DIY Vintage Frame Ornaments

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Hi friends! It is the most wonderful time of the year! I’m enjoying the colder weather along with cozy nights by the fire.

This year I wanted to change up my Christmas decor, and I wanted some unique pieces. But I also wanted to do it in a budget-friendly manner. So I thought I would create some new ornaments myself. And I got to try a new craft that I had never done before.

I had seen several DIYers use IOD molds and air clay before and the first person I saw who used this was Debi at Debi’s Designs Diary. She has done many tutorials on her Youtube channel and she has an online shop so I thought I would finally give them a try.

I have been really inspired by old world home decor lately. And I came across these frame molds that were just adorable. I also purchased a couple of packets of air dry clay ( I only used 1 for this project).

It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, but I quickly caught on and it was super simple to do.

Before you start make sure to dust the molds with cornstarch so the clay doesn’t stick.

Then, roll the clay in your hands to get it warmed up and loose.

Once it’s more malleable push the clay into the molds.

Once I made sure everything was pressed down evenly, I used a thin scraper to remove the excess from the mold.

Then, I removed the mold by peeling it away from the clay frame.

The frames need a good amount of time to dry, so set the frames aside at least 24 hours to dry completely.

Please note: My frames didn’t crack as they dried, but I noticed they did shrink a tiny bit.

Afterwards, I took gold acrylic paint. I used the Treasure Gold paint by Folkart because it is highly pigmented and it has a vintage tone to it.

As the frames dry you can find landscape (or any type) prints online that you may like to use. There are a ton of free printable options on Pinterest. You can print them out in tiny sizes so that they may fit inside the tiny frames. Then you cut them down to fit each one.

Please note: You can always hand paint this if you wish, or you can also use family pictures for this as well.

I then used matte Mod Podge to apply the prints onto the frame. First, I applied some one the middle section of the frame…

Then I added the print and applied more Mod Podge on top of it to seal it.

Once they were dry I got some ribbon and used clear craft glue to adhere it to the back of each ornament so I could hang them.

Please note: Hot glue will not work for this.

And that was it! I love how they turned out. They are so unique and add so much character to the tree.

I love the various shapes and sizes they come in. They can also be painted to suit any color scheme and can be given as keepsake gifts for the holidays as well.