Photo Cut Out Ornaments? Trust The Answer

tweet

Pin 16 shares

I know, I know. It’s only been 11 days since Halloween and Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet. But I can’t help it. I’m already thinking about Christmas. After all, it’s the best time of the year.

While we respect the turkey and don’t decorate until the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, I’m already crafting. I told you I got the crafting bug!

Every year I get an ornament with the children’s pictures and the year printed on it. This usually ends at the last minute and costs me a lot of money. This year I’m planning ahead and trying my hand at making our own photo ornaments.

Rather than experimenting with the boys’ images, I selected some of my favorite abstract photographs I’ve taken in the past.

After choosing your images, convert them to black and white. You should reinforce the shadows and highlights so that you have clear light and dark areas.

Now you can get started!

DIY Photo Transfer Ornament

You think this is going to be difficult. But I’m here to share some of the tricks with you to make this simple and easy! They’ll create photo ornaments for everyone on your list, from grandparents to long-distance friends.

You will need:

The important things first. Go ahead and remove all labels from the sheet. You don’t need them! You want the support.

If your labels are perforated, make sure you tape them on the back so the back doesn’t fall apart as it feeds into the printer.

Next, spray a thin coat of Krylon Clear Sealer onto the backing paper. Make sure you have time to dry. Using a small sponge, apply a thin layer of Elmer’s glue to the paper. Again, allow time for complete drying. It’s really important that you always let it dry completely.

Now print out your photo on the side with the dried glue. Keep in mind that your photo will print upside down when printed, so make sure to turn it over if necessary. Also, be careful not to smudge when you pick it up after you print it. Allow the ink to dry before cropping your image to the size of the ornament.

Once the ink is dry, use the sponge to apply a thin coat of gel medium to your ornament. Place your photo on the still-damp gel medium and press the photo firmly onto the ornament. Flatten the papers to remove air bubbles.

Let the gel medium dry for at least an hour (I let mine dry overnight). Once dry, you can gently peel off your paper…

… leave your photo on the ornament!

To seal the photo, spray a light coat of acrylic spray over the ornament. It took me a few tries to get the process working, but now that I know the little tricks (like making sure each step dries completely), I’m flying through making more ornaments. You can also use this process on wood or canvas. The possibilities are endless!

Looking for more handmade ideas for the holidays? Check out these ideas!

How often do you take family photos? I’m ashamed to say that before this last fall, when we last took family photos, not even my twins (three years old) were thought of. Yes. I’m a slacker. But this fall we finally found time to take some family photos, as well as some shots of each of us. I love these pics and am so excited to have one of my 3 girls turned out amazing! So in order to immortalize this moment, I had to create my own photo ornament using Mod Podge Photo Transfer Media (affiliate link).

I love to party! I sometimes link my posts to Organizing Junkie, Tidy Mom, and those link parties! You should come party with me and check out some awesome new bloggers!

I took a blank white ceramic ornament I bought at my local craft store (you can find a similar ornament here (affiliate link). This is the perfect backdrop for this type of project as the photo transfer medium is white. When your ornament came with string or ribbon, remove it before proceeding. I took my selected photo and flipped it horizontally in Photoshop. This isn’t strictly necessary, but it will prevent your image from flipping. Don’t miss this step. Print out your image using a printer that uses dry toner (no ink) and later date it with a permanent marker. Apply a thick layer of transfer medium to the front of the print. You do not want the image to show at all. Print with the transfer medium facing down on the Lay the ornament.Let dry for at least 24 hours.After waiting, take a damp bath and wipe the paper with a cloth me. Then gently rub the paper until the image becomes visible. You may need to dampen the image and rub several times to remove any paper fibers from the ornament. If you want the picture to look old-fashioned and faded, you can leave it as it is. If you want the colors to pop a bit, you can coat the image with a matte mod podge. Thread the ornament with ribbon and hang it on your tree!

Would you like to hang a memory on your tree? There are many great ways to make photo ornaments, but my favorite is the Floating Photo Globe. Let me show you how to make one without any fancy tools or machines.

What is a floating photo ornament?

A floating photo ornament has an image – like a family photo – that appears to be magically floating in a translucent ornament!

They’re really easy to make once you know the trick: a piece of clear plastic to hang the photo in the center of your ornament!

All you need is a quick run to the craft store for basic glass or plastic ball ornaments, craft plastic, scissors, double sided tape and photos.

I mean, unless you’re like me and already have a bag of empty ornaments in your closet that you didn’t get to LAST year. Doh!

Where can I find empty fillable glass (or plastic) ornaments.

~This post also contains affiliate links (including links to Amazon) which may reward me if I make a sale.~

Shop Amazon with this affiliate link:

You can find easy fillable ornaments at any craft store before Christmas. Online shoppers can toss a few durable glass balls into your Amazon shopping cart.

I originally made this ornament ages ago, before plastic globe ornaments were so easy to find. The glass balls are prettier and more sparkling, but if you are working with young children, plastic ornaments are free to use.

If you follow my instructions, you’ll want the SOLID orb adornments, which are only accessible from the top. They also make ornaments that split in half, but then you have a seam.

You will also need THIN sheets of plastic or a piece of parchment if you can’t find the plastic. If you are based in St. Louis, you can find Grafix brand clear sheets at Schaefer’s Hobby or any of the major craft stores.

Need more ornament ideas? I have some easy ones here for the kids!

How to create a floating photo ornament

First let me tell you a story. I discovered the photo embellishments in an email blast from a scrapbook store. It looked easy so I grabbed my supplies and got to work. The first try… wasn’t that good.

Here’s the basic idea: you cut a circle out of plastic just smaller than the inside of the ornament, put a photo or sticker on it, roll it up tightly, and insert it into the ball. Easy as pie, right?

The trick to floating clear ornaments

Riiiight. Obviously I was missing something so I went back online and found the trick. If you just cut a circle out of plastic and stick it in an ornament, it rolls and levitates everywhere. wanna know the trick

Ta there! You need to put a tab on top of the plastic to keep the photo upright!

I also found that a peanut butter lid is about the right size for a 3-inch globe, so no fancy equipment really is required – just find a properly sized lid and some good scissors. Keep the plastic clean and it will completely disappear into the ornament – so don’t worry if your circle isn’t exactly perfect.

Make a snowy floating photo ornament

For the first style, you’ll need a winter photo that can be cut into a 3″ circle (assuming you’re using the 3″ balls). Use the peanut butter topper mentioned above (or something fancier) to mark your circle. Cut a circle out of the plastic wrap and tape it to the back with double-sided tape.

Add snow now!

I sprinkled a little salt in the bottom of our snow photo (above) to give it a 3D effect. Salt is better than sugar because it doesn’t attract bugs when stored!

This is how you make your ornamental picture float

If your family photo isn’t snowy then do this style – follow the same instructions as above but make the photo slightly smaller than the ornament.

Here are a few more tips:

Roll the photo around a pencil to make it small enough. You’ll see what I mean when you try it!

Use double-sided tape to attach the photo. You don’t have to cover the entire image, just enough to stick to the center of the plastic. Glue doesn’t work well for this project.

You can make the ornament two-sided using two photos, but it’s harder to roll up and honestly, how often do you look at the back of an ornament?

Do you feel the need to practice first? Cut out a sample circle from plain paper and try it out. The thinner the paper, the easier it is to fish out with tweezers or a bamboo skewer. The only way to remove a photo from the glass decoration is to BREAK the decoration. (Yes, I did that too.)

Do you really need the plastic? YUP! Without a layer of plastic, the photo will not curl up and you will end up stuck in the ball with a bent photo. Maybe that’s okay, but it’s certainly missing a little magic.

You can also levitate an illustration or drawing!

You don’t have to limit your decorations to photos either. You can use something your child drew or a favorite game character on a sticker. This one uses Om Nom from Cut the Rope. We used the printable from this paper model and just cut out Om Nom. Since he likes sweets, we’ve included some peppermint stickers for him. The plastic really makes it look like its candy is floating, don’t you think?

Use foam or glitter stickers in your floating ornament

We used a sparkling sudsy Christmas tree sticker for this one. There are two stickers in there, so it looks good on both sides. We put salt in the ground to make it look like snow. If you have sticker crazy kids in the house, you probably already have a lot of accessories for this one!

Put a small Christmas tree in there!

This one uses an artificial tree from a Christmas village and salt for the snow. I got the instructions from Pinterest… there’s a good video by The Crafty Blog Stalker that shows you how to do it. You should cut off the bottom of a tiny artificial tree and crush the bristles a little to make sure it fits. My dog ​​helpfully suggested that we wet the tree first – he tried to chew up one of those trees. He was right – rinsing the tree will soften the sticky paint they use on snow. I suggest using the sink, not your dog.

The tricky part is to squirt hot glue into the bottom of the ornament and use tweezers to attach the tree. Hold the tree with the tweezers long enough for the glue to set. Salt ensures the snowy ground and covers the glue.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer lets you create beautiful, personalized projects by transferring black and white or color images to surfaces like wood, canvas, and fabric in just a few simple steps. Read below to learn three different techniques on how to use Mod Podge Photo Transfer, watch a video about the product, download a FREE eBook, and get some tips and tricks on how to use it successfully.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer – Direct-to-Surface technique

First, make a photocopy of your image using a dry toner powder copier and crop it to the desired size. Next, apply a thick coat of Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium to the image side of the copy. Place face down on the surface. Smooth out with fingers or squeegee. Leave to dry for 24 hours. Place a damp sponge on the paper. Rub the paper slowly. The image is then transferred to the surface.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer – Decal Technique

Copy or print the image onto regular printer paper using a laser printer. Apply a thick coat of Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium to the image side of the copy, covering it completely. Lay it face up on a piece of wax paper or craft mat and let it dry completely for 24 hours. Once dry, turn the image over and apply a damp sponge to dampen the paper on the back of the image. Start rubbing lightly over wet paper; the excess paper should peel away from the back of the treated image. Let dry. After drying, a white haze may form where some of the paper still remains. Repeat the moistening process until all of the paper debris is gone. Image is now a sticker. Carefully peel the image off the wax paper or craft mat. Apply face up to glass surface. The image sticker sticks to the glass.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer – Fabric Applique

First, make a photocopy of your image using a dry toner powder copier and crop the image to the desired size. Next, apply a thick coat of Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium to the image side of the copy. Place a piece of cardboard covered with wax paper between the layers of fabric. Then place the image, printed side down, on the fabric and smooth it out with your fingers or a squeegee. Finally, after letting it dry for 24 hours, put a sponge on the paper and slowly rub the paper away. The image should then be transferred to fabric. Air dry 72 hours. Wash in cold water or on gentle cycle and hang dry.

Watch this video to learn more about Mod Podge Photo Transfer

Mod Podge Photo Transfer Tips and Tricks

Never use real photos; Always use photocopies made with a dry toner copier.

If your image contains words, make a reverse photocopy so the text can be read correctly in your final project.

Protect your work surface by covering it with construction paper or wax paper.

Apply the medium evenly and with medium thickness to your project.

When removing the backing paper with a sponge, use a light touch so as not to disturb your transferred image.

Cleaning is easy when wet with mild soap and warm water.

Free Mod Podge Photo Transfer eBook

Buy the supplies needed for photo transfer projects

New! Mod Podge ® Photo Transfer Kit – PROMOMP15067 $29.99 Quantity Add to cart

New! Mod Podge ® Photo Transfer Tool Set, 3 pcs. – 44801 $22.99 Qty Add to Cart

New! Mod Podge ® Image Transfer Medium Clear, 8 oz. – CS11216 $9.99 Qty Add to Cart

New! Mod Podge ® Photo Transfer Medium, 2 oz. – CS12652 $7.49 Qty Add to Cart

Click the button below to download a Free eBook with 10 Project Ideas Using Mod Podge Photo Transfer!