How To Mod Podge Photo Plaques

Hi there!
Yes,  I know it's been awhile...
My baby girl has been home for spring break! :)
But I have been working on these...
Let's look at my options, hmmm.... sitting at the computer for a couple of hours OR have fun shopping with my baby girl....
Shopping!!! :D
So, now it's the crack of dawn and everyone else is asleep. 
This is my best time to write.  I'm a morning person anyway!
If you remember, I said in my last post that this one was CHEAP! 
I got these 2 plaques at Hobby Lobby.  They were $2.49 a piece. 
Perfect! To me that's cheap!
First... Let's get a bit distressed, these guys were looking too perfect.
So, I just hit them up with a hammer and another piece of wood.
I wanted a bit of an aged look, so I painted the edges black 
with some acrylic paint I had.
Definitely coming along... :)
Next on the list, was to use my FAVORITE spray paint in the world!!!
This is an older picture, I really don't care what primer I use... 
But the Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover 2X is the BEST! 
I can only find it at Home Depot.
I never have to use more than 2 coats. 
Plus, Heirloom White is the perfect white! L-O-V-E!
Ok, Lori, get back in the game!
Here's a little rabbit trail... You all talk to yourself, right?  I mean, I do it all the time.  I figured it's normal. Yes, I also answer myself too. Well, at least I only do it in the privacy of my own home.  It would be a little weird, if I started this up, in say... Walmart.
Haha! It might actually be acceptable there....hahaha. Ok. I'm done.  :)

Look how great these came out!!
I already sanded the edges and I love how the black came through.  
It did just what I wanted. Yay!
Now to work on the pictures.
I took their baby pictures and scanned them in to my computer and printed them on some paper I had laying around the house.  It was thicker than copy paper.  More like resume' paper.
Omg! Isn't he the cutest little bundle? This is my son at 3 months, and the picture of my daughter is also at 3 months, they are too adorable!  Where did the time go??? As you can see, this gallery wall is taking me down memory lane. I'm loving it...
Next, I traced the shape of the plaque onto the copy.
Easy enough.
Then I just cut it out.

As you can see, I'm about ready to glue (Mod Podge).
I wasn't really happy about the proportions on the plaques.  They seemed too big. (Those are the ones scattered in the background) So, I resized the picture and printed out new ones.  But now they weren't big enough for the plaque and I was left with some areas that were cut off.
So, I just cut some extra and added it in.
Perfect? No, but neither is our family.  We all have a few flaws here and there.
So, here we go!  I just went for it. Didn't put a lot of thought into how I was going to glue them down. I slapped on a bunch of glue, and layed the picture down.  It wouldn't move to adjust and it had all kinds of bubbles. 
It looked awful!
So, I ripped it off before it dried. 
Baby girl's came out pretty good! I took more time. I put a bit of glue on the wood and smoothed it out, then lifted the picture and added a little more, and so on til finished.  It worked SO MUCH better.
The second one came out even better! See!
After I glued them down, I painted Mod Podge all over the top.  
It was weird, I guess because it was paper, the color started to bleed a bit. 
I did 2 coats. Baby girl's bled a bit more.  I started to do it quicker on baby boy's. After it was all dry, I sanded the edges to complete the look. You can see the difference it makes.

There are done! Except for hanging them.  I thought they would look precious to hang them with some ivory ribbon.
Omg! Precious!! I still can't believe that these beautiful babies are now 22 and almost 20!  Life is flying by!  I haven't hung any pictures, yet.  I'm still working on more frames for the "gallery wall". I can't wait for this wall to be complete.
I'm loving the process though! 
Oh, and for those that have been waiting for the nail update... 
That's coming next!
Blessings,
Lori

5 comments

  1. Hi there. I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of blogs. I've never found I had much in common with the stay at home mom's of small children since I'm a working mom with a 21 year old daughter and a 17 year old son. I've looked at a few of their DIY's and simply moved along, never commenting or taking too much time. But your posts had me laughing, relating to so much of what you wrote and tearing up at the pic of you and your daughter shopping while she was home on break. I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your mistakes, thanks for the time you've taken with these great tutorials (that are easy to follow), and thanks too for giving me a good laugh on this Sunday morning. Take care, you have a beautiful family. :o) Heather

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    1. Heather... I have to say I'm speechless.... thank you. I'm blessed that you enjoyed reading about my goofy life. It's comments like these that motivate me to keep writing. I wish I could email you, but you came thru as a no-reply... :/ Thank you again, Heather.
      Blessings,
      Lori

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  2. Just want to say . I like that you showed the trouble you had with Mod Podge. I recently Mod Podged some Paper over metal and had some wrinkling and bubling. I was so surprised because all the people make it look like it came out perfect. Thanks!

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  3. Lori, I love your projects- you make things much easier than they appear! Thanks for your step by step! On the mod podge, if you spray a light coating of hairspray or clear flat paint over the photos first- the ink won't blur when you paint the mod podge over if. It's a technique used when working with charcoal or pencil drawings that I borrowed and it worked extremely well.

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    Replies
    1. Oh! What a great tip! Thank you! And thank you for reading! Your comment just cheered me up! Blessings!

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