Easy Photo Art Tutorial

This is one of those ideas that comes out of late night perusing on Pintrest. Below are two ideas that I found and loved and as I drifted off to sleep my Pintrest-filled dreams combined these two pins and I woke up knowing this had to be done! The wall art below on the left actually uses wooden frames, and the blog post on it is fun to read, check it out! The wood blocks on the right use Mod Podge and well...I love me some Mod Podge, plus the blocks are super cute for little hands :) Hello brilliant Christmas idea! I have a set of pictures of the boys that really needed to be displayed on a wall and I loved the look of the wood frames, but not the price tag. So when I found the wood plaques at Michael's, I knew I could use the technique from the wood block tutorial and ta-da and gorgeous way to display my pictures at a fraction of the cost!

Source/Source

What You Will Need:

Wooden Plaques (I found them at Michael's for about $1-$2 each)

Paint (I had Chalk Paint on hand but really any kind will work)

Paint Brush (The wider the better)

Sand Paper (220 grit)

Mod Podge (I used the original kind, but next go around I would use Matte so there won't be a glare)

Wide Sponge Brush (The wider the better)

Pictures (Bring the prints with you when you go to buy your plaques; it helps you to choose your size)

Step 1: Lay your plaques on a covered surface

 Step 2: Paint each plaque with a single coat of paint, not too thick.

Step 3: While the paint dries, rip the edges of your photos. Start with small rips and continue till you have the size and look you want.

 Step 4: Sand the plaques to give them a distressed look, focusing on edges and corners.

Step 5: Wipe the distressed plaques off with a damp cloth to remove any paint dust.

 Step 6: Lay the pictures on the plaques and don't be afraid to arrange and rearrange till you find the perfect look.

 Step 7: Pour your Mod Podge on a paper plate and coat the plaque (with no picture) once over.

Step 8: Immediately set your picture on the plaque and give the entire thing a second coat, taking care to cover the entire picture (especially the edges). Apply the Mod Podge in one direction that way it will dry nice and clear.

Step 9: Sit back and let them dry! Look how clear they are! Gorgeous!

We've had so much rain and lack of sunlight in the house as of late so please excuse the dark picture! But here they are hung, I used 3M Command strips to hang them. My goal is to cover this entire wall with these frames. I just love the look!

Here is a set I did for our guest bathroom. It also shows you what they will look like if you choose to not distress them. I like the look either way :)
Happy Crafting!