Christmas Ornaments

Homemade Christmas Ornaments 

While at the mall participating in a youth church activity we decide to take pictures with Santa.  Our son wasn't thrilled or amazed by this odd man in a red suit but he wasn't upset by him either so we managed to get a decent picture even though he wasn't his normal smiling goofy self.  There was also no line to wait in so it was great.  Four wallet sized pictures came in the package we ordered.  I really wanted to make homemade ornaments with them to give to my mom and mother in-law. I saw something similar to this online but just wasn't exactly sure how to accomplish it so I consulted in my dear friend Margie. She gave me some pointers then I was on my own to experiment. I wanted to use the real picture but she knew mod podge would smear the photo so she suggested I get it photo copied. Let's be honest here,  that's way to much of an effort for me,  I wanted a quick and easy project.  So I took her suggestion of trying to just mod podge the back of it.

I started out with pre-cut wood from Hobby Lobby. They came in a pack of four which was perfect.  I decided to paint it gold and found some cute holiday embellishments to add to it. I sanded the wood first to make sure it was nice and smooth then wiped it off before I started painting. I did two coats of paint which was easy to do since it dried pretty quickly. Next I put a very thin layer of mod podge directly on to the wood where I wanted to place the picture.  I placed the picture on top and used a credit card to smooth it out. Margie's tip was to put a piece of parchment paper on top of the picture so I didn't scratch it while smoothing it out with the card. I let it completely dry then decided it needed a little pizzazz. I had a stash of glitter that I use when I shellac my nails and knew that was just what it needed.  I put mod podge on the area I wanted glittered then sprinkled away, tapping off the excess. If I were to do this project again I would do the glitter before the picture was put on and would spray it with some sort of finishing spray to ensure that the glitter stays intact for ever and ever.  Lastly I added my fun embellishment then had my hubby drill a hole near the top so I could add some gold rope thread so it can hang on the tree.
This project was cheap and easy and both mothers loved it.  I used red and green glitter, both turned out very cute.  The possibilities on this are endless.  You could do so many creative things with it.  Let your inner Martha Stewart take over your body.  Happy holidays!