Friday, April 24, 2015

Mother's Day Gift DIY - family photo blocks + inspirational quote cards

With only a couple of weeks until Mother's Day the time has come to start thinking of a wonderful gift for mum!  I've teamed up with Officeworks to bring you 2 fantastic DIY Mother's Day gift ideas using the Kodak Picture Kiosk available in all Officeworks stores.

I loved the idea of creating something personal to go along with the usual chocolates and flowers. Mum is always asking for photos of the boys so I thought this would be the perfect gift for her.
I loved how they turned out so much I'm also going to do some for my mother in law.


These DIY ideas were created by Katrina and I've put my own spin on it to suit my mum and her home. I've followed Katrina's steps and shown you my process below -

What you’ll need:

Photos – pop  photos on a USB stick or you can print pictures straight from your phone using the easy Kodak Picture Kiosks in store. 
Pull up a seat, use the touch screens and within minutes you’ll have your photos.  

I needed 8 photos so it cost me less than $6.40 to have these printed up.
I wanted quite a large size and chose the 6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm)
I chose the square shape as it suited most of my photos thanks to my Instagram addiction!

Blocks of wood – I went to my local hardware store and bought a 32mm thick piece of MDF offcut for $5.00 and asked them to cut it into 8 x 18cm x 18cm blocks. The cutting cost me $10.00.
It was too easy, I didn't have to pick up a tool!



Paint - we had loads of white paint left over from the renovations so I used this.
I painted the blocks of wood white so the colours of the photo would pop.

Decoupage glue - I also had some of this in my craft cupboard (Mod Podge)


Step 1.



I painted my wooden blocks. I gave them 2 coats each.

Step 2


Once the paint on the blocks are dry, paint on a layer of decoupage glue and position your photo in the centre of the block.  The reason I have used this product is because it dries clear and is an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish.

The glue goes on white but dries clear and adds a lovely gloss finish and extra texture to your photo.

Step 3

Let the photos dry for a few hours. Then use the glue again to coat the entire block all over.




I'm so happy with how they turned out.
I love the size and sturdiness of the block, such a great way to display your memories.
They were really quick and simple but I love that they have that personalised touch.

Although if you don't have the time it’s worth noting that alongside photo printing, the Kodak range at Officeworks has a wide selection of personalised items which make perfect gifts, including coffee mugs, calendars and photo canvases.



The next DIY I decided upon was Katrina's inspirational quote cards

My mum loves affirmations and quotes and often texts me one each morning.
So this combination was perfect for her.


All you need to make this Mother's Day gift is your photos, a business card holder and some printed text. It's simple and cost less than $10 to create!

Again I went with the larger size photo (15cm x 15cm) printed from the Kodak Picture Kiosk

What you'll need

Photos - pop them on a USB stick or print straight from your phone. Print them from the Kodak Picture Kiosks in store. Within minutes you'll have our photos.

Scissors

Card stock

Glue - a regular glue stick is fine

Business card display holder 
As my photos were bigger than Katrina's I used a photo frame stand instead.

That's one of the things I love about Officeworks. It has everything you need under the one roof.
You can get everything for these projects here - photos, stationery, etc.



Step 1
I gathered some of my favourite quotes and printed them out on card stock.
I printed them out on my printer at home but if you don't have a printer, pop them on a USB stick and have them printed out at Officeworks while you get your photos printed.

Step 2
Trim your quotes and stick the card stock to the back of your photos


Once you have glued the photo and the quote together, pop them under a few heavy books to ensure they stick together and stay flat while they dry.

Step 3
Pop them on your stand or in your business card holder. They make the perfect addition to the coffee table and you can create a lovely vignette with them.


Now mum can pick out a quote each morning and change the photos around as it suits her.




I know most mum's and grandmothers love a gift with a personal touch and I think this project is great as you can change the quotes to suit the person.

I used recent photos as mum had been asking for new photos of the boys but I loved Katrina's idea of using old photos and bringing back some amazing memories.

It's so good to get all of those photos I take off my phone and on display.
My next project is Photo Books but I'm a few years behind so I've got some work ahead!

What do you think?
Are you tempted to make some for Mother's Day gifts?

I really love how these projects turned out and I will be keeping these up my sleeve for gifts in the future too.

Have you printed out some photos lately or are they all still on your phone and laptop?!

5 comments:

Thanks for reading x

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