Scrap Fabric Frame

I just recently finished my first "Rag Quilt" and had lot's of leftover fabric scraps from that project and since I hate to throw any thing away...I decided to come up with a way to use them and here is the result!

I made the quilt for my sweet Momma for Mother's Day and figured what could be better than a matching framed picture to go with her quilt!

I decided to use a photo I found in a box of old photos that my Sister recently sent to me.

We had to move my precious Mother into an assisted living facility recently and a lot of her "things" couldn't go with her and my Sweet Sister knew that I would love having some of Mom's old photos and I'm thankful she sent them to me...it has brought back such great memories and this is one of my favorites!

It is a throwback photo from 1975 of my Grandma Walker (Maternal), Me and my Mom!

I cherish this photo so much and of course didn't want to give up my recently acquired only copy, so I scanned it and had a copy made at my local Walgreens.

NOTE: Just a tip here for those who don't do a lot of scanning...most commercial scanners that are built-in with your printers will default scan to a low to medium resolution (75 - 300 dpi), so if you are wanting to get a good quality print to have printed out, it's wise to choose "custom" scan from your scanner/printer software and scan the photo at a little higher resolution, because it will turn out better.

I originally scanned this at 300 dpi and tried printing it out on my Lexmark Inkjet printer and it turned out decent but because the photo was from the 70's and not the greatest quality to begin with, that print-out showed lines and some decreased clarity. 

When I went back in and scanned it at 600 dpi and printed it out, it was a lot better, so that is the one I used when ordering the final print from Walgreens and it came out really nice and I was also able to order another larger 5x7 print without sacrificing the clarity and quality of the photo.

I added a bit of family memorabilia to the photo above, and it is fitting for this group photo of me, Grandma & Mom.

My Grandma Walker had this family sign hangin' in her kitchen/dining room for as long as I could remember and it was something us kids LOVED to play with!

It was a family "Dog House" wooden sign that had 7 wooden doggies hanging on it with the names of my Grandparents and all their children on it.

Whenever someone was in "trouble" they were put into the dog house, by removing the doggie from it's hook and placing it in the dog house portion.

We had so much fun when visiting Grandma, by putting our own parent's into the "Dog House" and laughing about it!

That is such a treasured memory for me and when my Grandmother passed away, my Mother got this treasure and it hung in her kitchen until a few years ago when I asked her if she minded if I had it.

She knew how much it meant to me and lovingly handed it over to me!

I am happy to be showcasing my scrap frame in another "Craft Lightning" series hosted by Angie at the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 minute crafts.

I just love this ongoing quick crafts series and for this one there was no particular theme, so it fit right in with my scrap fabric frame idea as it is real quick to make and can be finished in no time at all with a little patience for drying time for the Mod Podge finish!

One tip though...to make the craft quicker (if you are in a hurry)...use larger fabric scraps than I did.

I didn't think it through and used pretty small scraps which made it a little more time consuming than I originally planned, but it still turned out nice and will match my Mom's quilt, so I am happy with it!

Here is a collage showing the steps used to complete this project:

Here are the tools and supplies used:

Supplies/Tools Used for this Project:

Plaid Rectangle Wooden Frame - 4-1/8" x 6-1/8" 

Fabric Scraps, Assorted

Favorite Photo

Aleene's Tacky Glue

Mod Podge

Foam Paint Brush

Scissors

X-acto Knife (not shown in photo above)

Black Gel Ink Pen

Marking Chalk 

Felt (for frame backing)

Cardboard (for backing insert)

Lexmark 4975 Printer, Scanner, Copier

Thanks for stopping by today and if you get a chance, stop by Angie and Carolina's blogs to see some more awesome 15 minute crafts! 

15 Minute Craft - Ceramic Tile Photo Magnet - Mother's Day

Another Mother's Day has come and gone and I hope all of you who celebrate it had a wonderful day!

I was blessed in that I was able to spend it with 3 of our 4 children and 4 of our 5 grandchildren.

We really missed my mom and our son Rickey and his family, but I am thrilled to say, we will see them all soon!

Our family had a Mother's Day Brunch which has become a tradition of sorts in the last few years.

Every year, I struggle to think of a unique and special gift to give my sweet Mother-in-Law, she prefer's no gifts really, which is kind of my motto also, since the older you get the less you need.

Don't get me wrong...gifts from the heart are always welcome, but the best gift of all is time with your children and grandchildren! That is an immeasurable blessing indeed!

So, I always like to try and think of something that will bring back a good memory for her or touch her heart and as you can imagine, that often involves photographs, videos or mementos.

The timing could not have been better that I was participating in a Craft Lightning Challenge with Angie at the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 minute Crafts!

I thought it would be great if I could incorporate a gift for my MIL at the same time.

This lightning challenge requires that you come up with a craft that takes only 15 minutes or less to complete (minus drying time).

A great idea to get those on a limited time schedule to craft when they think they don't have the time!

I racked my brain to figure out what I could come up with that would only take 15-minutes, but would produce a lovely and heartfelt gift for my MIL.

I knew that it would most likely need to include a photo of some sort and a quote or poem about Mother's Day.

I remembered that just a few weeks before DH and I had gone Yard Sale-ing and I found a big bag of small 2x2 ceramic tiles that I thought would be perfect for fridge magnets if I could get them at the right price.

(I got the entire bag for $1.00!)

So, I thought if I could think of something good to use those for, for this project...DH would be proud of me!

(LOL...he thinks  we are gonna end up on that show "Hoarder's" one day if I don't stop collecting that kind of "stuff"!)

I decided to make a photo magnet for my MIL and wanted to make it relevant to Mother's Day.

I scoured (Googled) the internet for Mom's Day Poems and Quotes and found the perfect one for my situation:

"Men are what their Mother's made them" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I chose this because it really say's it all about how I feel about my husband and my MIL.

It is evident she did a wonderful job of raising good men! (4 of them to be exact...my husband has 3 awesome brothers!)

The love, kindness and honor that my husband has in his heart shines through in everything he does everyday and I know his mother had much to do with this as she has the same heart and makes our family thrive with happiness and love!

I could not be prouder to be a wife to her son and to call her "Mom"!

After finding the quote I searched for a photo of MIL and DH together that I could use on the magnet and came across this one:

I just loved it because it portray's so much about their life back then as well as our's today!

His family loved to go to the ocean, camp-out and go hunting and fishing.

This photo was taken in 1958 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at a place called Cold Springs.

DH and I have tried to carry on those traditions in our children and grandchildren's lives as well, so this picture could not have been more perfect!

Here is my completed project/gift:

Here is what you will need to complete this craft:

Supplies/Tools List:

Ceramic Tile Piece, Square, 2"x2" (You can get these at most Home Improvement Stores)
Digital Photo (Cropped and sized to fit)
Photo Editing Program (Photoshop Elements, Picasa, Pic Monkey, etc.)
Quote or Poem of your choice
Font of your choice (I used Papyrus)
Photo Paper (Great White Imaging & Photo Paper - Matte Finish, 92 Brightness, Ultra White)
Ink Jet Printer (Lexmark X4975)
Scissors
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Krylon Workable Fixatif
Mod Podge (Gloss, Matte or Satin)
Foam Brush
Mini Pie Tin
Wax or Butcher Paper
E6000 Adhesive
Magnets (One or Two, depending on size & strength - 3/4" or larger)

Tutorial/Instructions:

1. Crop and resize your photo in digital imaging software (I used Photoshop Elements & Picasa)
2. Add Text to Your Photo (if desired) using digital imaging software (I used Picasa)
3. Print out photo onto Photo Quality Paper (Matte Photo Paper would probably work best and is what I used) on an Inkjet Printer.
4. Cut-out photo to size of tile (in this case, 2"x2")
5. Glue photo onto ceramic tile piece using a thick craft glue such as Aleene's Tacky Glue (Be careful what type of glue you use here, if it's too watery, it could tear the photo or ruin the image...that is why I recommend using Aleene's...it's tacky and adheres well without damaging the image.)
6. Let it dry for a bit (15-20 minutes)
7. Spray with a fixative (to protect the image from the initial coat of Mod Podge) - This may not be necessary for all images or printers, but I have had trouble in the past with colored images from inkjets "running" a bit when you brush on the first coat of Mod Podge, so just to be safe, I always use a fixative before I apply Mod Podge or other watery coating.)
8. Let dry for about 5 minutes. (Usually fixative dries very fast, but be careful not to hold it too close when spraying it or you could saturate the image and make it sticky which would make it take longer to cure. A light coat is all you need in this case.)
9. Apply first coat of Mod Podge with the foam brush. (I actually had to thin-out my Mod Podge a bit, because the bottle was older and had been sitting around for awhile and had thickened. That is why you see the pie tin in the supplies. I use that to thin out the Mod Podge when I add water.) (Usually you can use the Mod Podge straight from the bottle with no problems)
10. Let dry for 15-20 minutes.
11. Apply at least one more coat of Mod Podge. (This ensures a good seal and helps the project last longer. You can apply as many coats as you like, just be sure to wait 15-20 minutes between coats and I recommend waiting at least 8-10 hours before trying to wrap or handle any items that have been coated with Mod Podge as it becomes completely cured with time, but can be somewhat tacky at first).
12. Attach one or more magnets to the back of the tile using a strong adhesive such as E6000. (If you have very strong magnets, one will usually suffice, but the one's I had on hand were smaller and not as powerful, so I added two just to be sure the magnet with the ceramic tile attached would be functional)
13. Let dry for at least 30 minutes.

Ta-Daaa!! Your done in in lightning fast speed!

I had intended on getting a photo of my MIL with her gift at our brunch yesterday, but somehow in all the frivolity of the day, I forgot!

But I think she really loved the photo magnet and I know it brought back precious memories for her as will photos from yesterday's celebration do for me years from now.

Hope you enjoyed my post and will stop by again soon to see what I'm up to!

If you have a lightning fast craft to share, be sure to click on the "craft lightning" badge above and add your link to the list!

Thanks!

XO