DIY Photo Memory Ornament

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SaveYourMemories #CollectiveBias

My camera, or I should actually say cameras, certainly got a workout this year!  It’s been one of my busiest years as a blogger, we had a new niece arrive in July, we brought our puppy home in September, and we attended my friend’s wedding in October.  Between taking photos for blog posts and everything in between, there have been a ton of photo opportunities! 

I find myself whipping out my phone more and more to take photos.  I’m usually really good about e-mailing myself the photos I want to save because I hate taking up extra room in my phone.  But lately, the photos have been piling up.  So this year for Christmas, I decided to print some of my favorite photos using my HP Envy 4512 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner
 to create photo ornaments.

I love making homemade ornaments to give as gifts.  Since we’ve brought Hunter home, I’ve been collecting ornaments for him.   Every year I give my husband a new ornament for the tree.  So I thought, what better way to share this tradition than with a photo ornament using a picture I took of both of them?

My husband has this ridiculous pair of monster feet slippers.  We were hanging around the house Thanksgiving morning and my husband put them on – mainly to see what the dog’s reaction would be to his furry feet.  Of course, Hunter loved them!  I snapped an adorable photo of Hunter standing on the furry slippers.  I thought it would make the perfect photo for my ornament project!

SUPPLIES

• Ceramic or clay ornament
• Decoupage medium
• Laser printout of a picture you love
• Foam brush
• Scissors and/or craft knife

STEPS

1. Print the picture you want to use for your ornament.
2. Cut the image you are using to fit your ornament.  
3. Using a foam brush, apply a generous layer of decoupage medium to the ornament.  
4. Add your printout to the ornament base, pressing out any air bubbles.  Allow medium to dry completely.
5. Poke a hole through the photo with a craft knife.  Seal with another layer of decoupage medium. 
6. Allow decoupage medium to dry and trim any excess edges around ornament.
7. Attach ribbon or string for hanging.

I found that my ornaments still bubbled a little during the drying process, but you can easily push the bubbles out or use a small pin to pop the air bubbles.

The HP Envy 4512 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner from Walmart has made my life so much easier when it comes to printing!  I can print photos straight from my phone through HP’s All-in-One Printer Remote app! Just open the app on your phone, locate your printer, choose your photo or document, and print!  It’s super convenient to use when I’m in the middle of working on a project and quickly need to print a photo or an important e-mail.

This DIY photo ornament project is the perfect way to display some of the memories you’ve captured throughout the year!  If you’re giving your photo ornament as a gift, consider printing out these fun gift tags to use, as well!

How do you save special photo memories from throughout the year?