Computer-crafted holiday whozits

Use your PC to make funky photo magnets

By Leslee Mason

Forget curling up by the fire — the computer is much more interesting! Use a little modern technology to create a cool holiday craft with the whole family.

This season, give your gifts an unforgettable touch with magnetic tags that will be flaunted on the fridge for years to come.

Punch a hole in your tags so you can easily attach them to gifts.

Materials you’ll need

family photos
magnetic tape
photo-editing program (We used Windows Live Photo Gallery)
printer and paper
pre-cut foam craft pieces
glue stick
scissors or utility knife
hole punch
ribbon
tape

Attach your photo tags to gifts with pretty ribbon for a festive effect.

Creating your whozits

Go through your digital photos and pick out uncluttered images that will be easy to crop.
Using your photo-editing program, fix red-eye and colour issues, and crop photos to the desired size. In Windows Photo Gallery, for example, open the image and click Fix to access tools for adjusting exposure and colour, fixing red-eye and cropping.
Right-click the image and copy it.
Open a new Word document and paste the image. Repeat with the same or different images until the page is full.
Print.
Cut out the photos using sharp scissors or a utility knife.
Glue photos onto pre-cut foam craft pieces.
Attach magnetic tape to the back.
Write the recipient’s name on the photo with a fabric pen, metallic paint pen or marker.
Punch a hole at the top of the tag, thread ribbon through it, and tape or tie the tag to a gift.

Voilà! Jazzed up, personalized gift tags for your friends and family.