I have really been making it a point this year to give more handmade gifts and to use more of the things we have laying around.  This year, I had planned to make a Valentine’s advent picture frame type of thing for the kids’ grandparents, but it didn’t happen.  Perhaps next year, right?  No worries, I came up with this idea for a button picture and I really love how it turned out.  Plus, it was super simple.

What you need to get started:

~Picture frame with the glass removed

~Pictures on your computer, or accessible on the computer

~Hot Glue

~Buttons

~Marker if you want

Since this was a gift from some of my siblings as well, they all sent some pictures to me, so all of the pictures I was using were on my computer.  Since it was a Valentine’s Day gift, I decided to get the pictures set up in a heart shape.  My favorite program for doing these things is {affiliate link}  PicMonkey.  There is a free and a paid version and I use it almost every single day.  Here is how I used this program.

First, go to www.PicMonkey.com.  Click edit and add the picture you want to work with.  If you want a blank picture to start with so you can add multiple pictures, click design and then the size.

To get the heart shape, click on frames on the left side.  Choose shape cutouts at the top, then choose heart.  From here, you can adjust how big or little you want the heart cutout to be.  You can also choose a background color or rotate the shape.

Next, go to overlays and then click on your own at the top.  Add the picture or pictures you want included.  They can only be added at this point one at a time.  Make them bigger or smaller, move them around, and get them however you want them.

Once you have it the way you want it, save it to your computer and print it out.

Choose the buttons you plan to use.  The kids had fun helping by picking out all of the red and pink buttons to use.  Then, using a hot glue gun, glue them around the edge of the heart shape.

Add any finishing touches you wish.  I used a colored permanent marker to write a message.

Remove the glass from the picture frame.  Remove the back of the frame and place the picture in it.  Secure the back of the frame again.

All in all, I think this project maybe took me 30 minutes, and most of that was spent arranging and rearranging the pictures in the heart to take up the most space I could.  We used a picture frame that we had laying around not being used.  The entire project cost me very little to make.  We had the frame, had the hot glue gun and had the buttons.

Do you like to make homemade crafts?  How often do you use things you find around the house?