DIY Custom Props for Family Christmas Pictures

Grab some chipboard and your Cricut Maker and make your own custom props for family Christmas pictures this year!

Don and I have had the greatest joy this year of sponsoring five Plebes (freshmen) at the Naval Academy. The kids stay with us almost every weekend and have taken over our lives in the craziest, best ways possible. They refer to each other as sister and brother and have built a bond we couldn’t be prouder of. We went from a family of two to a family of seven almost overnight (plus – of course – Baloo) – so we decided to celebrate with a family photo shoot just in time for Christmas! And yes – Don and I are 100% going to send these out as our actual Christmas cards. 🙂

DIY CUSTOM PROPS FOR FAMILY CHRISTMAS PICTURES

This project was so fun to make – the kids even helped me paint the letters before the photo shoot. What a great way to have the whole family involved in the process!

The possibilities for these are endless. Create your own custom words and phrases props for family reunions, weddings, birthday parties and more.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Cricut Maker
Cricut Knife Blade
Cricut Strong Grip Mat – 12×12 or 12×24
Cricut Chipboard (you will need one sheet for each letter)
painter’s tape
paint (I used FolkArt Acrylic paint in Titanium White)
foam brush

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Ordering from amazon.com? Then check out my Cricut Tools and Accessories page!

HOW TO MAKE DIY CUSTOM PROPS FOR FAMILY CHRISTMAS PICTURES:

1. Type your word (I used the Martha Stewart – Mirror Droplet font but you can use any font you like).

2. Ungroup the word then select all of the letters and adjust the height to 10.5 (why this doesn’t work before you ungroup I’m not sure!). Check each letter and make sure none of them are wider than 10.5. Larger letters like W or M will need to be adjusted to fit. Once you have sized all the letters you are ready to cut!

creating lettering in cricut design space for props for family Christmas pictures

3. Tape down your chipboard before you begin. Don’t forget to move your star rollers all the way to the right if you haven’t already! NOTE – I used a 12×24 Strong Grip Mat so I could make the process go a little bit faster because I was able to tape down two pieces of chipboard at once, then just flip the mat to cut the next letter.

Cut one letter per piece of chipboard then remove any tape as necessary.

Paint each letter as desired.

Gather the family and start creating fun memories!

Christmas group photo holding photo props

Christmas group photo with photo props and black dog

funny Christmas group photo with photo props

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DIY Custom Props for Family Christmas Pictures

Grab some chipboard and your Cricut Maker and make your own custom props for family Christmas pictures this year!

Author: Beth Kingston

Materials

Cricut Maker
Cricut Knife Blade
Cricut Strong Grip Mat – 12×12 or 12×24
Cricut Chipboard (you will need one sheet for each letter)
painter’s tape
paint (I used FolkArt Acrylic paint in Titanium White)
foam brush

Instructions

Type your word (I used the Martha Stewart – Mirror Droplet font but you can use any font you like).
Ungroup the word then select all of the letters and adjust the height to 10.5 (why this doesn’t work before you ungroup I’m not sure!). Check each letter and make sure none of them are wider than 10.5. Larger letters like W or M will need to be adjusted to fit. Once you have sized all the letters you are ready to cut!
Tape down your chipboard before you begin. Don’t forget to move your star rollers all the way to the right if you haven’t already! NOTE – I used a 12×24 Strong Grip Mat so I could make the process go a little bit faster because I was able to tape down two pieces of chipboard at once, then just flip the mat to cut the next letter.
Cut one letter per piece of chipboard then remove any tape as necessary.
Paint each letter as desired.