Craft #3

This is a craft my friend and I came up with for a church activity. We were at Michael's and I spotted these papers:

Now, I'm sure I've told you before, but I can't re-iterate it enough, I am a paper addict. It doesn't even have to be blank pages in a notebook or journal. Nope. Pretty paper does the same thing for me. So when I see papers like the above, I get all warm and fuzzy inside and I have the strongest urge in the world to grab one of everything and run to the cashier.

In an effort to thwart this...desire... I make myself justify each buy. It usually works.

In the case of these papers I was, in fact, looking for a project for the above stated activity. My mind ran through the many crafting blogs I read and I came up with a rough idea of what I could do.

So I bought the papers.

What was created was a smash hit at church. ::polishes fingernails::

So here's how it works. Once again you'll need mod-podge (this is the liquid gold of the craft world, go buy some already!)

-You need your family history on either side.

-You need a small photo of each person you want to display (in my case one of me and Ralexwin and the kids)--I also made these sepia toned to match the paper better.

-Some brown spray paint.

-And the biggie... you've got to go down to the lumber yard and get three 13x13 pieces of OSB board. OSB board is important. Its like big chunks of wood pieces all glued together, you want that board.

Okay.

1) Spray paint edges of wood with brown. (You don't need to paint the entire thing since you will be putting paper over it.)

2) In neat handwriting fill out the papers and glue photos of family to the tree paper.

3) After your hand has uncramped apply mod-podge to the wood and add papers.

Now, the reason you got the OSB board is because if the mod-podge is applied right the paper will kind of crease into the crevasses of the wood. This makes the finished product look older and more uniform in style. I use my fingers to push out bubbles instead of a brayer. I think this helps push the paper into the wood more.

Do this to all three papers/boards.

4) After you've let the whole thing dry you'll want to add another layer or two of mod-podge on top (watch carefully for bubbling and the edges, don't be afraid to get your hands a little dirty.)

5) Then if you intend on hanging them you'll need to put hooks on the back.

Now, I made a big whoops when I made my second pedigree chart and accidentally pulled a chunk of the semi-wet, mod-podged paper off onto my finger. Leaving a gaping white spot.

So what did I do? I threw my project on the ground and cried, jumping up and down and stepping on it.

No, I took a used match and smashed the ashes into the spot. Then I covered it up with some more mod-podge. It worked pretty well.

After you are done you can hang them or prop them or give them away to family. You could also try other papers in the series. Tell me if you do so I can try it!