It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Gift giving can be the hardest part of the season. It’s hard to figure out what to get as well as keeping within your budget. That’s why I just love giving personalized gifts. Nothing speaks love as much as a handmade gift! Plus this was made with a $1.00 ornament from Dollar Tree!
This personalized Christmas ornament is a gift for my baby brother. Yes, I still call him my baby brother. I’m excited to share with you how you can make this special gift for your loved one!
Lets Get Started
Supplies
- Wood Star- Dollar Tree
- Matte Gel-Amazon
- Picture of your choice
Before we get started making the ornament you will need to print your photo. I used my editing software and sized the photo to fit the ornament. It’s important to know that you must print it out on an inkjet printer otherwise this technique will not work.
Quick Tip -Make sure to mirror your image
Steps to make your own personalize Christmas ornament
Step 1- Cut your photo out into the shape of your ornament
Step 2- Apply a coat of the matte gel on the ornament
Step 3- Apply a coat of the the matte gel on the photo
Step 4- Apply the photo, face down, onto the ornament
Step 5- Let the entire piece dry- this will take a few hours
Step 6- Take a spritz bottle and wet the photo, then start rubbing the photo backing off
Do you see the magic happening?
I did a Facebook live if you wanted to see how this was done CLICK HERE
That’s all that it takes to transfer your photo onto wood. This idea was inspired from a gift I made Bill, a few years back, I made a sign of his beloved dog, Heineken. Bill absolutely loved it and it now hangs in our office.
Now, like I mentioned earlier, this ornament was made for my brother to commemorate their wedding on the beach. So for me, it only made sense to make it a beach theme. Nothing says beach more than sand! So I put mod podge around the edges and sprinkled sand all the way around.
Only a few more touches to go. I needed to add some color so I went with their wedding color theme. My brother and his wife chose blue so I decided these painted wooden beads were the perfect touch. It’s those extra special touches that make this even more of a special gift!
I tied the beads on so that they could hang the ornament on their tree every year as a special reminder of their beautiful day!
That’s it, another gift done for this Christmas season. I hope they love it! I also hope it inspires you to make your own personalized Christmas ornament.
Make sure to leave a comment, I would love to know what you think.
If you like this DIY you may want to check this one out DIY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
Just a thoughtful reminder, please pin this – it will help you save this for later and it helps my inspirations be seen by others.
Happy DIYing!
Carol
How do you mirror your image? Also was not able to find those ornaments at dollar tree,so would the cutting boards from dollar tree work as well?
Hi Sue! In your photo editing software you will see an option to “flip” your image which is the same as mirroring. Yes a cutting board would work as well. I would love to see what you create!
Did you print on regular paper or photo paper?
Yes