Jordan's Christmas Ornaments

My parents still have the ornament given to them by their very first realtor from their very first home. It's a mouse living inside a cupcake that says "Home Sweet Home". With every move since then, that mouse has never missed a Christmas with our family.

And so, the idea came to deliver my 2018 clients their own Christmas ornaments. There are no mouses or cupcakes involved (sadly) but they will forever be a sweet reminder of where they've been.

Today, I'm sharing how to make these! I have to give my mom credit for this idea. She has made these as family gifts for years, using old family photos.

Materials:

Round clear ornaments (mine are 2.6 in.)

Chunky Glitter

Small Jingle Bells

Transparency pictures, a hair smaller than ornaments (cropped to 2.5 in squares)

Ribbon or Twine

Pencil with a good eraser

1: Your first step is to order your pictures. I print these through Office Max and ask for them to be on transparency sheets. In order to have them fit in the ornament nicely, I cropped them (using canva.com) into 5" x 5" squares. I then have Office Max print them as 2.5" squares. Exporting them as 5" squares ensures image clarity once they are printed.

2: All other materials I found at Michael's Crafts. I went on a Saturday morning a week before Christmas. If you take anything away from this tutorial, do not go anywhere near a Michael's Crafts on a Saturday morning that close to Christmas. Learn from my mistakes and save yourself from the trauma.

3: Right down to it! I first cut my pictures out and then start rounding off the edges to make rounded squares.

4: Fill your ornament with chunky glitter and jingle bells to your heart's desire. Like everything else I touch, my glitter is neutral (gold, gray, silver).

5: Roll your picture up and place it in your ornament. Use the eraser of your pencil to position it if needed.

6: Replace the top of your ornament and tie a few inches of twine for hanging.

There you go! I think these are subtle to where they fit any tree or color scheme but still so elegant. The transparent pictures  show through so well with the help of Christmas lights. You will LOVE. I had so much fun putting these together. If you try this out, let me know how it goes!