Sending out a personalized DIY photo gift to friends and family is one way to give a meaningful present. It’s definitely a nice touch to show how well you know them. The psychology of gift giving explains how expensive gifts are not always the best option.

Are you looking for a crafty DIY photo gift idea to make for your sister’s upcoming birthday? Look no further than at our top ten personalized gift ideas to make her birthday special this year.

By the way, if your DIY gift is intended as a housewarming present, then make sure you also find the right words to go with it by checking out these housewarming wishes.

#1 DIY Photo Gift Idea
DIY Photo Gift Calendar

One option for a personalized present is to create a DIY calendar.

This craft is inexpensive and easy to create, even if you aren’t super crafty! Start out by gathering materials to create your calendar at the craft store.

You will need to purchase some wood board and a few nails to hammer in the photo calendar pages. You can visit a fabric and craft store like JoAnn’s to gather your materials and create this one of a kind calendar project.

Print out photos that will be appropriate for each month. Let’s say the person you are personalizing the gift for loves animals, then you can attach photos of animals for each month wearing the right costume.

For example, during the month of February, you can feature a photo of a dog wearing huge heart eye shaped sunglasses. Then take all 12 unique photos and attach them in order to your wood calendar board.

Of course, you’ll need to add a separate section for the numbers that go with your calendar. Write out the correct numbers for the month 1-31 and attach these to the wooden board with the small nails.

Once you have finished this DIY project, you can wrap up the wooden calendar and send it on its way to its recipient.

#2 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo On A Mug

DIY Photo Idea - Coffee Mug

Another cool idea that is personal would be to create a ceramic photo mug.

Mugs are inexpensive and thoughtful gifts. Most people drink morning cups of coffee or tea and reach for mugs on a regular basis.

Keep memories from family vacations alive through photos on ceramic mugs to be seen all the time. You can choose from a variety of options, too. Get creative with the photos you choose to print onto the mug.

You can choose a single photo that represents you and the gift recipient or you can add a few to make a collage that wraps around the entire mug.

Let’s say your friend has just returned back from her honeymoon with her new husband.

You can surprise them with a gift for the holidays by printing out a photo of their vacation from their Instagram page and attaching it to two mugs for them to keep as mementos!

This is a DIY photo gift idea that will have them reliving their fun vacation together for years to come in their new home.

#3 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Mini Instagram Magnets

Turn your favorite Instagram images into fridge magnets.

All you need is printable magnet paper to add to your printer and a computer with Internet access.

Take a screenshot of your Instagram photos online and save these images to your computer desktop. You can either crop the images to get rid of the Instagram caption and comments or leave these items to keep the originality they provide the images.

Next, print out the photos onto the magnet paper and use scissors to cut out the images.

Instagram magnets are an affordable and personal DIY photo gift option for you to consider giving out to your friends and family. They don’t require too much money and can be put on your car, too.

#4 DIY Photo Gift Idea
DIY Phone Case

DIY Photo idea - Phone case

Turn your photos into a customized phone case as a gift.

In addition to having a photo, you can also add a monogram. Phone cases are available for every type of phone, too. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android, you will be able to customize all aspects of your photo phone case.

Some tips would be to put your friend’s name in the phone case along with your favorite photo together.

The great thing about phone cases is how you can create more than one. Think about sending two phone cases to your friend to swap from time to time.

#5 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Jigsaw Puzzle

Turn your family portrait into a jigsaw puzzle to send out to your grandparents this Christmas.

Not only will they love seeing an adorable photo of their grandkids, but they will enjoy the process of finishing up a puzzle to glue and hang in their living room.

An interactive DIY photo gift idea, such as a jigsaw puzzle, is the perfect present to gift something to grandparents that is unexpected. The grandkids can also enjoy putting the puzzle together with their grandparents as soon as the gift is open.

Creating new memories together is what the beauty of gifts are all about.

#6 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Coasters

Creative DIY projects are wonderful personalized gifts for anyone important in your life. Even if you wish to make photo coasters for yourself, they do make wonderful gifts to give out to your family.

Let’s say you just had a baby.

You can add a digital photo of your new bundle of joy to send out to your family as a birth announcement gift. Of course, you could also keep some photo coasters for your own home when people come over to visit.

Taking Polaroid images and adding them onto coasters is another tip to get creative with this DIY photo gift idea. Adding Polaroid images is a retro way to incorporate fun photos onto your coasters.

#7 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Quilt

Cozy blankets and quilts are definitely necessary for the chilly winter months.

Create a photo quilt as a DIY photo gift for friends and family to celebrate the best moments over the years. Quilts are amazing presents that will make anyone excited to use them over and over again.

You’ll need to invest in some printable fabric to print your beloved photos out to begin your quilt project. It’s a good idea to throw the blocks of fabric into the washing machine prior to sewing all of them together to prevent the ink from bleeding too much.

A photo quilt would make for the perfect cozy and personalized present to give loved ones during the holiday season, too.

#8 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Jewelry Box

Your favorite ladies would absolutely love a jewelry box covered in memorable photos. Just think about your mom’s smiling face when she opens up a brand new jewelry box created for her by her daughter!

Your best friend will appreciate if you make her a jewelry box with a fun photo of the two of you. You can even take an image from Instagram and print it out to paste into the jewelry box.

You can use modge podge glue to place the photo onto the box. Make sure to let it dry overnight before you wrap it up and gift it.

Adding in a bracelet or necklace would also take the DIY photo gift to another level.

#9 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Pillows

DIY Photo Idea - Pillow

A custom pillow featuring photos of the family is another great DIY photo gift project.

Indoor or outdoor pillows are also options to choose from. Start with a template and add your own photos straight from your phone or computer and place text for personalization.

Some text ideas to put on your photo pillows include “Happy Anniversary” or “Congratulations” depending on who will be receiving the pillows as a present.

The small details that you incorporate into your photo pillows will make it the perfect collage pillow for all to see when visitors come over. The pillows can be any size you want, too.

#10 DIY Photo Gift Idea
Photo Tea Towels

Homeware items are useful DIY photo gift ideas. You can turn many everyday items into custom presents for friends and family members to enjoy in their homes.

We’ve already discussed how you can turn coasters and mugs into a special personalized gift, but have you considered other kitchen items as a way to celebrate special events?

Something everyone can use in the kitchen are tea towels. A lot of homeware places are boring and lacklustre, which is why a custom tea towel is a great way to add some personalization to any kitchen. In addition to photos on mugs, you can gift custom tea towels as another personal present for your loved ones who spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

This will bring a custom accent to your friend’s kitchen. It’s a gift that they are sure to use every day while cooking or baking food for the family.

Looking for More DIY Photo Ideas?

We hope our comprehensive list of the TOP 10 DIY photo gift ideas will leave you feeling confident to give your friends and family a custom and personal present for their birthday or holiday celebration.

Our MyPostcard blog is full of easy DIY projects for you to recreate.

MyPostcard is a way to turn your digital photos into postcards or greeting cards to share with your friends and family. Get in touch to learn more today!

Author

Hiya, I’m Maud. I’m an English girl who's moved to Berlin - because who wouldn’t fall in love with a country which has words like ‘Kummerspeck’ hidden around every corner... I love traveling and finding out the quirks of each country - and what better way to remember them than on a postcard?

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