Easy DIY Photo Ornaments

 

One of my favorite things we do for the holidays is have a mini photo session of the kids with Santa at one of our local photography studios (FotoFly … AMAZING!) The pictures are priceless and I have probably gone overboard using them in my Christmas décor. One thing that I have loved doing is making ornaments out of them to hang on the tree. At first I had them made at some of the photo sites but the deals kept getting lesser and lesser and the prices kept rising and rising. So I figured, hey I should totally be able to do this myself! So off to Joanns I went and about $2 later I had created several photo ornaments that looked awesome and totally got the job done!

Photo Ornaments

 Supplies:

Bare Wooden Shapes or “frames” ($.29 - $1.29 at Joanns or Michaels)

Paint (I prefer spray paint)

Mod Podge (or other adhesive)

Drill w/ small bit

photos

optional: Glitter

 

Get your supplies together



Paint your bare wood (I think spray paint is the easiest!)



Cut your photo out to either cover the shape or to fit in the open "frame" area.

Drill a small hole in the wood to put ribbon or thread through


**If you are wanting to "glitter your frame or shape apply Mod Podge to your wood ornament and then cover with glitter, let dry. Knock off excess glitter and spray with clear spray paint to set the glitter

 

**adhere the photo to the wood shape or into the open "frame" area 

 

**Thread ribbon or Thread through the hole to create a "hanger" for your ornament.

 

***Voila!***

 

 

Pilgrim Pattern Easy, No Sew, and SUPER cute!

 

I so love creating holiday themed things for A and a, I also love doing “fun” photo shoots for the holidays. I fear one day my kids will be featured on awkwardfamilyphotos.com…. But for now they are cool with it and I love it. When Big A was 3 and Little was a few months old I did a Pilgrim themed costume craft and photo shoot that I still LOVE. Those pics are the center of my Thanksgiving time mantle. Well now Little a is 3 and can fit in Big A’s hand-me-down cuffs and collar so I decided to bring it all back out. I had to do an apron for her and a whole new set for him but it was super easy and the results are SO cute!

What I ended up doing is making cuffs and a collar for each then an apron for her and a belt and a hat “belt” for him. I dressed them each in dark clothes (Him, Navy Sweats and long sleeved tee. Her, Black tights, skirt and long sleeved tee) with the few “pilgrim” pieces it created an adorable total Pilgrim vibe with minimal effort.

 

The pictures turned out really cute. I threw them into Photoshop to add the sepia tone. I thought it gave it a fun “1621” feel and made the under clothes color difference (blue and black) not really matter.

Below is a printable version of the pattern for the cuffs, collar, buckle and belt… It is sized for a three year old but it is VERY easy to scale it up for an older child (or even an adult,,, hey there’s an idea)

 

Basic Instructions:

 

Materials:

½ yard white felt or fleece

¼ yard brown felt or fleece

(I use anti-pill fleece. It doesn’t fray and holds up WAY better than felt)

Heavy cardboard

Gold paint or spray-paint

2 buttons

Fabric glue

(optional) needle and thread

If you use fleece or felt you don’t have to worry about any hemming as the material won’t fray. It’s an easy cut and go project!

Collar:

Fold your white fabric in half and then in half again (see diagram)

Follow pattern and cut. Make an addition small slit (1/2 to 1 inch) in the back or the neck hole to get it over the head more easily.

Cuffs:

Fold your white fabric in half and place pattern on the fold.

Cut. Use fabric glue or needle and thread and stitch (or glue) button onto the cuff where indicated (I sewed it… easy peasy).

Belt (and Hat belt):

Measure the circumference of your child’s waist and the circumference of the hat you are using (ours was a $5 cowboy hat from Wal-Marts toy department) add about an inch to that measurement. Cut your brown fabric about 2” wide to the length you measured.

 Cut out the buckle pattern from the cardboard and paint or spray-paint it gold.

Glue “buckles” onto your belts.

Glue “hat belt” together and slip onto your hat.

Safety pin your belt onto your child.

 

Bing Bam Boom… Done J

 

 

                                                   click HERE for free printable pattern

 

 

 

 

Big A hits The Big 6

It’s funny how you associate different connotations with different ages. Ages one to five I associate with a little kid. Once you hit 6 however I start to think of them as a bigger kid, far from a baby, definitely not a toddler, a big kid. My Big A has hit this milestone. I can’t believe it. I guess I am trying to remain in a self-induced state of being oblivious. I mean I see how very big he is getting (He grew close to 3” last year) he is by FAR the tallest kid in his class. I help him with his homework every day and I see how much he is learning, how quickly his base of knowledge is growing. I visit with him, we have actual conversations about how he feels about things and his opinions, no longer silly childish gibberish but thoughtful, intelligent opinions. So yea, I get it, I KNOW he is growing up. He is not a baby, not even a little kid, He’s my Big Kid.

Here's some shots from his "6" photo-shoot he had at our local studio, Fotofly. Seriously they take the MOST amazing pictures and are very affordable. You should check them out HERE.