DIY His & Hers Mounted Pictures

Home.

Mod Podge used to adhere photo to canvas

Did you know it was called Mod Podge, not Modge Podge?  I have been calling this wonderful product the wrong name for many years.  I love how my husband pointed this out to me today as I was completing this project.  Who knew?

This project was created to add some personalization to our master bath.  We have so many wonderful pictures from our many travels and none of them are displayed around the house.  Picture to frame is the most obvious choice, but there are other easy and inexpensive options.  I had never mounted a picture on a canvas using Mod Podge before and it was about time I got to it.

This project takes about 5 minutes from start to finish.  Originally I wanted to paint the sides of the canvas black to mimic a frame, but I ended up purchasing a black canvas which saved time and was the same cost as a white one.

Trim.

Although the frame and the printed picture both were advertised as 11" x 14”, that didn’t seem to be situation.  Trim the printed picture to fit to your canvas so there is no overhang. It is suggested you use a paper cutter or something that will give you a perfect edge.

Glue.

Spread the Mod Podge on the top of the canvas.  An inexpensive foam brush works best.  Coat well, but not too thick as it will seep out the sides when pressing the picture on top.

Mount.

Wearing gloves is recommended to this part as fingerprints can ruin the printed picture.  Mount the trimmed picture on top of the glue, pressing lightly.  Turn the frame over and press the backside of the canvas to ensure the picture adheres to the canvas.  There might be some seeping of the glue, just wipe with a paper towel.

If you choose, you can coat the front for the picture with the Mod Podge as well.  I choose to not use it as my pictures were matte finished. 

Mod Podge comes in a variety of finishes. Check out the different finishes then finish to your preference.  The entire look of your project can be drastically changed just on the finished of this glue product.

His

Hers

Our pictures were taken by Jeff and I on our honeymoon in Hawaii’, our favorite place in the world.  The picture of Jeff is over my sink and my picture is by his sink.  I just love the way this project turned out.

<3 mk

Quick and Easy Picture Gallery

Home.

Easy Picture Gallery using Ikea Ribba shelves

So have you ever put a good amount of time into doing something and then never actually used it?  Well, I spent a good amount of time prepping and planning a picture wall for our dining room and then never ended up using any of it.  Frustrating yes, but the final product of what we ended up doing is way better than originally planned - and painfully easy.

In our last home, there wasn’t a wall space big enough to put many of our framed pictures together in a large cluster. We ended up having a mini gallery in the front entrance and some in the living room.  With the new house we have the space to put all of those pictures together.

When it comes to home projects, I'm usually not heavy on the prep work.  I want the instant gratification of the final product ASAP.  I occasionally realize I need a different brush or more taping when my hands are covered in paint or something.  So when I actually did all of the prep work for this project and did not use any of it, it proves that I've been doing it right all along!

Similar to what I did by tracing and cutting all the frames.  Look how much fun they are having!

First, I gathered all the pictures I wanted mounted.  I then used left over boxes we had to trace and cut the outlines of all the pictures we were going to use.  Using paper that can be taped to the wall is much easier to visually see what the final product would look like.

Layout possibilities for hanging pictures

I also used inspiration for different frame layouts (see above) and then measured and laid out the different combinations to use.  I did this for short amounts of time over a few days and came up with a few possibilities.  And then…I saw this.

Inspiration from Ikea

This IKEA inspiration totally took all the work I had done and negated it. All my work and effort gone because we like this idea better.  It also has the added benefit of requiring far less work.

I went on a day trip to IKEA and purchased the Ribba shelves that came directly from the inspiration on IKEA’s website.  They come in black and white and in two different sizes.  I ended up purchasing two of the longer 45 ¼” versions in black for $14.99 each and one of the shorter 21 ¾” version in black for $9.99.  

After some quick planning we ended up recreating the idea of the inspiration photo.  Obviously our pictures weren’t the same, but we really went with the idea and weren’t trying to be original.

We didn’t end up using the two of our larger wedding pictures that were to go on that wall, but they ended up together over the newly painted bar table.

There are still a few empty picture frames that will eventually have something.  With time, the ideas for their contents will come.  Our experiences in our new house, new state, new lives will help with that.

<3 mk