Need to create a meaningful project that is perfect for holidays, celebrations, centerpieces, and more? These Picture Frame Luminaries are your answer! A wonderful handmade gift, keepsake, or decorations for receptions or showers! Highly personal and highly customizable! With the majority of supplies from the dollar store, they are inexpensive as well!
I am REALLY, REALLY excited to share these picture frame luminaries with you today. They are perfect for your dining table or mantel.
They work wonderfully for events like wedding or baby showers, receptions, and graduations! Really…any time of the year! I am pretty sure I will find a place for this year-round! :) Last year I shared my wine bottle luminaries…I tend to like things that light up during the holidays!!!
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Supplies for Picture Frame Luminaries:
- 4) 5 x 7 frames (I found mine at my local Dollar Tree)*
- Gorilla Glue or super glue
- 2 sheets of 8.5 x 11 Vellum ( solid or patterned )
- Home printer – I use the HP Envy 5540 Wireless All-In-One Printer and signed up for HP Instant Ink.
- Family photos
- Square mirror
- Tea Light Candles or LED Candles
*It’s important when choosing frames that you choose ones with square flat edges and frames where the little pegs are on the FRAME not part of the cardboard backing since we are not using the backings.
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HOW TO MAKE PHOTO LUMINARIES:
I started off by finding four photos that I wanted to feature on my centerpiece. I took some photos of my boys in August and so I used one of Michael, one of Ryan, one of both of the boys and then I had to dig back to the really, really archives and dig out a photo of Fred and I …FROM OUR WEDDING…(in 2008) because apparently, that is the LAST time we took a decent photo together (read: that is the last time I was not BEHIND The camera taking the pictures!).
I bought two pieces of vellum at Michael’s. You can find it in the open scrapbooking paper section or I linked to packages of it above. (In case you don’t want to leave the house or have multiple to make!)
It looks like wax paper (opaqueness) but not waxy! It’s awesome. The only vellum I could find had a print through it. I thought “Hey what will this faint vine print do to my photos…probably nothing”…WRONG! It shows through! (as you can see the vine pattern in the photo above) So I linked to both solid and patterned vellums above. Your choice. I was happy with the surprise after I made it!
I printed my photos on my home printer directly onto my vellum…and then I trimmed them down to size.
I took out the happy family that was in the dollar store frames and I replaced it with our family photo printed on vellum…ON TOP of the GLASS! So it goes frame face down, vellum photo face down and then glass on last. You don’t not use the frame backing at all. I did this so that when you place the candles inside…you don’t risk lighting your house on fire! Just sayin…kind of important!
Once in your frames, glue them together into a cube. NOTE: Gorilla glue (which is what I used) expands when it dries…so be sure to apply a thin line and towards the inner side of the joint.
Then you are ready to assemble your centerpiece. Simply put the cube frame over the square mirror. This will help reflect the light from your votive making the photos clearer and more prominent. Then place the votive inside and light!
Even when not lit, it’s still a focal piece and something everyone comments on when they come over!
Update: You may also love this Seasonal Luminary that celebrates the seasons! Highly customizable and you can just rotate for the new easy! Multi-tasking home decor!
Uses for picture frame luminaries:
- Handmade gift idea – Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas
- Centerpieces for Weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties
- Home decor – mantel, side tables, shelves
- Party Decor – Graduations, Birthday parties, retirement celebrations.
And here it is lit at night! How cool?!?!? What a great centerpiece this will be on your holiday table or mantel!
Some other great handmade keepsake ideas to try:
- Thumbprint Heart Pendant Charm
- FootPrint Butterfly Placemats
- Gratitude Journal
- Thumbprint Ornament
- String of Lights Fingerprint Frame
This post was originally part of my yearly 25 days of Christmas Series! Be sure to sign up for my emails so you get all the current year’s posts for free, to your inbox!
You might also like this Thumbprint Christmas Light Frame
PIN THESE PICTURE FRAME LUMINARIES:
Comments & Reviews
Cheryl says
I’m making these now for softball team gifts. I’m using Gorilla Glue but finding that it isn’t holding up very well. Any tips? I have to make 20 and transport them about 25 miles. I bought Dollar Tree frames.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Cheryl, which glue type are you using?
Tara says
Thank you for this!! I am going to make a few for my Uncle and cousins as we just lost my Aunt.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Tara, I am so sorry to hear about your aunt. My thoughts are with you and your family. What a wonderful idea for your uncle and cousins! I think they will love it!
Connie Myrick says
Hello Cheryl,
great project! I wanted to see if the frames that you used were plastic? the link you have in your supplies was a plastic frame but the one pictured looked like wood. could you let me know what you used? or does it matter?
also, the comments above were saying that the gorilla glue didn’t work for them. do you have any tips on how to properly use it on the frames?
thanks so much. I am going to make these for my Christmas project this year. A video would be nice if you ever get the chance.
have a great day.
Kind regards,
Connie M.
Bothell, WA
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Connie,
My frames are plastic. The key with the Gorilla Glue is to make sure the back of the frames are straight across not thin and tapered into the back if that makes sense. So my actual frame part looks the same from the front and the back. That gave it enough space to hold the gorilla glue.
Laura says
How did you print 2 pictures onto 1 vellum sheet?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
I just arranged two images on a word document! If you open a word document, then select INSERT, then PICTURE and choose where (I chose my device) I selected two photos and it inserted them. I needed to resize and turn them 90degrees from portrait to landscape to fit on one page! You may need to adjust the margins of the page as well.
Brienne says
Thank you for posting this. What a great idea. Just wondering if you printed the pictures in black and white or color.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Brienne, I printed in black and white.
Connie S Myrick says
Hi Cheryl,
I assembled my frames and pictures. I placed them velum in front and glass behind it as you instructed. How did you get the glass from not falling out? any tips?
thank you!
Kind Regards,
Connie Myrick
Bothell, WA
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Connie, you use the prongs on the frame that would normally hold the backing on, to hold the glass and vellum in place.
Tammy says
I am putting 26 of these together for a retirement dinner. They are plastic frames, all squared off so the align nicely however they are falling apart. I tried my glue gun, Gorilla super glue and they are still falling apart? Any ideas? My event is this Friday so I’m freaking a bit.
I love the concept but am now worried they won’t hold up.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Tammy, Is there enough frame material for the glue to hold onto and then hold onto the next frame? The Original luminary I made for this project is still intact if you can believe that. I haven’t run into this issue you are having. I am wondering if you will need some sort of plastic glue or epoxy?
Carol says
Is the mirror on the bottom just loose or connected in some way> Thank you!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Carol, mine was loose! The frame sat just outside of the edges of the mirror!
Tammy says
What happens if you use regular printed pictures? I am without a printer atm
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Tammy, regular photo paper is too thick and will not allow any light through.
Teresa says
How would it look if you printed the photos in color? Many thanks!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
I haven’t tried it myself, Teresa! I would think lighter images/backgrounds would work better than darker images.
Nancy says
I made 2 of these I used a hot glue gun and they.are holding together well. I used 4×6 picture frames as 5×7 looked to big. Now need to find a mirror to fit under it. The little tea led candle is not laminating much. I used printer paper for my pictures . Any suggestions.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Nancy, I was not able to find a mirror to fit 4×6 frames, that’s why I went with 5×7 frames. If you use vellum vs printer paper you will get better illumination (also with a mirror as it helps boost the light).
Jessica Carrillo says
How do you attach the picture to the glass?
Jessica Carrillo says
Where did you get the fram clips?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
The frame clips came on the frame! I didn’t purchase them separately.
Kim says
How do you keep the vellum paper from wrinkling in printer?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Mine feeds through just as regular paper would, no wrinkles.
Heather DeGroote says
Does the light show through well in a lighted room? I’m trying to find something for centerpieces at my son’s graduation party in our church fellowship hall.
Thank you
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Heather, almost all the photos in my post were taken during the day in a sunny room so I assume they would look similar in a lighted room.
Charlotte says
Hi there,
Love this idea! Just wondering how you work out the size of the mirror to ensure it fits into the frames when sticking them together? I’ve noticed your link for the mirror shows some at 25cm and some at 30cm. Just worry that when I put the frames round the mirror there might be gaps if the mirror is too big, if you understand my meaning.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Charlotte, this project is from 2012 and Dollar Tree keeps changing their product listings on me for both the mirrors and the frames. My best advice is to try. Square your frames up and measure. It all depends on the thickness of the frames you have. Sorry I can’t give an easier answer!