Give a warm welcome to
Heather from Dollar Store Crafts
Heather from Dollar Store Crafts
Dollar Store Photo Tins{Handmade Ornament No. 2}Welcome Heather!
Thanks to Stephanie Lynn for inviting me to share my handmade Christmas ornament! I’m Heather from Dollar Store Crafts, and I like to do things cheap! These photo ornaments cost less than $.50 each to make!
One of my favorite supplies from the dollar store is the 3-pack of metal tins they sell in the wedding favor section. Use it to make a unique little window ornament to showcase your kiddos’ photos. With just a bit of glue and some ribbon, these ornaments cost less than fifty cents to make. And if you don’t have kids, don’t worry! You can use any photos or mementos to make unique ornaments. Old timey photos, collages, or even scrapbooking embellishments all combine to make ornaments that fit perfectly in your decorating scheme.
Project Materials:
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3 pack of tins, $1
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Photos, color copies, or printouts of photos from your computer, on hand
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Ribbon (3/4″ and 1/8″), on hand or $1
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Glue (craft glue and/or hot glue), on hand
Total: $1 for 3 ornaments
Prepare Your Photos:
Either collect printed photos, color copy photos to use for this project, or use your desktop publishing software to create a sheet of images to use. The printed squares shown in this picture are 2″ square, and I put a very thin 2″
circle around the area I wanted to cut. I also added my sons’ names and the year.
circle around the area I wanted to cut. I also added my sons’ names and the year.
If you can’t print the photos with the circles on them, don’t worry. You can just use the plastic insert in the tin as a template and trace around it to make an outline on the photo.
Prepare the Tins:
Open up the tins. Note, the metal tins from the dollar store are fragile, so open them as gently as you can. They can bend and get misshapen if you exert too much pressure on them! In many cases, the plastic insert has come loose from the front of the frame. Don’t worry, we’ll fix that later.
Make the Ornament:
Cut out the photos you want to use. Don’t worry if your cutting job is less-than-perfect. It won’t show in the final product.
Glue the photo inside the tin. You can use craft glue or hot glue for this step.
Optionally, add any other embellishments you want, like a loose sprinkle of glitter (for a snowglobe effect). Allow everything to dry completely before moving on to the next step. (The waiting part is one good reason why I would use hot glue!! I’m impatient!)
Fix the plastic insert. Pop it into the front frame (it should snap into place). Because these tins are inexpensive, the window has a tendency to fall out. Once we’re done making the ornament, you won’t be able to fix that, so what you want to do now is fix the plastic insert into place with hot glue. Just put a very thin line of hot glue above the plastic insert, all the way around the frame. Don’t use craft glue for this step.
This fix will keep the plastic insert in place, BUT it will still be semi-fragile. If you care about the window staying in place, don’t let your toddlers or preschoolers handle the ornaments!
(Ask me how I know!)
(Ask me how I know!)
Once everything is dry, put the tin together carefully (remember, if you force it, it could warp). Cut 1/8″ ribbon about 10″
long. Put a line of glue across the tin as shown, and put the ribbon on the line. This will be your ornament hanger.
long. Put a line of glue across the tin as shown, and put the ribbon on the line. This will be your ornament hanger.
Next, cut a piece of 3/4″ ribbon long enough to go all the way around the tin. (I’m not sure right now how long the ribbon is – about 8″ I think. Just measure before you cut it.)
If you want to add a second piece of narrow ribbon for interest, glue it to the wider ribbon now.
Cover the edges of the tin with glue, and attach your wide ribbon all the way around. Be sure to glue the cut edge of the ribbon down as well. Tip: hold a lit match near the cut edge of the ribbon if you want to seal the frayed edges. Do this BEFORE you glue!
Knot the small ribbon right down near the ornament, and then tie it together at the end.
You’re done!
-Heather
Come visit me at Dollar Store Crafts, the DSC Facebook Page, and Twitter.
Thank you Heather for sharing these incredibly inexpensive cute ornaments! These would be perfect to use for gift toppers, especially for the grandparents.
Come visit me at Dollar Store Crafts, the DSC Facebook Page, and Twitter.
Thank you Heather for sharing these incredibly inexpensive cute ornaments! These would be perfect to use for gift toppers, especially for the grandparents.
I’ll be back in another few hours along with our next guest blogger and handmade ornament no. 3. If you are like me and spend countless hours browsing the aisles of your local dollar store trying to find items to transform into something fabulous, you have to pay Heather a visit at Dollar Store Crafts….She features nothing but amazing projects and tutorials all done with fantastic finds from the dollar store!
One of my favorites is this beaded chandelier {found here} Yes, that is a wire hanging garden basket and Mardi Gras beads {both from the dollar store}…so clever, creative and gorgeous!
I also find this copper kitchen scrubbie wreath {found here} so unique, whimsy and adorable!
There is much more to come ~ Enjoy!
Indoor Sensory Playroom
Mini Appetizer Party Table
Wooden Chalkboard Postcards
Spagetti & Meatball Pasta Cups
Backyard Jeep Rock Garden
Our DIY Party Deck
Outdoor Living Space
Oh MY! That wreath is so fun!
These are adorable picture frames, and the wreath is awesome, what a great idea! TFS!
Beautiful compositions with a very attractive language. I love it.
So cute! I used similar tins last year to make an advent calendar for Christmas.
I love the price tag!! And There are so many cute things you could do for embellishments =)
Thanks for having me!
That is so cute! And I love the thrifty aspect of it, too!
It is such a sweet way to remember your kids at this age! Thanks for showing us how you did this!
I absolutely LOVE the little tin/picture ornaments! How clever. Heather is amazing!
About those copper scrubbies
they open up – you just
stretch one open (you get an
ample size) and stretch it
over a gift box or project..
a golden web covering….
Saw this from Pinterest. Thank you for the ideas!!!