Grab a mason jar lid and a photo of your child, and have them make a framed photo ornament to hang on the Christmas tree. These simple Christmas ornaments will become treasured keepsakes in the years to come.
When my kids were little, we weren’t nearly as creative with our Christmas crafts as I am with my daycare hooligans, but we would make these mason jar lid photo ornaments every year at Christmas time. They’re all grown up now, and I still hang these ornaments on our tree every single year.
Your kids can also make these adorable self-portrait Christmas Ornaments with styrofoam craft balls.
Although some of the glitter and gems have fallen off, I cherish them. but I cherish them. My heart melts every time I look at those adorable, smiling faces peeking out from between the branches of the tree.
Believe it or not, for some reason, I had never done this craft with my daycare kids. Last week, when I was thinking up crafts to kick off the Christmas season with, it occurred to me that this would be a great one for them to do.
They’ve grown up quite a bit too, and I wanted to use pictures from their younger years, so we scrolled back through all of the photos on my computer, and found some adorable pictures of them when they were toddlers and preschoolers.
Then we got to work!
You may also like our reindeer ornament and snowmen ornaments made from mason jar lids.
For your conviencience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Supplies
- photo of your child (we printed ours on photo paper)
- mason jar lid (the outer ring and the round insert)
- glue and/or low-heat glue gun
- “bling” to decorate the metal ring part of the lid
- metallic thread for hanging
Suggested “bling”
You can decorate your lids with whatever crafty odds and ends you have on hand, but here are some suggestions:
- paint
- glitter
- glitter glue
- sequins
- craft gems/jewels
- seashells
- tiny jingle bells
- beads
- pom poms
Time needed: 30 minutes
How to Make a Mason Jar Lid Photo Ornament
- Trim your photo:
Trim your photograph so it will fit into the lid of the mason jar. The easiest way to do this is to place the flat, round insert of the lid on the area of the photo that you want to appear in the frame. Trace around the insert, and then cut just inside of the traced line so it will fit snugly into the metal ring.
- Decorate the lid:
Now, have the kids decorate the front and/or sides of the ring (or the “frame” part of the ornament) with whatever “bling” you’ve chosen.
You can choose colours that co-ordinate with the colours in the photo like we did with our button frame, or your child can just decorate the lid however his or her heart desires.
- Insert photo:
When the ornament has dried, pop the photo into the back of the ring and glue the flat insert to tIhe back of the photo. We ran a bead of hot glue around the inside of the ring and around the edge of the photo so the insert would really hold.
- Thread for hanging:
To hang your ornament, you can slip a piece of metallic thread through a button or bead on your ornament, or you can squeeze a puddle of hot glue to the top of the ring and sink the ends of your thread into that.
Now, go and find a spot on your Christmas tree to hang that adorable little face.
I hope your mason jar lid photo ornaments become cherished treasures, and bring you much when you hang them on the Christmas tree in years to come.
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
