DIY Wire And Photo Family Tree

 My cousin has this amazing photo family tree sculpture in her entryway that I’ve been admiring since she got it. I’m not sure where it came from, but the last time I saw it, I started wondering if I could make something similar. Then, as my projects often do, it took off and became more colorful and chaotic. I absolutely love it!

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links through the Amazon affiliate program or other affiliate partnerships. If you click on a link and buy something, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

You can find all of the supplies I used in my Amazon store front HERE, but I’ll also link to the individual products.

Supplies:

• Wire
• Wire cutter
• Frame wax stamps
  • small rectangle
  • larger rectangle
  • oval
  • circle
• Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Metallic markers
• Tiny photo printouts
• Pliers
• 6″ lazy susan

Wire Tree

To make the tree itself, I followed THIS tutorial. I did make a few changes, though…

1. While he used 20 gauge wire, I used 15 gauge. It’s still soft wire, so it bends easily, but I was afraid I needed something a little sturdier to hold the pictures. 
2. I cut my wire pieces to 2.5 feet, so about 6 inches longer, because I thought the scale might be off with the thicker wire. I probably could have done 3 feet, as it turns out, but I’m happy with my tree the way it is. 
3. I didn’t do quite as much to finish the roots, mostly because once the tree felt stable I didn’t really want to mess too much with that.
4. This is really minor, but I cut 70 pieces of wire (giving me 140 branches) because I used 10 colors and it was easy math to cut 7 of each.

The beautiful thing about a wire tree is that it’s very forgiving and easy to adjust to exactly the way you want it. Don’t like where that branch is? Bend it! Move it! You can position it however you want.

Framed Photos

Just a heads up before you get started… you will go through a LOT of glue. I used 8” glue sticks specifically so that they would last longer and I wouldn’t have to grab new glue sticks quite so often. Just a little sanity saver for me.

I had a ton of wax frame stamps in my Amazon cart for ages, just trying to decide which ones to get! I finally bought one to see if it worked for me, and then I bought three more.

I also got a set of metallic markers to color the frames with. I really like the one I chose, and it even comes with extra nibs.

For months, I’d been watching videos using the stamps, but I wasn’t sure how to size my photos or how much glue to use. It’s been a learning curve, and I still don’t get it perfect every time. Some of the frames I redid, and others I just left as-is. It’s my little family tree, all imperfectly perfect.

I printed my photos on regular printer paper. Photo paper would be another option, but resizing and reprinting a lot of my photos could have been expensive. It’s something to think about. Different shapes and sizes of stamps means you might have to print out different sizes of photos. I did. I printed my photos directly from the Photos app on my Mac, but I could have done it more efficiently using Canva or something similar.

To make a framed photo, you squeeze out a good amount of glue (the amount depends on the size of your frame stamp) and quickly press the stamp into the glue. It only takes a few seconds for the glue to harden and cool off, and then you can pull the stamp off.

Next, you want to trim off the extra glue and paper, and you’re left with a little framed photo! Color the frame, and you’re done. I used a mix of colors and stamps for my photos, but you could definitely use one stamp for a more uniform look.

To hang the photos on the tree, you need to make little hangers. I used wire for this. I’ve lost the packaging for the wire I used, but I’m guessing it’s 20 gauge. I cut pieces probably 3/4” long and then bent them until they were u-shaped. I made the first batch a little small, so it was a challenge hanging some of them on the branches. I made the second batch a little bigger, and they’re perfect. I attached them to the back of the photos with hot glue–some underneath the hangers and then a little bit on top to secure them.

It’s a breeze to attach the frames to the tree! I hung mine from the branch tips and used little pliers to bend them over the frame hangers. If you’ve seen the tutorial I linked to above, it’s pretty much the same technique he used for his tree branches.

Once I’d attached all the photos I wanted for now, I finished the rest of the branches by curling the tips the same way I did when I was hanging the photos.

I thought about attaching the tree to a wooden base or maybe even a rock, but it stands so well on its own that I just left it alone. I DID buy a 6-inch lazy Susan for it to sit on, and it’s perfect for seeing all around the tree.

This project is super flexible and can be tailored to your liking. For starters, there are tons of different wire colors available. Plus, there are so many frame shapes (seriously, you should check out my Amazon cart). You can use one color for the frames or mix and match. If you’re not up for the hot glue and stamps, you can also find ready-made tiny frames to use.

As always, let me know if you have any questions, and I’d love to see if you make your own wire family tree!

Happy crafting!