Homemade Picture Ornament Ideas
- Combine beaded snowflakes with photos for a personal ornament.snowflake image by Nevena Kozekova from Fotolia.com
Picture ornaments are a decorative way to add a personal touch to a Christmas tree or holiday display. Around the holidays, picture ornaments make easy craft projects for children and adults, and can be used as gifts or tree decorations at home. For a lasting ornament, choose photos that will be meaningful to your family and friends in years to come. - If you have children, create an afternoon craft project by providing materials to make small, decorative felt frames. Start with stencils of different Christmas-themed shapes such as trees, mittens, hearts and stars. Have each child cut her shape out of two pieces of cardboard and cut an open space out of the top piece. Cover the top piece in felt and decorate with ribbon, sequins and beads. Glue a photo onto the bottom piece of cardboard and cut it to match the shape. Add a loop of ribbon to the top of the photo with glue or a staple, and place the decorated frame piece on top to create the photo frame.
- Use craft wire and white, silver and clear beads to make a snowflake design with an empty center. Bend the wire with pliers and add beads before making the next bend. Once the snowflake is complete, add small brackets in the corners of the open space to create a photo holder; you can make brackets by adding simple diagonal crossbars across the front and back sides of two opposite corners. Cut a photo to fit the center space and slide it into place between the crossbars. Add a ribbon to the top of the snowflake and hang it on a tree, in the window or as part of a beaded snowflake garland.
- Find clear glass or plastic Christmas balls that can be taken apart at the center or which have openings on top. Choose two photos that you want to use and glue them back to back with a small craft stick between and extending from the bottom edge of the photo. To the bottom of the stick, mold a piece of putty. Insert the photo into the ball and use the putty to secure it to the bottom. Fill the bottom of the ball with sand, confetti, or decorative glass pebbles to cover the putty and the bottom edge of the photo. You can also use fake snow or glitter to add sparkle. Attach a ribbon to the top of the ball and hang it from the tree; as the ornament turns, you will see both photos.
