Handmade: My Mother's Day Presents for my Moms

Ever since reading Faux Claud's Christmas post (I blogged about it here), I have vowed to hand-make more things.  Handmade things are good, especially when everyone you want to give a gift to says "oh...nothing really" or "oh, I'll love whatever" when you ask them what you want (which is still not as bad as my father and father-in-law who say "nothing" when you ask them what they want).  I know these responses are because they really would love whatever you give them, but, still...a hint would be nice!

You can see what I made in the photos above.  I made a set of 6 display blocks/magnets for each of my moms (first mom, adoptive mom, and mother-in-law).  One set spells out "MiMom," one "Nanny," and one "Grammy" (my kid's names for each grandmother).  I'm sorry I can't show you the complete sets in the pictures.  Some have pictures of other family members and I didn't want to put their pictures here without permission because the gifts won't be a surprise if I have to ask (in case you're wondering, posting the project here won't ruin the surprise, hopefully, because none of them are really into blog reading).  I tried to be frugal so that I could afford to do something for each mom.  It cost me probably less than $10 per mom.

At any rate, I thought I would post the how-to here, in case this idea would help anyone else out. 

Supplies:

• Wooden blocks (I got mine from a business that recycles wood).
• Diamond Glaze (Modge Podge or maybe even Elmer's would probably work too).
• Photos (matte or lustre finish work best).
• A small, cheap paintbrush.

Optional Supplies:

• Ceramic magnets
• A strong glue (hot glue/glue gun, or E6000 like I use)

Instructions:

1. Cut the photos to the size you need for them to sit neatly inside the perimeter of the side of each block.
2. Coat the side of the block you'd like to adhere a photo to with a thin layer Diamond Glaze using the paintbrush.
3. Gently center the photo on top of the block while the Diamond Glaze is still wet.  Set aside.
4. Repeat #3 until each block has a photo adhered to it.
5. Coat each photo that has been adhered to a block with a thin layer of Diamond Glaze (yep, coat all the way to the corner of each block, even if it's on the wood part that the photo didn't cover all the way to the sides and corners).  It will seal the photo and give this whole side of the block a shine.

Let dry, and, you're done!

Notes:
The wooden blocks can be any size really, just so long as it is feasible for you to cut down the photos to whatever size the blocks are.

I sized, altered, and added the lettering to each of my photos with a program I have on my computer before printing.  If you don't have a program to do this, no worries.  What I would suggest is to add a step 6 to the process to add scrapbooking letters yourself.  You can cut letters out of paper or get pre-made scrapbooking letters...  For step 6, add Diamond Glaze to the back of the letter and adhere to where you want it on the front of the photo and coat it with Diamond Glaze once adhered.

Not everyone has a spare spot to display things but most people can always use kitchen magnets.  For my blocks, I glued ceramic magnets (these magnets are strong to hold things like wood, clay, and glass materials) to the back using E6000 glue so that they can be stood up to be displayed on the shelf, or be used on the fridge.

Don't forget, Mother's Day is in one week!