DIY: Grandkids Picture Sign

Are you ready for this? Today I am going to teach you how I made the Grandkids picture sign.

So many of you have pinned this already-thank you! You totally made my day. But here is the real post you will want to pin- and make sure you click on the blog title and get the direct URL to this post so it will help everyone find the right page and not just my blog in general.

This project really is easy. I made it for my mom and MIL and I heard from both sides that it made them cry- good happy tears though of course.

Materials:
-Wooden board/ frame thing (got mine at Michael's)
-scrapbook paper- for board back, clothes pins, etc.
-Wood glitter letters- approximately 1 1/2" tall size (.99 each at Michael's)
-mod podge
-mini clothes pins
-decorative accessories (flowers, buttons, etc)
-paint (I used black acrylic paint)
-paint brush (I used foam brush)
-scissors

You can use any rectangular board you would like- I found these at Micheal's they are ones where the back comes off- which makes it so easy for putting on the paper.

1. Paint the board your desired color

2. Cut the scrapbook paper you want to the right size to cover the back. I used the bottom half of two identical 12X12 papers- there is a seam, but when you mod podge over it (when putting on letters) the seam pretty much disappears.

3. Apply a good layer of mod podge to the back piece of the board and glue paper on. Make sure you smooth out any air bubbles.

4. Once the glue is dry arrange the letters on the paper.

The letters this size will NOT fit straight across, so you need to zig-zag the letters. I laid out the letters then would pick up one letter at a time, apply a layer of mod podge on top of the paper and then place the letter back to glue into place.

5. Figure out how many clothespins you need- you do not want to do more than 8 with a board this size as it's too crowded. So, for my mom who currently has 13 grandkids, I just did 6 pins- one for each of her children and then have family pictures hanging in each spot. If there are possible future grandkids, you can make a holder spot card- shown later.

6. Cut out scrapbook paper in color(s) desired to size of clothespin face- I laid the clothespin on the backside of the paper, traced it then cut this out.

Paint a thin layer of mod podge onto the clothes pin then place the paper on the clothes pin. After the mod podge is dry, trim any extra as needed.

7. Glue on with mod podge any embellishments onto the top (part you push on to open clothespin) of the clothespin. (I found my embellishments in little bags on clearance row in Michael's)

8. Arrange clothes pins on board spacing evenly. I lined up the top of the clothespin with the top edge of the boarder.

Once you have them spaced where you want, apply a coat of mod podge to the back of the clothespin making sure the end that can pinch and hold the pictures is down. Hold into place for a minute or two while mod podge dries.

9. Print out pictures of grandkids- for my board I made each picture 2.5" x 2.5"


10. Optional- if you need an extra space (like I did for my little sister who got married a year ago and doesn't have kids yet) you can make a filler card so there will not be an empty clothespin. For my filler card I used a wooden tag I bought from Pick Your Plum a site that my good friend Janette of Johanson Journey told me about that is so worth signing up for!

I traced it onto the wrong side of some scrapbook paper and cut it out and mod-podged it on. When it was dry I placed a "family" sticker (from clearance row of Michael's) on it. I poked a hole through the paper and tied a string to hang the card from.

So there you have it! No fancy machines or crazy painting skills required and a gift that will truly be loved. You could also make a similar sign that says "Family" and hang pictures of your own kids. Let me know if you make it, would love to see how yours turns out.

P.S--Tomorrow is my Ten Things to Smile About Meme-- where you can look back and find ten things that made you smile in December-- please come back and link up!! And the winner of the 2011 Review Extravaganza will be announced Wednesday-- you can link up through Tuesday at midnight!

I am linking this post up at the following crafting blogs