Wedding Greeting Card Mat

Several years ago, I ran across a box that contained many of the cards that were sent or given to my parents when they were married in 1941. As you can imagine, they are charming reminders of a by-gone era, and I hated to throw them away. So with my mother's permission, I absconded with the box and decided to use the cards to create a customized mat to frame one of my favorite pictures from their wedding.

There were too many cards to use all of them, so I tried to choose ones that were unique, unusually charming, or that had been given by special family members or friends. For example, one of my father's neighbors was President Heber J. Grant, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time. He sealed my parents for time and eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple, so his card is a lovely treasure.

Using a plain white mat as a template, I put the cards together like a chaotic puzzle, making straight lines along the inner and outer edges but overlapping the cards inside the mat so that there were no gaps and the most interesting greetings, signatures, and illustrations were visible. (I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. This hangs in our family cabin, and the only camera I had available was the one on my ancient flip phone. I hope what you see at least conveys the essence of the idea.)

After I had the cards arranged, I carefully stuck them in place using acid free mounting squares.

All of my parents' wedding pictures were in black and white, but I think I would have opted to go black and white anyway because I liked the way it looked with the faded/muted feel of the vintage cards:

 I chose a simple black frame and put it all together:

Think how well this idea could adapt for other special photographs. You could frame birthday pictures with birthday cards, baby pictures with cards that came with shower gifts, or school pictures with a collage of  spelling tests, math assignments, and art projects. My mother had exquisite handwriting, and I was thinking how fun it would be to frame a picture of her using excerpts from copies of letters she wrote to my father while he was serving as a missionary. Use your imagination and then share what you create!

Picture Puzzle Blocks

Several years ago I was given a kit for creating a puzzle out of wooden blocks and photographs. I tucked it away in my bottomless pit of projects and didn't think about it again until the stars aligned to jog my memory.

Since my parents passed away, I have spent a lot of time going through and scanning family documents and pictures. It has been a wonderful journey down memory lane. Knowing that I had a reunion coming up this summer with my siblings and their spouses, I tried to pick up the pace so that we could enjoy the pictures together. I remembered the puzzle blocks and thought that they would be a fun way to share some of the photographs with them.

As I said, the original puzzle that I did (I ended up making six) was from a kit. I had hoped that I could simply link you to their website, but it apparently no longer exists. However, I used their instructions, and I want to give them credit. My kit came from storiesbyme.com or mymindseye.com.

What you will need for this project: 9 wooden, 2" blocks; six photographs; decoupage glue (like Modpodge); a foam brush; sandpaper; a trimming tool (like a single edge razor blade); an ink pad; acrylic sealer, if desired. You can buy the blocks at craft stores, cut them yourself, or have them cut at a hardware store:

Step One: Find six pictures. Look for images that can be cropped to a square shape. Enlarge or reduce your images to a little larger than 6 x 6 inches. Print your pictures on standard copy paper in black and white. (You can probably use color, but I have never seen them done that way.) Let the ink dry and then draw a six inch square around the portion of the picture you want to feature. Divide the large square into nine equal squares. Each square should measure 2 x 2 inches. Cut out your squares. I separated the pictures into six zip lock bags so that they wouldn't get mixed up with each other:

Step Two: Lay out your wooden blocks 3 across and 3 down. With a pencil, lightly mark each block in the upper right hand corner with a number and a letter: A1-A9. Rotate all the blocks to the left--Side B--and mark each block the same way: B1-B9. Rotate left again and mark Side C. Rotate left again and mark Side D. Rotate each block up for Side E and mark it. Then rotate each block down twice to find the remaining, unmarked side, Side F. Mark it.

Step Three: Protect your work surface. Lay out your blocks so that Side A is showing and the numbers run left to right and top to bottom-1 through 9. Arrange your cutout picture squares on top of the blocks to recreate your picture:

 Remove the cutout image, keeping your picture squares in order. Apply a thin layer of decoupage glue to the top of block A1. Place the first picture cutout on top of the glue. Smooth in place, pressing out any air bubbles. Continue applying picture cutouts to Side A2-9:

Step Four: After the glue is COMPLETELY dry on Side A, turn your block so that the picture side is face down on a cutting board. Using a sharp cutting tool, carefully trim off any overhanging edges:

After you have trimmed Side A, turn the blocks to Side B placing them in the correct order. Follow the same procedure--gluing, drying, and trimming--for all Sides B through F.

Step Five: After all the blocks are glued and trimmed. carefully sand the edges of each block:

If desired, use a black ink pad to darken the sanded edges of each block to give it a distressed look. I feel like this step made a wonderful difference to the look of the puzzle:

Apply a thin layer of decoupage over each section of the blocks, paying special attention to the edges to make sure that they are completely glued in place. This layer smeared the ink slightly, but it actually added to the aged look of the blocks. This step takes time because you have to let each side dry completely before you turn the blocks to cover the next side. You may apply extra coats of glue for added durability or apply a coat of clear acrylic sealer instead. (I suggest the sealer because decoupage glue tends to remain slightly tacky even when it is dry--especially in high humidity.)

We had so much fun at our reunion playing with our blocks together!

Beautiful Family (Christmas) Tree

Once again, the timing of this post may seem just a bit off--too much to do to think about any kind of project just days before Christmas. But I absolutely LOVE this idea and want to share it. The reason that I am posting it now is that if you decide this is something you want to do--perhaps next year--you may want to keep your eyes open for supplies when they are on sale during your after-Christmas shopping

I have a wonderful, talented friend who is truly a Christmas decoration artist. Her home is a holiday fairy land which includes four large trees, each with a unique theme. They are all gorgeous, but my absolute favorite is her "ancestor tree." This picture doesn't begin to do it justice:

I learned from my friend that the key to creating this look is to layer the decorations; start hanging ornaments near the trunk and work outward. She also stays within a chosen range of colors. The palette for this tree includes crystal, muted purples, ivory, greens and golds.

What makes this tree especially meaningful to me, however, is that tucked among the lights, ribbon, silk flowers, balls, and other ornaments are tiny jeweled frames, each containing a photograph of a beloved relative.

Many of her frames came in boxed, Christmas ornament sets that she found in department stores like Dillards or in craft stores like Hobby Lobby. Others she found at novelty shops, like Hallmark stores, and at thrift stores.

Hint: An easy way to obtain small, quality copies of pictures for this project is to scan photos into your computer and then go to an online photo store like Walgreens and plug your photos into a collage. It gives you a format that provides room for a lot of small pictures--just what you want for this project. Once the collage is printed, you can carefully remove the glass from a frame, place it over a photo, trace around it, and then cut out the picture to fit into the frame.

Since my parents passed away, I have scanned hundreds of family photos, including many pictures of ancestors that I never had the opportunity to meet. But I feel like I know them from hearing their stories, reading their journals, and seeing their faces.  I love the idea of honoring them next Christmas with a special place on my Family Christmas Tree.

Merry Christmas!