Facetime - Creative Photo Options
Your grandkids are adorable! Here are a few creative ways to treasure family smiles beyond dozens of frames on every surface. Some of these ideas make great group projects or great gifts!
Photo ornaments
Michael’s carries a 5.5”clear plastic ornament that can pull apart to add treasures. (If the kids are helping and learn this, I would definitely glue the sections together at the end since there will be temptations to “show” how it works!) My Grands were super heroes for Halloween, so we had some great costume shots. I had fake snow, tiny styrofoam balls and snowflake glitter left over from our calming jar project. I printed the photos on cardstock and cut them out with a small tab at the bottom that I could bend and super glue to the bottom of one half of the ornament to make the image “stand.” I added the “snow” elements and tested if I needed to add more before gluing the two sections together. Add a festive bow and “tah-dah!” (as Grace would say). I have a great shot from this summer of Grace buried in the sand shaped like a mermaid tail, so I want to make another with that picture with some sand and tiny shells inside.
Photo socks
This link is for the company seen on the today show, but if you google photo socks, you will find many options and some deals. (We love fun socks and look for quirky Happy Socks deals at TJMaxx.) The Face Sock Company has many theme add-ons to go with your photo. For that person who has everything. If you just made a pair for yourself, do you think the Grands would notice?!
Sample from MyPhotoSocks.com
Photo wrapping paper
You could do away with gift tags by wrapping gifts with the face of the intended child, or use your face so they know it came from Grandma, or a favorite pet in a Santa costume for fun – think outside the box! Halloween costume pics would work great for this too, but you really only need a face to add to their themes.
Sample from giftwrapmyface.com
After laminating, be sure to leave room at the top to punch a hole for the tassel when you cut.
Photo bookmarks
We are big book readers, so this was a fun Mother’s or Father’s Day project, and would also be fun tucked in a gift book. I printed favorite photos on card stock and trimmed around the figures; active shots are the most fun, especially hanging from the tassel. I laminated as many that would fit on a sheet with at least a quarter of an inch around each figure. You want more room at the top to leave room for a hole punch. I found small tassels at JoAnn fabrics in many colors to loop through the end (the exact ones weren’t online, but they had them at the store!).
When posing the kids for some of these projects, be sure to include hands and feet in the photo - you can always crop later!
Snowy window plates
Think of it as a flat version of a snow globe! This was a winter project for us, but like the ornaments, you could use a summer photo and sand and seashells, or a birthday picture with glitter and confetti. We used a paper plate for a background (the kids could decorate it if they want), and a clear plastic one for the top. The photos were printed on regular paper, trimmed to fit, and glued to the background. An older child could color a scene on the background plate. After you add the confetti, sand, or fake snow, I would both glue and package tape around the edge, because, you know, kids!
Photo from Spoonflower blog post on embroidered school pictures
Embroidered school photos
Photos printed on fabric and popped into a colorful embroidery hoop would be a fun canvas for teaching embroidery. Spoonflower is a custom fabric site and they offer complete instructions for uploading images (they used first day of school photos) for printing and some fun embroidery stitches. If you are really ambitious, you could make a quilt that way!
Spoonflower image
Sample from easy123art.com
Paint-by-number
Did you know that there is a company that will change your favorite photo into a paint-by-number including the little paint pots? These are VERY detailed and you will probably need your magnifiers, but it would be a fun project to work on with your Tween Grand (quite a creative selfie!). Check out all the tiny numbers on the peony image I did recently – I am a professional artist, and this took me much longer than one of my own pieces, but it was also mindless entertainment. I love the result and have it on the kitchen windowsill. I think you just need to love the journey on this one.
Get in those pics now and again!
Custom coloring pages
Make black and white coloring pages from your photo adventures with the free Adobe Capture app. This link shows you the step-by-step for making line images right from your phone. Print them out for the kids to color. Use your imagination for new themes like favorite dogs or four seasons of fun.
Baby board book
You can use your photos to make custom baby board books - teach fun custom family ABCs, introduce all the family members they may not see every day, or memorialize your daily walk to the park. Make visual connections from day one – so important!
The GrandyCamp Crafty Gifts and Grand Photography Pinterest boards have more photo ideas that I haven’t gotten to yet - photo transfers for wood and fabric, photo jewelry, a holiday wreath made up of small framed pics, and photo alphabet letters. Follow the fun!
Sample book from Pinhole Press