There are so many cool things to do with pictures for gifts. Personalized photo gifts are a great way to add a special touch to any gifting occasion.
There are plenty of personalized photo gift ideas to get started on your next DIY craft project. I always love sharing photographs with my family to reminisce on fun memories we have together. Since we haven’t been able to see friends and family as much during the pandemic, I thought it was the perfect time to share my favorite DIY photo gift ideas.
Whether you’re looking to make creative photo gifts for a birthday celebration or one-of-a-kind holiday keepsakes, there are plenty of unique photo gifts your family will love! Plus, you can make some of these photo craft projects with Cricut or Silhouette machines to make the cutting process easier. In this post, I’ll go through the best personalized photo gift ideas you can make from home. In addition, I’ll provide a tutorial on how to edit pictures for your DIY photo projects.
Photo Puzzle
First, a DIY photo puzzle is a great custom photo gift you can give to friends or family. To make my puzzle, I printed a picture at a local print store. Typically, print services can offer a quality, more vibrant image than printing at home. I highly recommend printing your image on a dry toner or laserjet printer to reduce the chances of smearing.
In my Resource Library, I provided free puzzle Cricut templates you can use for your image. To gain access, you just need to sign up for my newsletter. I used a cereal box to make my puzzle sturdier. Once both you’ve cut out your image and the box, you can use Mod Podge or craft glue to paste them together.
Photo Keychain
Next, I created this DIY photo keychain using my Cricut. For this project, I used faux leather to create the photo holder. After doing several leather Cricut crafts, I would recommend using the Cricut Maker and rotary blade if you have one. I found that this can get the cleanest cut for the design. However, if you use branded Cricut faux leather, you should be able to cut it with your machine just fine.
You can print your photo on whichever material you like best. I decided to print mine on a fabric iron-on material. Of course, you can use regular photo paper if you’d like. If you go this route, you can laminate the picture, so it doesn’t smear.
Slider Cards
In addition, I also made these DIY photo slider card templates you can use with your Cricut. When you remove the insert, it reveals your heartfelt photograph on the inside of the card. In my Resource Library, I provided free unicorn, heart, and dinosaur slider card SVG templates you can use.
I love using fun colored paper to make the insert pop more as well. Alternatively, you can write a heartfelt happy birthday or anniversary message to customize your DIY photo card even more.
Spiral Betty
Recently, spiral betty photo designs have exploded in popularity. For these fun Cricut crafts, you convert an image into a single spiral path. Typically, the line is made of varying widths, like a grooves in a vinyl record. These variations work to create the image when you view it as a whole.
To make my spiral betty design, I first use the tool Clipping Magic to remove the background from my image. Next, I used an online spiral betty tool to create the image effect. Then, downloaded the design to edit in Cricut Design Space.
Custom Cuff Links
Next, custom cuff links are a great personalized photo gift for him. For my design, I wanted to make a silhouette of my son, so I could give the gift to my husband. Of course, you can use any design you’d like. Personalized initials are another popular monogram cufflinks design as well.
For my cuff links, I used polymer clay to make the base and added the image as vinyl decal. If you’re using another material, I would recommend using a sealant.
Silhouette Ornaments
Silhouette ornaments are another fun DIY photo gift idea you can make for the holiday season. To get a specific silhouette, you can take a photograph of your subject. Then you can clip the background using Clipping Magic.
If you save it as an SVG, it usually keeps the black silhouette for you, making it easy to upload to the Cricut Design space. Once you have the silhouette, you can cut it as a decal or paste it with Mod Podge to your ornament.
Decoupage Photo on Soap
Next, you can also make your own decoupage photo on soap. These are great for birthday and holiday gifts. To get started, you can print your image in a Cricut template. Then, use Mod Podge to seal it to the back of your soap bar. I put a layer of sealant on top of the soap as well to secure it to the soap bar. If you’re looking for a stronger seal, you can do 3-4 coats.
Of course, if you want to fully make the project from home, you can look into making your own soap bar. Many craft stores have kits that make it easy to get started.
Turn a Photo into Vinyl Decal
Additionally, you can turn a photo into a vinyl decal sticker for your personalized photo craft. To get started, you can remove the background of the image and adjust the contrast and threshold.
Once you have your image cut, you’ll need to weed them to remove the excess vinyl from the release liner. You can use a weeding tool to pull the excess vinyl that is not part of your design template.
Waterslide Photo Mugs
Lastly, you can make these DIY water slide photo mugs to give as unique custom photo gifts. To get started, you can print your image or SVG cut file on water slide paper. Usually, you want the decals to be about 2.5 to 3 inches depending on how big your mug is.
Once you have your image prepared, drop your decal into warm water for about 20-30 seconds. When the decal starts to pull apart from the backing, you can place the top part of the decal on the mug and pull the backing off.
How to Edit Pictures for DIY Photo Gifts
I shop on minted quite a bit especially around the holidays for custom gifts and cards. The problem is all the examples they use have these perfect stock photos where the background and subject are flawless. And then I put the pictures that I happen to snap with my phone in and the whole thing just looks wrong.
Well, let me give you a trick up my graphic design for dummies sleeve. I use Clipping Magic for everything.
All you do is drag and drop your picture in the browser window and it automatically removes the background.
Now, the really special part is there are editing features with Clipping Magic. Every other background remover removes the background but doesn’t let you make any post-removal edits. Sometimes you want to keep something in the background or correct a mistake that the background removal algorithm missed.
I also like it because you can download the SVG version of the end results which is a must for those silhouette projects featured above.
Pretty cute huh? Drag and drop, download, submit to my local Walgreens, the whole thing takes 5 minutes max, and 4 of those minutes were waiting on the Walgreens website to load. Zoey’s Mom is about to get a super cute gift for being the best Dog Mom ever.
Personalized photo gift ideas are perfect for DIY crafters looking to make custom gifts. Whether you want to make a card, mug, or keychain, there are plenty of projects to get started. These photo gift ideas for birthdays and holidays are perfect for any occasion.
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