Mother's Day Gift

Create your own Mother's Day gift. Below are the steps for this 3 panel personalize photo collage.

Don't want to do 3 panels? Just do one!

Materials:
Boards - I used 3 but you decided (I would stick with an odd #; 1, 3, 5)
Matte Black Spray paint 
Pictures - I was able to find three photographs from my childhood with my brother and sister. Print these pictures on thick paper. I used Card Stock.
Mod Podge
Eye Hooks - You'll need 10 if you create three panels
Twine

Start with the boards. Either buy some precut boards or cut them
down to the correct size.

Spray paint your boards. Be sure to cover the sides.

Once your paint has dried grab your eye hooks. I drilled a few
holes in the top and bottom of my boards to ensure they were
all in the same place.

Screw them in

Cover just the board with Mod Podge (without your picture).
Then place your photo on the board and cover the photograph
with Mod Podge too.
**** I used my inkjet printer but I think it would be better to
use a laser jet if you have one available.

Let the Mod Podge dry for about 12 hours. Then sand down
the edges. I roughed up other parts of the board and some
parts of the photograph too.

Use your twine to connect all the pieces. This was the
hardest part of this project for me. You want to make
sure the twine on each side is the same length or
your photos will hang crooked.

Here are my 3 photos: Summer time in the backyard

Building a snowman!

Summer vacation

And you're ready to wrap it up.

My Scrabble Board Project

Words with Friends is going crazy and there's a sudden popularity with using scrabble letters as art so I thought I'd make an art piece that works for us in the house.

Here are my materials:
Scrabble game; old Dictionary ($1.00 at Goodwill!), magnets,
24"x24" sheet metal, frame

I glued the magnets to the back of each scrabble letter

I used some Mod Podge to glue some dictionary
pages to the sheet metal

One layer of pages done. I added a 2nd layer to make sure all
of the sheet metal was covered.

I created my own scrabble board and printed it out. I didn't
see any free printable scrabble out there though so maybe
 you can make a photo copy of the board if you don't want
to make your own. I then went over all of the pages with
a coat of Mod Podge to protect the pages.

I bought a frame you can put together yourself. It's a little thin
so I may still look for a 2'x2' frame or maybe make my own.

Hang it up!

Then write your own message or have an ongoing game.

10 Crafty Gifts!

Not a fan of using the yarn and hook to complete my last blog, 5 Last Minute Crochet Gifts? Well here are a few crafty projects just about anyone can do!

Chalkboard Coasters
Crazy Wonderful

DIY Monogram Mugs
Design Mom

Homemade Terrarium
Squidoo

Write a favorite quote or poem with painted wooden letters glued onto a canvas

T-shirt Scarf
Hello Giggles

Monogram Frame
All Things Beautiful

A different version
Yay, I Made It

Do you like them but don't want to get crafty? Buy one on Etsy.
Look at shop studio6fresno

Frosted Votives
Bliss Images and Beyond

Vanilla Sea Salt
My Baking Addiction

Watermark T-Shirt
U-Create - dye a shirt

Or do the opposite and bleach your shirt. This could also work for
kids t-shirts, totes, etc
Domestic in the City

Homemade Pasta Salad in a Jar
Under the Table and Dreaming
(There are several desserts in a jar here too. Drool!)

How to treasure your treasures

I definitely don't condone hoarding but there are certain events in life that should be treasured. With my recent adventure into crocheting baby hats I came across this picture. I thought this would be an adorable way to remember your baby's first hat.

This is a fairly easy project for all the new mamas out there. Before giving away or packing up all those newborn clothes find one or two pieces you love. Buy a shadow box, some scrapbook paper and get to work! Need more room? Buy a bigger frame and throw their booties in there too.

Found on Flickr - click here