Handmade ornaments are a great way to commemorate each year at Christmas time. These special ornaments made using cookie cutters and family photos are as beautiful on the tree as they are fun to make. They make great gifts for family and friends or just a great yearly tradition to add to your families tree.
I first made these ornaments about 3 years ago. It was my sons very first Christmas. For both sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles this was the first Christmas that they would celebrate with a new baby in the family. I wanted to be able to give them each a gift from my son that would be meaningful and special to each of them. I was hoping it would be something that they could look back at each year and remember what the little guy looked like on his first Christmas, and each Christmas thereafter. I found this idea from Martha Stewart to be the perfect solution. These handmade photo ornaments personalized with a photo and year are a gift that they can enjoy each Christmas.
These adorable little ornaments were quick and simple to make. All you need is metal cookie cutters, pictures, ribbon, glue, and an exact o knife. I had a little photo shoot with my then 9 month old infant son in a Santa hat. I used the pictures from the photo shoot to put into the cookie cutters. The back of the picture is then covered with some fun and simple holiday themed scrapbook paper. I put our son’s name and the year on the back. I tied a pretty ribbon to hang them, and a few little beads and embellishments just for fun. I even put a little craft glue around the photo on the inside of the ornament and sprinkled some opaque glitter over it. It give the adorable little photo a nice festive border and added a special touch. It gave my little Santa a snowy border and a little Christmas sparkle.
There are so many options when you are making these ornaments. You can change the look and feel of these to match the recipient depending on the paper you choose and the photos you use. You can make these as simple, or as exciting as you would like. You can choose from different colored cookie cutters, different paper patterns, colored or black and white photos, and much more. Just think about what the recipient of this ornament would love, and make it special for them.
It’s fun to make them for your own tree each year or give them as gifts. They are perfect for commemorating a new baby, wedding, pet lovers, friends, or just a special ornament to give each year. This a great craft project for an older child to do and give away to friends and family as gifts. They are inexpensive to create, but are thoughtful and beautiful.
I made a few for the horse lovers in our family that pictures of them and their horses in it. I adorned the ribbon with little horse charms and was happy to give a simple but personalized gift. The possibilities are endless. This is a gift that anyone wold love to give or get.
I am trying to make these ornaments as a Xmas project and I can’t find a glue that seems to bond the picture well enough. The pictures are printed on card stock paper; I tried the glue stick (like Martha Stewart shows) and I tried rubber glue like one of the comments states. Both do not seem to work very well. Is there a secret to getting the picture to bond well. HELP!