We have family pictures taken each year right before the hustle and bustle, so I love making photo gifts during the holidays. I’ve been making these Glass Photo Ornaments for quite some time (even before the outburst of holiday projects on Pinterest). The are the perfect keepsake or gift.
I’ve shared this DIY Glass Photo Ornament craft with many and haven’t come across a tutorial that shows well how EASY it can be done.
Follow this simple step by step photo guide to make your own personalized glass photo ornament
Materials Needed for your DIY Glass Photo Ornament:
– 1 photo (relative in the size to the ornament you’ve chose),
– 1 glass bulb,
– a stick (a pencil or skewer will do),
– fishing line,
– double sided tape,
– ribbon if you choose
– white cardstock with the date printed or stamped.
Instructions to Make your DIY Glass Photo Ornament
- Find a drinking glass that your ornament will sit into (you want it to sit in about 1/4 of the way, a smaller circle is better than one too big), use this as a template for your circle. If you have another means of circle cutting, a large ornament will need a 3″ circle.
- Cut two circles, one from your photo and the other from the cardstock. Add names, dates, or sentiments to the paper circle, with your printer or stamps
- Apply strips of (acid free) double sided tape to the photo. Cut a long piece of fishing line and fold it in half. Stick the looped end along the centre of the photo.
- Sandwich the fishing line between the two paper circles.
- Gently roll the photo into a tube (photo on the outside of the roll), and slide it into the ornament. Be sure there are no sharp points of glass that the photo will get scratched by.
- Hold onto the fishing line and run the stick back and forth over the photo to flatten it out, be careful not to dent or scratch the picture. *make sure your holding the line, getting it back out is NO fun.
- You will find two small holes in the cover of the ornament, where the wire runs through the cap. Poke the ends of your fishing line through the holes (one in each side), slip the cap back onto the ornament, and tie off the fishing line. I like to knot the strings multiple times to ensure it will not come undone.
- Complete your ornament with ribbon of choice (mine is May Arts Wrinkled Silk), or simply add a hanger.
Gift, or hang your DIY Glass Photo Ornament for all to see!
It’s safe to say this maybe the only glass ornament craft I ever share… they are incredibly hard to photograph!
What do you think, will you give this DIY glass photo ornament a try? You know Grandma, or a close friend would love to receive one!
You might like these other holiday posts:
Claudine says
November 28, 2013 at 8:33 amLove it, as always!
Nancy Shnzermom says
December 8, 2018 at 4:43 pmi dont know how to straighten out the picture..using q tip but no luck
Tara @ Suburble says
November 29, 2013 at 2:12 amSo cute! I have a few glass ornaments waiting for inspiration, and this is perfect!
Daniela Davis Walsh says
November 29, 2013 at 3:48 amI love these! I’m definitely going to make some this year. Where do you get your clear ornaments?
I’m hosting a link party and would love for you to link up this project.
Take care!
Daniela
http://iputabirdonit.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-favorite-free-christmas-fonts-and.html?m=1
Virginia says
November 29, 2013 at 11:00 amYou can pic them up at Michaels, Walmart or the dollar store! Happy crafting!
Christine says
November 29, 2013 at 8:20 amI LOVE the ornaments Virginia!! I’m going to attempt to make some too! Thanks for the tutorial.
Krista @thehappyhousie says
November 29, 2013 at 6:49 pmThese are so cute Virginia – I absolutely love them! Pinning!!
Tiffany says
December 1, 2013 at 10:51 pmI can’t get my picture to uncurl do you have any suggestions??
Virginia says
December 2, 2013 at 12:32 amHi Tiffany, Use a Q-tip to poke at the center of the photo, it shouldn’t damage the photo so you can give it a bit more push. The thinner the photo paper and cardstock the better. I hope this method helps. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristina says
December 3, 2013 at 1:54 amGreat idea–and best of all, CHEAP! 🙂 I definitely want to try it. Thanks so much for sharing. Merry Christmas!
Susan Thornton says
December 3, 2013 at 11:30 pmWhat a genius idea I’m going to try this thanks Virginia for sharing your idea with everyone.
Roseanne says
December 4, 2013 at 7:21 amI have been doing this for years and both my sons have a separate tree decorated with the yearly ornaments,the grandkids lokk forward to the “new ” ornament each year
Virginia says
December 4, 2013 at 7:24 amThat is SO great Roseanne! Thats what I hope for! When I was a kid we had engraved ornaments, we were so excited to find ours on the tree after it was decorated!
Roseanne cota says
December 4, 2013 at 7:25 amI have been doing this for years,(I use the wallet size school pictures)both my sons have a seperate tree just for the photo globes,each year the grandkids look forward to getting their ornament.Its become a tradition in this family..brings a lot of laughter on tree decorating day
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
December 12, 2013 at 5:38 pmI believe I’ve found the craft I’ll make with my grandbabies this Christmas! Thanks for such a great idea. 🙂
Sarah says
December 14, 2013 at 2:27 amI’m so happy I found this! I have been looking all over for the best possible method for doing this and yours is the first that explains it the best. I’m doing one for each member of the family a picture of my grandpa who passed away in October from cancer. I tried a sample picture rolling it up to insert it in but when it’s in the glass, it seemed to not wanna straighten out. Will the card stock help with this problem?
Virginia says
December 14, 2013 at 8:01 amThe bigger the bulb the easier it is to get the photo to straighten out, because it doesn’t have to roll so tightly (the loser you can roll the better). I don’t know if the cardstock makes a difference, I’ve never tried without. Using something with a soft end like a q-tip or paintbrush will let you apply a bit more pressure without damaging the photo. Good luck!
Melissa (@craftyscientist) says
December 16, 2013 at 6:41 pmLove your blog design and these ornaments – so creative and pretty! Just wanted to let you know I featured it in my roundup of glass ornament crafts here. Feel free to check it out if you want and hope you like it! : )
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
beckipeckham says
December 23, 2013 at 9:33 pmLove this idea!
Mel says
November 27, 2014 at 1:35 amI love this idea and made some today! My boyfriend and I are putting up our first Christmas tree this year and I wanted to start a tradition for our tree. I made 4 (one for each year we have been together). Hope to make more in the future as we grow older. It will be a cute reminder of how much we have changed over the years and if we add any new members to our family that year!
Virginia says
November 27, 2014 at 10:26 amSo glad to hear Mel! I love looking back at ours, crazy how fast the kiddos grow!
Lisa white says
November 28, 2014 at 11:59 pmDo you put the card stock on the back of the photo?
Virginia says
November 30, 2014 at 5:11 pmyes, you sandwich the string in-between the two pieces
Bobbi says
December 15, 2014 at 7:40 pmI would like to print this , I don’t seem to be able to. Would someone please help me?
Thank you.
Virginia says
December 17, 2014 at 7:01 amWHat did you want to print Bobbi?
Lori B. says
December 16, 2014 at 7:40 pmInstead of card stock, I sandwiched the fishing wire in between the back of the photo and a piece of green tissue paper. It was thin so it rolled and unrolled easily. I also had my students rip up tiny pieces of red tissue paper for inside the bulb as well as some white glitter (snow like ) which stuck to the inside of the glass. It came out colorful and beautiful! I cut up thin strips of clear transparencies (used for overheads) and they wrote a message (Merry Christmas, I love you mom and dad, etc. or 2014) with a Sharpie and put them inside the ornament. Very unique and awesome!
Virginia says
December 17, 2014 at 6:55 amGreat ideas, I bet they turned out awesome!
Angela says
December 17, 2014 at 12:59 pmI make these using transparent paper. The transparent paper rolls up and unrolls easily and you can see the picture on both sides.
Latasha says
December 18, 2014 at 8:52 pmI tried this and it didn’t work at all…. and I’m pretty good at crafts. The picture wouldn’t unroll AT ALL and unfortunately I spent the last of my money getting these as Christmas gifts for everyone….so there goes Christmas.
And it wasn’t the card stock, because I used regular paper that I printed out and cut…it doesn’t get much thinner than that.
Virginia says
December 20, 2014 at 7:42 amI’m so sorry that it didn’t work for you, I’ve never had a problem with making them. Another reader wrote to say that not all glass ornaments are created equal, some have smaller holes than others. Perhaps you could return what you bought and get ones with a larger hole. I hope you get it sorted out. Merry Christmas
Lily says
December 23, 2014 at 3:27 pmWhat size picture did you use? I have a 3.25 inch ornament and I’m not sure what size picture would be good!
Virginia says
December 29, 2014 at 8:28 amI started with a 4×6 photo, but just cut it down to the appropriate size.
April says
January 31, 2015 at 3:05 pmWhat a wonderful idea! I have all year to make these for relatives and friends for Christmas 2015. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly says
October 19, 2015 at 12:44 amI’ve made many of these in years past, but I printed my pictures on transparency paper, and cut the photo to the exact size of the ornament, and it just sits in the ornament all by itself! It isn’t quite as easy to see, but it is a cool effect!
Virginia says
October 19, 2015 at 6:40 amI’ve always wanted to try that too!
Kamia says
November 4, 2015 at 12:49 pmWhat size is your ornament?
Virginia says
November 17, 2015 at 11:36 pmI’m not sure of the size, but can tell you not all the holes are the same size. Be sure to remove the top and check that your finger would fit in the hole before you buy!
Ruth says
December 6, 2016 at 5:40 pmWhat size do you use for the bulb?
Virginia says
December 9, 2016 at 7:52 amYou can use which ever, bigger is better becasue you don’t have to roll the photo so tight.
Edwina says
December 14, 2016 at 2:18 pmI would like to make one o these for each of my Cub Scouts, but use an individual photo on one side and a group photo on the other. Do you think that would work?? Also, when I bought the ornaments I ran into another woman who was purchasing them too. She said she had made them last year and was doing it again this year. She also said she laminated the photos she used and tried to explain how she went about making her ornaments, but I didn’t quite understand her explanation! What do you think? Could I use two photographs, back to back and would it help to laminate them? I was also thinking of putting fake snow in with the photos. Would that work?
Edwina
Virginia says
January 8, 2017 at 9:31 pmSorry my response is coming so late. The only issue I see is that when you rolled it the photo would kind of crack and it may be hard to get it flatened back out.
Stephanie Schuessler-Connors says
March 19, 2017 at 4:13 pmVirginia, Carol Duvall did this years ago on The Home Show, HGTV. i never tried it, but she put the photos onclear sturdy plastic – like the clear lids on Xmass card boxes. she rolled them to to put them in the ornaments and they just popped open to fill the inside. i believe she measures like You did ~ with a glass the diameter of the ornament.
back then, she used a bleach solution inside the ornament to remove the “coloring” ~ much easier now to buy them at a craft store!
how times have changed! for the easier!
i think this year, i’ll make them!
did You tape the fishing line down with the double stick tape? i know You said “stick it in between the stock and photo” but is it taped down?
thank You for the ideas!
Virginia says
April 5, 2017 at 8:28 pmYes, you’re right, double sided tape works well! Good luck
Judy McClendon says
November 23, 2018 at 12:53 amI made one for my daughter she loves it, thank you for posting the instructions. Judy
Virginia says
April 9, 2019 at 4:21 pmThanks for visiting Judy!