Homemade Baby Christmas Ornaments

My sister has three beautiful children and for Christmas I wanted to make her a special ornament for each of them.  I decided to make a cube for each child with pictures and their birth specs on it.  This project is not difficult, it just has to be done with ample drying time between steps.  No one likes a sloppy ornament! =]

Here's my process, with corresponding pictures of course!  Step 1 is the hardest part, if you need additional instruction let me know =]





Materials:

• Cardboard box ornaments (I found some at Hobby Lobby)
• Decorative/colored paper
• Ribbon
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brush
• Photos printed onto paper

Step 1:  Create a photo JPEG to wrap around your ornament.  I used Photoshop Elements, but you could achieve the same effect with paint or Microsoft Word with a little patience.  On my image, I used a grunge brush to rough up the photo edges. I measured my cube and found that each face was 2.5 inches.  This meant I needed to create an image that fit the ratio of 2.5 inches x 10 inches.  I ended up making my image 2.5 x 10.3 inches so I had some overlap on the corners.  This is one of my JPEG's:

Step 2: Cut your decorative paper to cover the tops and bottoms of your cube.  The paper should be slightly larger than the square so it can overlap on the edges.  Next, cut squares from the corners of your paper square to prevent scrunching when you apply it to the cube.  I slightly folded the edges, as shown in the second photo, to make it easier to stick to the cube.

Step 3:  Use mod podge to glue the paper to the tops and bottoms of the cube.  It may take a generous amount of mod podge to get the overlap edge to stick.  Be sure to smooth the corners nicely. Use your fingers to help hold it in place. I did all three tops, then all three bottoms.  By the time I was ready for the second piece, the top piece was dry so I could handle the cube.

Step 4: Print your photo strip.  I love printing from Microsoft Word... I find it the easiest way to make sure I print a photo the size I want.  Before opening my files, I created a mock-photo strip to make sure it would cover my cube before I wasted ink printing pretty photos (I hate how expensive ink is...)  Doing this test is what made me realize I needed to add .2-.3 inches to the file for overlap so my cube's corner wouldn't peek out.

This is my final print out of the JPEGs:

 

These kiddos are my favorite.  I wanted to have birth specs, hospital photo, a life jacket photo, and a Christmas picture... but 2 month old Michael hasn't had his first Christmas or boat ride yet =].  Our family is big into boating, so there is significance with the life jacket picture.

Step 5:  Stick the photo strip on- Whoo-hoo!  First, fold your photo strip around the cube with nice, neat creases.  Make sure you glue it to in the proper order, you don't want your excess length covering up a picture =]  Again, you might have to use plenty of mod podge to make the little overhang edge stick. Let this step dry well before continuing on to Step 6.

Step 6: Seal the ornament with mod podge.  Yup, just paint mod podge all over it to protect your photos from damage or peeling, and it makes them look nice.  I did my mod podging on a diaper box-table... fancy right?  I painted all six sides and hung them on our key rack to dry.

Step 7: Once your cube(s) is dry, add a decorative bow and your project is complete!