{photo blocks}

I love this project–the sky is the limit! I bought a piece of lumber—2x6x10—at Home Depot.

I had them cut it into 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 pieces, as many as it would do (the width if the lumber is about 1/2 inch less than what it indicates, so even though my lumber was 6 inches wide, technically it was 5 1/2 inches wide).

I routered them at home, with an angled bit. Then I sanded, painted, re-sanded for the distressed look, and stained (my favorite is Minwax’s Dark Walnut).

After the stain was set, I mod podged my picture on. I first put a little bit on the back of the picture, then set it in place. I gently used my foam brush to add small amounts of mod podge on the picture and beveled edges. Only use enough to make it adhere–too much can cause air bubbles.

You can use 4×6 pics or 5×7 pics, depending on how far away (5×7) or close up (4×6) the picture is. I cropped mine to be about 4 1/2 inches. After the mod podge has dried, tie a ribbon around the sides and top, or around the lower middle.

These also make great gifts!!!!