Making your very own DIY Wood Photo Ornament is SUPER simple! This process is not difficult, and you will love how quickly this Christmas craft is to make!
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I recently had a friend who loved my Napkin Ornaments and wanted me to use the same method to make custom ornaments for him. Except for, I had no idea how I was going to do that!
So I set to experimenting, and was able to find a TOTALLY viable method that works and is not only simple but is affordable and works great.
I’ll walk you through how to make these DIY Wood Photo Ornaments below, and hope to have a video to add to the post soon as well.
If you like this method, you’d also like how I made my Napkin Pumpkins (adorable DIY Fall Home Decor!). I also used these same wood slices to make super cute Snowman Ornaments and they turned out great!
How do you make these DIY Wood Photo Ornaments?
Step 1: Gather your supplies.
You will need:
- Wood Slice Ornaments
- Cardstock
- White Tissue Paper
- Template to Print Pictures (you can use this one I made on Canva – see instructions on how to use it below)
- Tape
- Mod Podge
- Foam Paint Brush
- Scissors
- Toothpick
- Hot Glue Gun
- Greenery and Ribbon for Decoration (optional)
Step 2: Format your photos for printing.
I figured out I needed my pictures to be cropped to about a 2.75″ circle. The easiest way for me to do this for printing was to use a template in Canva.
Here’s a link to the one I used, and you can use it. Just click the link, then click edit design.
If you do not have a Canva account, it will prompt you to make one. Create your free account, then it will open the design.
When the design opens, click file, then click make a copy. Then you can edit the copy and upload your photos.
Upload your pictures and drop them in the circles on the page.
SAVE your document to your computer as a PDF FOR PRINT. This will maintain the correct sizing you formatted.
Step 2: Print the pictures.
In order to print these so this DIY Wood Photo Ornament project works, you will need to take a couple steps before printing.
Cut out a sheet of WHITE tissue paper slightly smaller than your 8.5″x11″ cardstock paper. Make sure it is smoothed completely flat (iron if you need to) and then use scotch tape to tape it to the sheet of cardstock.
Cardstock paper is found at any office supply store or even at Walmart. It’s cheap and easy to come by.
Tape the tissue paper to the cardstock with the matte side up. This will look best when put onto your wood slice ornaments.
Pro Tip: Tape all the way around the outside of the tissue paper to keep the printer from grabbing and tearing the paper while printing.
Print out your sheet(s) with the tissue paper side up, so the photos print onto the tissue paper.
When they print they will look like this. Laser Jet or Ink Jet doesn’t matter here, either should work fine.
Step 3: Cut out your photos.
Leave your photos taped to the cardstock while your cut them out to make it easier.
Go slowly and use sharp scissors to cut your photos out with success.
Step 4: Apply Mod Podge to the wood slice.
Use a foam brush and apply an even coat of Mod Podge to your wood slice ornament as shown.
Step 5: Place your photo onto the wood slice.
Carefully place your tissue paper photo onto the Mod Podge covered wood slice ornament.
Keep the hole placement of the ornament in mind as you lay the photo down. You want the hole at the top center so it hangs on the tree correctly.
Use your fingers and carefully press the photo down onto the Mod Podge to avoid wrinkles in the photo.
Step 6: Apply another layer of Mod Podge.
Use the foam brush to apply another even coat of Mod Podge to the top of the DIY photo ornament.
Then use a toothpick to press into the ornament hole at the top.
Use your thumb to press around the outsides of the wood slice to remove any excess photo that may be overlapping.
Using your thumb to do this, and not scissors, will ensure a natural edge and make it blend into the wood better.
As they’re drying, this is what they will look like.
Wait about an hour for them to dry completely before moving onto the next steps.
Step 7: Add the ornament hanger.
The wood slices I got were from Amazon and came with this adorable twine, so I used it to make my hangers as shown.
Step 8: Add decorations to the top of your DIY Wood Photo Ornaments.
I used a hot glue gun and added a little bit of adornment to the tops of each ornament. This is optional, so if you like them plain, leave them that way!
Want more DIY Christmas ornaments?
- Feather Ornament DIY – They’re easy, and the end result looks so high-end no one will believe you made them!
- Napkin Ornament DIY – These ornaments are so easy to make and they turn out so very cute!
- Santa Seashell Ornament DIY – These ornaments are the perfect way to bring the beach to your Christmas tree!
Make these adorable keepsake DIY Wood Photo Ornaments as gifts or for your own tree this year! They’re the perfect way to store Christmas memories!
