Daddy's Princess: A Homemade Christmas Gift Project

Sometimes, the hardest gifts to come up with are the ones for Dad. We never want to give the stereotypical gift - the tie, the cable-knit sweater, or the gloves. Dad might smile and be nice about receiving the gift but it's not something that will really touch him.

Gifts from the heart are always special, and they're always treasured. This quick and easy Christmas gift project is definitely from the heart, and will win the heart of any Dad when it comes from his little girl.

Materials Needed:

1 sheet of Card Stock in Color of Choice

1 sheet of white Card Stock or Photo Paper

1 Photograph

Printer, black ink, glue, and scissors or craft knife

Mat Template (free .pdf download)

Poem Template (free .pdf download)

8 x 10 Photo Frame

Daddy's Princess Christmas Gift Project

Seriously a sweet Christmas gift project, this is one that you can sit down with your kids and work on together. Try to match the card stock color to a color that is in the photograph you will be using. Once you have a photograph and card stock color chosen, it's quick and easy to get this project done following these steps:

1. Open the mat template. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the file - you can grab it here if you don't already have the program. Once the mat template is open, print it out on your colored card stock.

2. Open the poem template. Once it is open, print it out on your white card stock or photo paper. Make sure that you set your printer quality to its highest setting so that the text comes out crisp and sharp.

3. Using a craft knife or scissors, carefully cut just outside the lines (so that the lines don't show up) on your colored card stock mat. This will go over the poem and photograph for a professionally matted look. Set aside.

4. Place your photograph over the oval on your printed poem page. It should completely cover the oval. Do not paste it down yet. First, lay the cut mat over the poem page. If any portion of the photograph crosses over into the rectangle area, carefully trim that portion off. Do small bits at a time - it's much easier to redo an area than to cut off too much and have to start with a new photo.

5. Once your photo is trimmed, carefully place it on the printed poem page using a very small, thin layer of glue. Then, place a small dot of glue on the back side of the cut mat in each corner. Carefully set the mat over the photo and poem so that all the corners match up. Press gently until the corners begin to dry. Then, place inside the photo frame.

When wrapping this handmade Christmas gift, consider using something "extra" - like a World's Greatest Dad t-shirt - to pad the frame and prevent breaking it. The end result is guaranteed to get Dad grinning.