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Wooden Photo Ornament Idea for you and your extended family
Want to make these perfect, sentimental, memory-filled wooden Christmas ornaments? These block ornaments are a beautiful way to share your children’s photos and family memories from the last year. They make great gifts for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and godparents. They always turn out gorgeous, and every year you get a uniquely different look and feel to your ornament. My parents and in-laws have a whole set of these from when my son’s first six years. Heck, I even made one each year for our own tree because I just love them so much.
When and why I fell in love with these Christmas ornaments
These wood block picture ornaments are the perfect small gift for the family during Christmas. I was first introduced to these ornaments during my first year at MOPS. My son was just four months old. I have been making them ever since and love gifting them to my parents and in-laws. I also love making one for our own Christmas tree each year. We all love them! They look great on the Christmas tree and are good quality wooden Christmas ornaments that won’t fall apart easily. In other words, they will last long enough to share with your future grandchildren. Imagine them coming over each year to help you decorate your tree for Christmas and hang ornaments of their parent.
I don’t want to boast at all about this, but three years after I was first introduced to this beautiful and fun DIY ornament, a very well-known convenience store near me started marketing and selling them as keepsake ornaments. The difference is that the convenience store uses a very thick cardstock to make the cube. However, these DIY cubes are solid wood blocks. Naturally, they are better quality and will withstand the test of time.
So, for a quick and simple tutorial on how to make these gorgeous ornaments, read below.
Side Note before diving into the wooden block keepsake ornaments
Remember the ‘olden days’ when we used to carry around wallet-sized photos of our children and grandchildren? By we, I mean when my parents used to carry studio and school picture-style photos of me in their wallets. They also sent them to my grandparents who would carry them in their wallets. If I’m being honest, I used to sign and date the backs of these wallet memories and give them to friends at school. (See pictures of such photos from my freshman year in high school, along with other photos of my younger self here.) Not sure why that was a thing, but nevertheless, it’s what we did back in the ‘olden days.’
Thankfully we’ve gotten a little more crafty since those days. Find out how to craft these ornaments with your photos below.
What you need to start Your Wooden Christmas Ornaments
- Solid 2×2 wooden block (for each ornament you make)
- Acrylic paint (in whatever color you choose. I like using a different color each year).
- Foam paint brushes
- Glitter, glitter glue, or glitter paint. (I have used them all and although the paint is easier, the real glitter is much brighter and sparkles a lot more under the Christmas tree’s lights.)
- Festive Christmas cardstock
- Eye screws
- A single-thumb tack
- Mod Podge
- Four 2×2 pictures you want to use on the ornament, (see details about this below).
- Ribbon or Jute. (Make sure it isn’t too thick as you will need to run it through the tiny eye screw. I have used nothing thicker than a quarter-inch ribbon.)
Tips and Tricks for Printing Your Photos
**Create a collage to print your photos as a single 4×4 picture (see example). This will be easier than ordering four separate 2×2 pictures. You can use an app on your phone such as Pic Stitch to accomplish this. Then just use scissors to cut the photos into their squares.
**I recommend ordering your pictures from Walgreens (the app or the website), primarily because they do print 4×4 pictures. The app is very user-friendly.
Once you have everything you need
- Using your block and the back of each photo, trace each photo to measure and trim the edges. This ensures their edges will not overlap the sides of the block. You can round the edges, or keep them squared, (I have done both and prefer squared).
- Using your foam brush and your choice of color of paint, paint all sides of the blocks.
- If you use real glitter for the top, pour some glue onto a paper plate. Pour the glitter onto a separate paper plate. Lightly dip the top of the block into the glue to get a thin layer of glue. Then lightly dip the top of the block into the glitter to get a layer of glitter. Shake off any excess glitter. Let dry.
- If you are using glitter paint, use a foam brush to paint as thin or thick a layer of glitter as you wish on the top of the block. Let dry.
- If you prefer to use a festive Christmas cardstock, you won’t need glitter at all. Just cut a 2×2 square from your cardstock. Measure and trace the cardstock using your block as you did with your photos in step 1. You can also make another one for the bottom of your block.
Once you have completed step five, you are essentially done with preparing your block for the main event (the photos). Continue reading below for the remaining steps to finish your wooden block ornament.
Now it’s time to add your photos
- Apply a light layer of Mod Podge over one side of the block. Place the first photo over the Mod Podge, using your fingers to press out any air bubbles. Repeat with each side until all four photos have been applied.
- Apply another thin layer of Mod Podge over each photo on all four sides. Make sure the edges and corners are glued down well.
- If you choose to use cardstock instead of glitter, follow steps 6 and 7 to secure your cardstock to the top and bottom of your ornament.
- When your glitter (or cardstock) has dried, use your thumb tack to poke a hole in the center of the top of your block. Screw the eye screw into the center hole.
- Run your ribbon or jute through the eye screw and double-tie a knot at the end. You can tie a fancy bow or just cut the excess off the knot.
- Hang them on your tree. Wrap them, and gift them to family. Or if shipping, I always bubble wrap them and pack them well.
