The mod podge picture

--aka--last minute Mothers Day gift idea

I never know what to get my mom and my mother in law for Mothers Day.  I spend hours thinking about their likes and hobbies, trying to think of a gift that they will want, like, use, be meaningful to them, etc.  It's hard!  I'm always stumped.  And to add to the pressure, it has to be something shippable because they both live 1700 miles away from me. 

So this year I thought what better gift to give them than one that showcases the people they love the most- their children and grandchildren.  But I wanted a little something different than the print in the frame.  Hence the mod podge picture.


Here is the very simple project broken down.


First of all, gather supplies:  a photo, a piece of wood about an 1- 1 1/2 inches larger than the photo all the way around (I had these cut at Home Depot), acrylic paint, mod podge and a sponge brush (not pictured:  sand paper).


The first step is obvious- paint the wood.  I didn't pre-sand the wood because I knew I was going to distress the wood after painting.  But if the distressed look isn't what you are after, sand it before painting.


While waiting for the paint to dry, make a color copy of the photo.  I just used regular copy paper because I like the texture of the wood to show through. 


After the paint has dried, distress the edges -which means- sand them like crazy!


Now attach the copied photos with mod podge.


I applied it to the back of the paper, then put it on top of the wood and smoothed out the wrinkles with my hand.  After it dried, I applied a coat to the front of the picture.  Be very careful with the photo because the printer ink smears and can discolor the wood.  Mine had a slight pink tint to the bottom of the wood under the picture, but I covered it up with the ribbon.


I purchased the mini easels at Walmart for less than $3. 


Not too bad for a quick and easy Mothers Day gift!