To learn how to make your own holiday photo frames, you need some good advice. That way, you can make frames that look great and make awesome gifts. They can also be displayed in your home around the holidays.
Whatever they are for, making them the right way is what you’ll learn to do below.
You’re going to want to jazz up an existing frame that you can generally buy at a local store. If you don’t have a store near you that sells photo frames or just frames in general, see if you can find them online.
Generally, you don’t have to pay as much for a frame that is simple and easy to work with when you want to use it to paint on and the like. You can also just order a custom holiday frame and add to it so go with what’s going to work in your particular situation.
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The Paint
A good idea is to learn how to paint objects related to the holiday photo you’re going to frame. For instance, if it’s a scene with a lot of trees that represent how you feel about Christmas, you can paint custom trees onto the frame to make it even more interesting when used to frame a photo.
There are a lot of awesome painting tutorials online and you can also find books that will teach you the basics. Learn to paint what you see and you can find reference materials online that can help you paint onto a frame.
Do some paint pouring to customize a frame. Just pick out a few colors that you know are going to make your frame a good fit for your photo, and then learn how to pour them one at a time onto the frame.
When you go this route, make sure you don’t use too much paint because then it can get lumpy and not look all that great on the frame when you’re done. Basically, you’re just going to want to pour paint onto the frame in stages to get the effect you want.
Using the Frame After the Holidays
A custom frame is something that you can sell online after you make it if you want to earn a little money. In fact, if you want some ideas, you can ask your friends and family through social media to send you ideas.
Let them know that you want to make custom frames for the holidays and see what they recommend you try to put onto a frame that they think they would enjoy seeing. You can also join social media groups or other online forums where you can talk about art and get all of the ideas you need to make your frames as awesome as possible.
Once you use the information you were given here, you can make your own holiday photo frames. You want to take your time with this so you get the best results. Once you make your own frames, they will make a great gift and/or can be displayed in your home.
Eco-friendly Christmas decorations— 7 ideas to try!
Should you be determined to make as many Christmas decorations as possible, we suggest you look at things in the house. Sometimes, you don’t need to rush to the crafts store to get your materials. Here are some lovely Christmas decorations for you to make at home without buying supplies.
1. Scrap ribbon tree ornament
Take your kids in the park and gather several straight fallen twigs to make some lovely tree decorations. You can use the nice ribbon scraps that are always too short for wrapping but too pretty to throw away!
You can also replace the twigs with cinnamon sticks—the decorations will also smell lovely!
Materials
- Ribbon scraps
- Straight sticks or cinnamon sticks
- Twine
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
How to do it
- Tie the ribbon scraps around the twig
- Line the twigs and bunch them for the best effect
- Create a tree by trimming the edges of the ribbon
- Secure the twine loop with hot glue
Price
It won’t cost you anything if you have the ribbons and twine. Should you need to buy ribbons and twine, you will spend $15 to make 20 decorations.
2. Salt Dough Decorations
When you make salt dough decorations, your imagination is the only limit. You can create reindeers, snowmen, Santa Claus, and even stamp them with initials. You need to make a mixed salt dough that doesn’t crumble and lasts for a long time in an airtight container.
Materials
- 1 cup of salt
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup of water
- Cookie cutters
- Twine
- Rubber stamps
- Drinking straw
- Baking parchment paper
How to do it
- Mix the flour, salt, and water until you get a smooth dough
- Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Do it until it becomes ¼” thick.
- Stamp the designs and cut them with cutters
- Use the drinking straw to make a hole for the twine at the top of the decorations
- Bake them in the oven at 248F degrees for 3 hours. Let the dough dry
- Thread the yarn through the dried ornaments
Price
You will make ten ornaments for $3, according to the shape and sizes you make. If you also have to buy the cookie cutters and rubber stamps, you will spend around $10.
3. Rustic Twig Candle Holders
You can set the mood in a room with lighting and candlelight is magical that way. When using an artificial Christmas tree, you can have a natural feel inside with a twig candle holder. Use some ribbons to make it look pretty.
Materials
- Glue
- Sticks/twigs
- Glass cups or containers
- Ribbon
How to do it
- Make the sticks taller than a cup by trimming them
- Trim them loosely if you go for a rustic feel
- Use glue to stick the twigs around the cup
- Use ribbons for a more appealing appearance
Price
You will make a set of 6 cups for $17. When you already have the glass cups, you won’t need to spend that much. When Christmas is over, you can replace the ribbons and use them year-round.
4. Recycled Paper Christmas Decorations
The hanging baubles are easy to make and can make a dull space look lively and welcoming. Use pages from old books for a rustic feel or leftover wrapping paper for a more festive design. If you have cardboard scraps around the house, you can use those too.
Materials
- Staples
- Old book pages
- Hole puncher
- Twine, ribbon, or fishing line
How to do it
- Cut the paper into 1.5” thick strips. Have various lengths: 5”, 6”, 7”, and 8”
- Use the 5” strips as the middle and put two 6” strips by each side.
- Staple the top and the bottom
- Do the same with the 7” and 8” strips
- Make a hole at the top and thread the line/ribbon through
Price
You won’t spend a dime if you use old books. Should you use fancy paper instead, you will pay $5 for ten ornaments.
5. Recycle Greeting Card Wreath
You can catch your guests’ attention by making a lovely wreath out of recycled greeting cards. Hang it on the front door so that everyone passing by can see it. You can make it in any size and color it with the cards you have around the house. Moreover, the wreath is easy to make.
Materials
- Old greeting cards
- 10” foam wreath
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Toothpicks
How to do it
- Make leaves out of the cards
- Hot glue a toothpick to one end of each paper leaf
- Insert the leaves into the foam wreath until you get a lovely Christmas wreath
Price
You pay around $17 for the foam wreath at craft stores. If you don’t have enough greeting cards, you can always use pages from a magazine or use gift wrap instead.
6. Old CDs Christmas Baubles
If you don’t like to throw things, you probably still have some old CDs around the house. CDs need a lot of time to decompose, and you can always give them a new purpose by creating some lovely disco ball-like decorations.
Materials
- Old CDs
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Clear plastic baubles
How to do it
- Cut the CDs into random pieces of various sizes
- Hot glue the pieces onto the clear baubles
Price
You can buy clear baubles at most art stores for $1 to $3 each. The size and quality will impact the price. You will get a better price when buying in bulk. Use some old baubles if you want to spend as less as possible.
7. Glowing Cardboard City Scene
Make a whimsical city scene with some cardboard boxes, online cityscape references, and some scissors. You can use the boxes to hire the unsightly light wires.
Materials
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- LED string lights
- Paint
How to do it
- Draw a city silhouette scene on the cardboard
- Cut out several windows to add dimension
- Paint the cardboard
- Fold the cardboard at various points to make it stand and obtain depth
- Place it in a lovely spot and put the Christmas LED lights behind
Price
You won’t spend anything on this project, but you will obtain incredible effect with it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Christmas decorations are essential. Why?
Studies revealed that stores and businesses that decorate for Christmas make clients feel more optimistic. Christmas decorations in stores help customers feel more at home. When people are happy, they buy gifts for those they shop for and for themselves as well.
How much should you spend on Christmas decorations?
Most Americans plan to spend around $60 on Christmas decorations. It may not sound like a lot, but it’s actually $20 more than a decade ago when Americans spend approximately $40 to decorate their houses on Christmas.
Is the Christmas tree decoration?
The Christmas tree with light decorations and ornaments is the main attraction for Christmas, apart from the gifts. You can have all sorts of Christmas trees: potted, fresh-cut, or artificial. Needless to say, they can be considered as Christmas decorations, the most important one.
When should you put up the Christmas decorations?
If you ask the traditionalists, you will find out that you should install your Christmas tree and decorations on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, the first day of Advent. Obviously, your Christmas decorations can go up whenever you like.
What can you do with used Christmas decorations?
If your Christmas decorations are in good condition and can still work as planned, you can donate them. Another option is to give them to secondhand stores that sell them year-round. The stores often put them out during the off-season for a lower price so that more people can buy decorations.
