Craft: Picture Holder

During the summer I work as a director at a day camp. I've worked with some of my staff for almost 6 years now and I wanted to do something nice for them at the end of summer. I decided to make picture holders and fill them with photos from the summer.



It's a really cheap gift idea. The ribbon is the most expensive part.

First you cut a piece of cardboard to the size you want. (The ones I made were square, so all ribbon directions will work best for square cuts). Then cut some comforter stuffing (you can find it cheap at JoAnne's or Walmart) to the size of the board. Cut the cloth you want about an inch longer on all sides than the cardboard.

Lay the stuffing and cloth over the cardboard. Center the cloth over the cardboard. Fold the edges of the cloth around the cardboard and staple them. You'll want to make sure to fold the end of the cloth over itself to have a nice edge, especially around the corners. Fold the corners like you would the edge of a present.

You usually need just over a roll of ribbon, so buy two to make sure. The ribbon should be a contrasting color so it shows up over the cloth. Thinner ribbon works better.

Lay the ribbon from one corner to the opposite corner. Make sure there is about half an inch extra on either end, and cut. Cut two pieces of ribbon this size.
Next, lay the ribbon from the center of the top side to the center of the right side. Leave half an inch on either end and cut 4 of this size.

One at a time, staple the ends of the ribbons (see example):

 Anywhere the ribbons cross, you will glue down with Tacky Glue. Glue the bottom ribbon to the cloth and the top ribbon to the bottom one. Then glue a button on top!

If you don't glue them down, your pictures will slide all over the place when you hang it up and slip them in. The cross sections are what keep the pictures up and give them a place to rest.

The buttons just make it look cute. I used plain white buttons on most of the ones I have made.

However, I found some really cute surf board and turtle buttons for the one I did for one of my friend's birthday (pictured above and left).

Let it dry and then hang it up!

To hang it up you have a couple choices. You can cut a length of ribbon and create a loop at the top of the board. Tacky Glue to ribbon to the back (it will hold, Tacky Glue is strong!)
Or you can stick poster tape to the back (I recommend two strips across the back, horizontally).