Remember your favorite part of your wedding? Was it walking down the aisle towards the love of your life or watching the love of your life walk down the aisle toward you? Was it seeing all of your guests come together to celebrate the love and the life that you and your significant other have created? Was it the table settings, the flowers or the music? Was it seeing months of your hard work and tough decisions come together for a beautiful day of celebration?
No matter the reason, there are surely things you want to commemorate about your wedding, or maybe even your most recent family photos. No matter the occasion or the people therein, our Decoupage Mason Jar Last Name Sign is sure to catch the attention of any of your houseguests.
Commemorate your love and your life as a family with this easy and oh so chic project!
Get ready to put a little elbow grease into showcasing your favorite wedding or family moments. Whether you've been married for 50 hours or 50 years, this decoupage project is sure to have you smiling every time you look at it.
hi-res paper printouts of your favorite family/wedding photos
Time to turn on your wedding video and prep your workspace. Let's create!
Step one is relatively easy, CUT OUT YOUR PHOTOS :)
The great part about this step is that it is completely up to you how to cut these photos out. You can create your own shapes, or keep your photos squared. You can zoom in on your faces and cut around them; this craft piece is your world. You make it the way you want it!
Now, you might be a better planner than some of us. I know that I am too creative and impatient to plan ahead for anything, and so were it me reading this blog and not writing it, I would blast past this step.
But, you're wonderful you. And, maybe, you are a planner. If you are, put those skills to use and layout your photos just the way you want them before you start to glue them down. Once you have everything laid out how you want it, snap a quick reference photo so that you don't lose your place as you glue down the layers.
To glue your photos down, apply a thing even coat of Mod Podge to the back of your photo and to the wood were you plan on placing your photo. Place your photo and quickly smooth out any bumps with your fingers. Using a soft rubber spatula, or gently using the edge of a credit card, further smooth your photo so there are no ripples or air bumps. PERFECTO!
Gluing down your photos is the scariest part! We did it, though, we made it through.
Give your Mod Podge a few minutes to dry before going back over your photos with a very thin layer of Mod Podge (this seals them to prevent damage).
Now for the hard and not so fun part (unless you're into this sort of thing). Take your fine grit sand paper and sand and sand and sand and sand and sand and sand and sand...
This can take as much or as little time as you like. It really depends on the look you are going for. At the very least, you'll want to sand away the excess Mod Podge that has accrued on the wood around the photos. You'll notice that it has discolored the wood as it dried. Sanding will take care of this issue.
We wanted a rustic chic look for our project, so we sanded the edges of our cut out photos to create a torn look.
Now that you've worked so hard to sand off all of the excess Mod Podge, it's time to....ADD MORE MOD PODGE!!
Now, we promise that we didn't throw in an extra step for no good reason. Applying a thin layer of Mod Podge over the entire face the wood sign seals everything for good. In addition, this extra layer will even out the surface of your name sign so that it doesn't seem like your photos are "sitting" on top of the wood.
Finishing touches can make or break a design piece. We "sealed" our mason jar with hemp twine at the cap. If you want to hang this piece, you may want to cut lengths of hemp and hot glue them to the sides of the piece (so that your mason jar hangs flat against the wall). You can see one of our ideas for hangin hardware here.
If you plan on leaning your mason jar, you can wrap the twine around the top of the mason jar until you've got 4-6 lengths running across. You'll want to leave at least 5" hanging on the end pieces (from the center of the mason jar). We'll use these pieces to make a bow later.
Secure your twine with hot glue at the sides of the piece so that it doesn't slip off.
Now tie your bow! Don't worry about if being too perfect! Part of the beauty of this is that it's rustic and whimsical. You may want to double up on the ends of the twine you are tying, depending on the thickness of your twine. Tie it tight and secure the knot to the rest of the twine with a drop of hot glue.
Voila! You now have a beautiful decoupage homage to your family that you can hang or set in any room. #decoupawesome
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