DIY Photo Blocks – Gifts Kids can Make
- By Joan
- December 14, 2015
- No Comments
Welcome back. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been showing you gifts that kids can make and relatives will actually like to receive.
The age of your kids will determine how much assistance they will need with any of the projects. These photo blocks were constructed by my then 13 year old. He was old enough to do the chopping, cutting and gluing himself. I think I helped him pick out some of the pictures so that each set was meaningful to the recipient, but the rest was all him.
No kids? It’s a fun project to do at any age.
The only item you really need for this project are the square dowels. The ones above were found at Home Depot on a recent shopping trip. Also check their supply of plain square stair balusters.
Another option…check out this furring strip from Lowes, it’s probably the closest to what we actually used, at 1 1/5 inches square.
When I stopped by the salvage yard this past weekend, I checked to see if they carried the square dowels. They did have a few for 50 cents each. They were found with the stair balusters and spindles. You may also want to check a Restore or any other store that sells architectural salvage.
Once you have your square dowel, furring strip or baluster it is time to cut it into squares. When my son was making these, we put a piece of painters tape directly onto the chop saw for where he should make his cuts. Each puzzle takes 9 squares.
Time to gather your photos together. Each set of blocks will need 6 pictures. On the computer, crop the pictures so that they are a perfect square and print them out on photo paper the size of your cut blocks. Ours was about 4 1/2 inches square.
Once printed, trim off any of the white edges. If you have a paper cutter, this is a great time to use it.
Cut each of the photos into 9 equal squares. May want to mark on the back of the photos exactly where to cut or use the measurements on the paper cutter.
Use modpodge or plain white glue to attach each of the squares to the cut blocks of wood.
Our finished block. A couple of the cuts look like they were a slight bit off but overall I think he did a fantastic job.
And yes, it is still on our book shelf 4 years later. Every now and then we shuffle the blocks to show a different picture.
I think I have one more project that my kids have made over the years before I get back to my regular diys. Hopefully I’ve given you inspiration to have a craft party with your own kids and to let them know about the season of giving. Have a fantastic week.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply