It's Kerrie again from WOOD Creations! Today I am here to do a Tutorial on Photo Blocks. This is where you put your photo on a block or photo plaque and it looks like its on a canvas. Great news for you is, we sell photo blocks, plaques and ALL the supplies to finish this project at WOOD Creations! YAY!
I chose this project because for one, it's SO EASY! Two, it's almost Christmas time and these make such FUN and Inexpensive Gifts! :) I also have a step by step tutorial on our Craft Tips Tab at the top of our WOOD Creations Blog. I will also have this labeled on this blog, at the side if you ever need it for future use! This blog post will also be on Pinterest if you want to Pin it to your boards as well! Don't forget to follow us on Pinterest and also our blogs! We are also on Facebook as well and we are ALWAYS having giveaways! You won't want to miss out!
This is the finished project I did of my cute little family! It took me about 30 minutes to do, and that is adding the drying time on there! It's that Simple! :) I LOVE this photo that my BFF Kellie Hales took! She is AMAZING and does such a great job!
1. If you miss applying a part of the wood with Mod Podge and it's dry when you apply your photo/paper, this will make it bubble.
2. If you have big clumps and don't get them out, this will also make your paper bubble.
3. If you put a top coat on your photo/paper and the coat underneath isn't dry, this will also make your paper bubble.
As you can see, I put a nice coat of Mod Podge on there. I made sure everything was covered, but that all the big clumps were out.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kerrie :)
The next step is to paint all the edges and back Black. I also paint the very edge on the front as well. That way if your paper doesn’t go all the way to the edge, the raw wood isn’t showing. You don’t need to paint the whole front because we will be putting paper on the front. Remember we sale all the paint, paper, chalk, glitter, ribbon and everything you will need to finish your project at WOOD Creations.
After I have painted everything, I cut my paper out. That gives the paint some time to dry.
Once I have done these two steps, I put my paper on and run a plastic scraper all across it. If you don’t have one, you can also use a credit card or a plastic Pampered Chef Scraper also works great! After I have run my scraper all across the paper, I then run my fingers across everything and make sure there are no lumps in the paper and I’ve gotten everything smooth. This helps to know that the clumps are out so the paper doesn’t bubble. If I have paper hanging over the edge a little bit you can get some sand paper or a nail file and just scrape the edge a little bit to get the paper to the edge. If you push too hard, you might need to touch up the paint on the sides. After I have done all these steps, I let it sit for about 10 minutes to insure that the Mod Podge is dry under the paper. If the paper isn't dry and you apply a top coat, this is will make the paper bubble!
This is where you can apply your chalking. (We also sell this at WOOD Creations) I put my chalking on before I put my top coat of Mod Podge because it shows up a little darker. If you happen to forget, you can still apply it on top of the Mod Podge once it’s dry. To apply the chalk all you do is rub it along the edge of the wood. It’s actually like a stamp pad and not actual chalk. You can add as much or as little as you want! You really can’t go wrong with the “Chalking”! I LOVE it! I honestly don’t know what we did before chalking? Stippling?? Ha! Ha! That seems so “Old School” now! The chalk kind of gives it a little character and can also make it look a little antiqued as well! It just gives your projects a little something, something that adds that finishing touch!
Once you have your chalk all around the edges, you can now apply your vinyl! Applying vinyl is also really easy! All you need to do is pull back the clear side of the transfer tape. If the vinyl sticks to the paper side, just go back a little bit and push the sticky taped side with your finger and it should pull back with it. This is another one of those things that practice makes perfect! Once you’ve got your vinyl onto the sticky side of the transfer tape, get your wood and put it in front of you. I hold my vinyl up just off the paper to help make sure it’s going on straight. You will want to be very careful not to get the vinyl too close to the paper because it will stick to it and probably won’t come off! Once it’s straight, I lay the tape onto the wood and then get my scraper again that I used to apply the paper and scrape the top of the transfer tape all over. Then I start at the top left side and start to pull the transfer tape back. You will want to go a little slow to assure that the vinyl doesn’t come off with it. If it happens to pull back with it, just take your scraper and go over it again. You can even use your finger. I apply my vinyl before I apply the top coat of Mod Podge so it seals it. If you happen to forget and put a top coat of Mod Podge on before you apply your vinyl, that’s okay too. You can still apply your vinyl on top. You will just want to make sure your Mod Podge is TOTALLY dry or it will make the vinyl not stick.
Once you have your chalking and vinyl done, you can now apply a top coat of Mod Podge! I put a top coat on top of my paper so it seals it to the wood! You don’t have to do this step if you don’t want. I have also found that it makes it A LOT easier to dust and also gives it a finished look!
While you are letting your Mod Podge dry, you can tie a little bow around the witch’s hat. I put a little dab of hot glue under the bow to ensure that it won’t slip off. Then once everything is dry I hot glue the hat onto the wood so it will stay. You don’t have to have the witch’s hat! I just thought it added a cute little addition to the project! We also sell the Witch Hats at WOOD Creations!
