Project JOY

So this project started because I was having a hard time finding a great Christmas gift for my mom. So I figured in true me fashion I'd just make her something. Sometimes the best gift are hand made and come from the heart. I give you Project Joy. (Psst...she knows about this already so I can post it)

Materials:

Wooden Letters

Photos, preferably smaller rather than bigger

Mod Podge & Elmers Glue

Scissors 

Pencil

Acrylic Paint - any color you choose...

Paint brushes

These letters I think are about 9'' tall.

So I love Hobby Lobby, and it's a total go to for most of my crafting needs. I bought these there, they didn't have the ones I really wanted so I had to get the wooden letters out of the painting isle that had canvas already attached to the front. You can use regular wooden letters for this too. It'll work just the same. The ones in the painting isle were already painted.

Go thru all your photos and start to lay them out.

I printed our pictures off as wallet size. I figured with the size of the letters that wallet sized pictures would work the best. I got them at Sams for wicked cheap so I ordered A LOT! The more choices you have to choose from the easier this layout process goes. 

The back of the letter.

So I had a hard time figuring out exactly HOW I was going to make this since I had seen them before and *GASP* did NOT do my Pinterest due diligence, and decided to wing it. I know it's not my style to wing it, but I figured that sometimes it is good to get out of my comfort zone. Try something new, and try to figure it out on my own! So I figured that I had to start by laying out one image at a time and building off of that first image. Think about building blocks or Tetris...same thing. 

The best way I have found is to figure out exactly where you want it to be placed, and gingerly flip over the letter. Once you've positioned it on the table, gently hold down the letter, tracing around the outside, then lift off the letter, and cut out around the pencil marks. Brain surgery I know. There is a lot of "gently" or "gingerly" used in those instructions. TRUST ME....doing it gently is KEY!

So now we are starting to build out the images.

So once you've figured out your first image, you need to affix that picture to the letter. I tried Mod Podge to begin with, and it failed miserably. So I brought out the good old trusty Elmer's School Glue! It worked like a charm! I used a paint brush to get the glue nice and even, pressed down the image, and started again with the next image.

So here's the J! Pretty spiffy if I do say so myself!

So the O was a little more difficult. It turned out nicely though in the end!

The O was a little trickier! 0.o Damn curves! 

Et Viola! Ta DA!

Build and Paste! Build and Paste!

You know I went All State in Kindergarten in cutting and pasting! It's really paid off in my adult life.

Okay so you get the point. The O is all done!

Then the Y....

So after you get done with all the letters it's time to Mod Podge so it sticks nicely all the way around. After you are done with the Mod Podge let it dry. This is where Mitch and I differ in how this project could have gone. He would have painted the letters first and then affixed the images, WELL I did it the opposite. Either way it turns out the same. Plus when I started I wasn't sure exactly what color I was going to paint the letters. I thought gold....than I thought it might look like a tacky disco ball! True story. Then I called my mom, yes, I am THAT daughter. I sent her the picture below and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey! I made you a present, but I'm not sure about the color

Mom: Okay

Me: Can I send it to you and you can tell me what looks best. I was thinking gold or black, but the word JOY really should be painted in black, right? o.0

Mom: OH I LOVE IT!!! Paint it black. If you paint it any other color it will take away from the pictures. Also, frames are black so think of it as a frame.

Me: Done!

Here's it in it's original white.

So I finished painting it black last night, and it became part of our Christmas decorations until they come down for Christmas! Then these fun family JOY letters will be wrapped up in a box with a bright bow on the top, and will be given to my mom so that she can always be reminded of how much we love her! All of these beautiful memories, captured in pictures, all because two people fell in love! 

Candy Cane our E.O.T.S.,  Chippy the Elder, & Chubby the Gnome
AKA The Tribe

Love you Mom!!!