Homemade Christmas Gifts - Part 2

MOMMY: if you are reading this, I advice you to stop...it will spoil the surprise!

Yesterday I shared the Wooden Pictures, "I Love You Because:" and Grandparent's Journal my husband and I created for several family members.

Today I'm excited to share my second most favourite handmade gift we made this year (remember: the plaid 'something' was my first!)

For this project, I used the following supplies:

- Wood Block (it's handy to have a husband who cuts and stains it for you - I just had to sand the edges a little!)
- Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
- Decorative Paper Scraps
- Photo (I had mine printed at a copy centre)


How To:

1.  Cut your wood blocks to your preferred size - mine are 5 in x 5 in.  You can stain them now if you like, and sand your edges/corners once it is dry (I like a bit of that worn look).

2.  Cut your paper to size.  As you can see, I left some of the wooden block showing around all my edges.

3.  Take your first strip of paper and apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to both the back of the paper, and the wood block.  Carefully lay the paper in place.

4.  Using your fingers, smooth out any air bubbles, and then run your finger along the edges of the paper to wipe away any excess.

5.  Repeat steps 2-4 for any other paper strips that you'd like to adhere, as well as for your photo.

6.  When you are finished, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface as a sealant.

Now make more (...8 in our case!) and give them all of your favourite friends and family.

As an alternative, you can use smaller blocks of wood, and various family photos to create these simple photo blocks:

I Mod Podged photos to both sides of the larger blocks to allow for some variety, and made these teeny "JOY" blocks for a bit of Christmas Cheer!  I went a little crazy and covered EACH side of the JOY cubes.  (Note to self: do not go this crazy next time.  It was very time consuming.)

Happy Crafting!