them into the tree:
I mean...you can't get easier than this!
For a nostalgic touch, I edited them with a sepia tone before
printing.
This tree decorated with photos
was so sweet and I loved looking through the pictures throughout the season.
It was surprisingly pretty on the tree too!:
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You know how when you put up the tree, it's so pretty with just the
lights that you consider leaving it that way? Is that just me? :)
Well this is a great way to add a little something sentimental that doesn't
overwhelm the tree or your decor.
ACRYLIC DIY ORNAMENTS
A couple years ago I added some
DIY photo ornaments
to our mud room chalkboard. This was a fun one and was super inexpensive and
easy to do!
I took some round acrylic ornaments from the craft store and used Mod Podge
to glue the photos to the back:
It was SO simple to do and the ornaments are a steal!
I draw a snowy forest on this chalkboard every year, and I hung some of the
ornaments from the "trees" that year:
MINI ORNATE FRAME ORNAMENTS
My most recent version is a little more sophisticated. I LOVE how these turned
out!
I grabbed a set of these beautiful
mini detailed gold frames. I didn't realize quite how small they were till they arrived, but I ended
up loving that they were so tiny!
The set came with five different shapes -- rectangle, square, circle, oval and
heart shaped. The oval was a little too small, but I kept them for a future
project.
These ornate frames came in more of a rose gold color, so I did a super quick
and light coat of this gold spray paint to give them a little more sparkle:
I loved the result!
Next up, I needed to figure out how to hang these from the tree. I could have
tied some ribbon through the opening, but I prefer using hooks so I can place
them wherever I want.
I didn't care for the heart-shaped frames, so I used one as a test to see how
a small drill bit would work with the resin material:
It went through with ease! I used this method to drill holes into each little
frame.
Keep in mind the orientation for the photos you'll be using -- it may be worthwhile to drill your holes after assembling these!
Then it was time to figure out the sizing for my little photos. The frames are
all different shapes, but all of them were around 1.25 to 1.50 inches at the
widest point:
I resized my photos and printed them all off on one sheet of paper:
I played around with each photo to figure out the best placement with the
different frames:
I used thick card stock for my photos, but next time I do this project I will
either laminate them first, or place a small piece of flat plastic on the
front first to protect the photos.
For now I'll need to wrap these up with care when I store them away each
season.
I cut the paper to size, leaving some room to glue them onto the back of the
frames. I ended up just using regular scotch tape for a few since that stuck
really well:
As you can see, I threaded the ornament hook through the hole I drilled into
the frame, and just wrapped it around.
That's it! They are so small, but I LOVE THEM. I kept showing my family "look how teeny tiny and CUTE!" Adorable.
We got them up on the tree:
I was tickled by them. I only did ten for this round, so my plan is to do a
set every year. I can put the year on the back of them with a Sharpie.
What a beautiful and sentimental way to remember the meaningful moments of the
year!:
Glue some magnets to the back to make pretty framed fridge magnets.Or use a push pin to hang them from a bulletin board!
My son and I were saying how they are like little "Easter eggs" on the tree
that we can look for every year. I just love how detailed and dainty they are.
These would be a great project for a crafty evening with family or friends.
Just have everyone bring their small photos printed out and you won't need a
whole lot more!
Of course you don't have to use photos for these...pretty wrapping paper,
scrapbook paper or even printed sheet music (Christmas music perhaps?) would
be lovely as well.
If you'd rather do this project with larger frames,
these gold frames
are similar and would hold standard sized photos. This DIY project would also
make a great gift!
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