Last Minute Gift/Ornament/Tag idea...

I originally shared this project with the adorable Katie at Sew Woodsy during her 12 Days of Handmade Ornaments party...these really don't take much time to make, but they can take your gift wrapped package from great to fantastic...

I got the inspiration for my ornaments when I was taking out my Christmas decor...I came across some old ornaments that the kids had made in preschool...you know the kind...the teacher takes one of the kids' school photos and puts it in as the face of a snowman or reindeer or something equally cute?

Well, I thought it would be neat to do sort-of the same thing...minus the snowman or reindeer or something equally cute...

I started searching through my photos and came across a couple of cute ones I wanted to use...specifically one of my niece, Ellie, at Thanksgiving, & one of my nephew, Grahm, last summer...I popped these into Photoshop and...

1. ...printed them out onto matte photo paper...I really like this type of paper...it's thicker than most cardstock, but not so thick you can't work with it.

2. Then I cut the photos out and found some fabric scraps I thought would look good with them.

3. Next, I sewed all of the layers together (sewing over paper is just as easy as sewing over fabric - but you may want to use a needle made for denim or canvas in your machine...and it's kinda hard to pin to the fabric you are using without bending the paper & leaving pin-holes, so forgo the pinning & just make sure you have a good hold on your layers...go more slowly if you need to),

4. ...and added a little ribbon hanger...

Now, wasn't that easy? And I love all of the variations you can create...

For example:

With Ellie's ornament, I frayed the edges a little to it a more whimsical look...then I used a random zigzag stitch - twice - around the photo & added a little gem to the flower on her headband...

The burlap I used on the back provided a nice heavy base for the photo...it makes the whole thing feel a bit more substantial...

With Grahm's, I embroidered a couple of borders & added a scrapbook sticker...small details with what I hope is big impact...

I used 2 layers of decorator-weight fabric with Grahm's (right sides out on both pieces so that the back is finished, too)...I also added a piece of firm stabilizer between the layers to make them a little more resistant to wear & bending...

Then I thought it would be fun to just use my sister- and brother-in-law's last name...I printed out the year in this awesome font and then filled in the empty circles with little brown rhinestones...the houndstooth print is 2 layers of decorator-weight fabric...

Don't have a sewing machine? You can try hand-stitching or even hot glue!

The possibilites are endless with these little beauties...truly. I think I'm going to use these ornaments as the tags on the pictured person's gift...wouldn't that be fun? To get a gift with your photo on it instead of just a plain old "to: from:?" Ooooh, I would love that...