Create a Pet Photo Craft Stick Sled Ornament

I looked at pet ornaments and not one of them looked like my pets. I have a house full which includes 2 dogs and 3 cats. (I know you are thinking crazy woman but let me just say that each one of them needed a home and I couldn’t refuse.) I am sentimental woman and so I had to create something for the tree that included them.

I adapted this ornament to do for both children and pets. I take a lot of pictures so I had went through all my pictures looking for pictures that I could pull off a 2-D look. I am still hunting for pictures that will work with the dogs but for now the cats are atop the sleds on the Christmas tree.

The sleds with Babykitty, Cocokitty, and Dora the cats were easiest because cats are always curled up sleeping somewhere and this is a good pictures to cut out for the sled. I am working on finding (or taking) pictures of Sierra and Gerdy Mae the dogs too. Since the kids are out of school the week before Christmas, I thought this would be a great craft idea to keep them busy.

All you need for this easy ornament craft is:

• 5 craft sticks per sled
• hot glue (or glue that is strong enough to hold the sticks together)
• 3″ piece of ribbon
• scissors to cut photo out and heavy duty scissors to cut craft sticks
• acrylic paint and brush
• embellishments such as cotton balls or fake snow (if you wish)

The hardest part of this whole craft was choosing the pictures because you want to find a picture that looks okay when you cut it out and stand it up on the sled. I have so many pictures but only a couple worked because they did not look right standing up on edge as a 2-D picture. Also when cutting out the pictures, leave a tab at the bottom of the photo for the picture to slide in between 2 craft sticks to stand up (as pictured).

I did mess up and had to glue the picture onto a piece of craft stick and glue to the sled. I found the tab idea works so much better. You can check out my other craft stick ornament where I have more pictures and directions.

I used hot glue because it is faster and I first lined up the 3 craft sticks with the center one protruding a bit. Then I cut a craft stick wider about 2 1/2 -3″ and put a dot of hot glue on each stick and placed the stick I just cut on top. I then flipped the sled over and put a small line of hot glue for another craft stick (which resembles the sled’s runner). From the pictures you can see what I did.

After the sled is assembled, you can paint it. Once dry, take the photo and slide the tab between 2 of the craft sticks on the sled. The photo should stand up. I then flipped it over and put some hot glue to hold the 2 craft sticks together securing the picture.

I chose to have the ornaments simple with my pets. You could embellish with cotton balls for snow around the animal or find trinkets at the craft store (such as snowflakes or bells) to decorate the sled. The sky is the limit as far as your imagination. If you are crazy about your pets as I am, then this is a great way to memorialize them on the Christmas tree.

Thank you for stopping and let me know if you make any. Have fun and be creative and be sure to check out more crafts on my blog.

Creating. Inspiring. Gardening without the rules!

2015 copyrighted material C Renee Fuller @The Garden Frog Boutique