Pin-fluenced: Mod Podge collage

This was a project I embarked on sometime last year... usually I can remember the month or even the season of an event, but for this I just can't pin down a time more specific than 2012.  

The idea originated from Bits of Everything and it seemed so doable.  Aside from feasibility, this idea was also a cheap idea - always a bonus when trying to survive on a student stipend.  Seriously, for a multi-photo frame of this size, I'd have to cut groceries for a month!

Project supplies from Walmart

1. Two black 20x30in foam boards: $2.88/each
2. Two foam brushes: $1/each
3. Mod Podge Matte (recommended over the glossy one): $7
4. 48 photos I swiped from mom's photo albums
5. Command adhesive strips for mounting: $5 (?)

Mod-podging

I began the project by cutting the 4x6 photos into the 4x4 size.  Originally I planned to by a fancy paper cutter that makes neat cuts because my scissor skills are much a-lacking.  But then, being the cheapskate that I am, I took the photos to work and used the lab's industrial size cutter.  There were some weird stares and questions, but hey - you gotta do what you gotta do!

The next part was quite tricky, and if I had thought about it beforehand, I might have not done the project at all... it was good then that I don't think too far in advance.  For the collage to not look like it was done by my 5-year-old nephew, it was necessary to measure out, inch by inch, how far the pictures will be from each other and from the edges.  I worked out that from the edge to the picture is 0.5 inch, and from picture to picture is 1 inch, and proceeded to lightly score the foam boards in pencil.

Next was the actual mod-podging.  I began by applying a thin layer of mod-podge on the foam board itself, no pictures.  I reasoned with myself that this extra layer will help the board from warping.  As this layer dried, I placed weights, i.e. canned goods, on the edges of the board to help it dry flat.

Then it was on to the pictures.  I've never mod-podge before and had to go on a limb trusting the original blog that painting glue over my pictures wasn't going to ruin them.  For the first few pictures, I painted the glue on the scored square where the picture was going to go.  This worked out well to adhere the picture to the board... but then I got lazy.  Instead of painting an even layer for the entire surface of the photo, I only painted enough so the picture stuck to the board.  This shortcut would cost me later on...

After all the photos were secured on the board, I mod-podge all over it all the while hoping that I didn't just destroy my pictures.  Again, the canned goods served to help the board dry flat.  The cost of the shortcut I mentioned earlier?  Bubbles.  Bubbles that formed between the board and my picture because the pictures weren't 100% flattened to the board.  All because I was too lazy to paint the entire surface of a 4x4 square.  ARG!  It's not too terribly noticeable; most people can't even tell... but it could've been just *perfect* if I hadn't cut some corners.  That's the annoying lesson here.

Mounting by my very own handyman

In the end I still love the collage.  In our old apartment the collage was mounted above our couch.  Now the collage fills an otherwise empty wall in the hallway from the front door to the kitchen.  Every now and then I catch myself stopping to admire the smiling faces of my little ones and my family.  I can say that I remember all the moments from which every single photo was captured; I took the photo after all.  One of my favorites of all time is of my outing to the park with little M when he was about 3 years old.  I felt bad for him because his brother and sister got to go to school, but M was cooped at home.  So to the park we went.  At that time he was still just a baby and did everything I asked.  I asked him to pose on a rock in the park and M climbed up and sat there for me.  Asked for a smile and he forces an unnaturally straight, though still very adorable, grin on his face, just enough to show his dimple.  That is my very favorite picture of M.

Having these photos up is more than just home decor; it's a reminder of the good memories I've had with my family.  It's these good times that help liven me up when I'm homesick.  It's these memories that remind me of my awesome and beautiful family.