{Home Is Where the Heart Is} Photo Display

You know those projects that kind of evolve as you go?  This was one of those.  I had an idea in my head, then tweaked it and changed it and, finally, ended up with this.

And I'm thrilled.  It's so much cuter than I imagined...don't you love when that happens?

On a Home Depot date night with the hubs, I picked up a big piece of plywood, some gorgeous antique stain, and a brush.

I love the warmth of this Early American stain.

I put 2 coats of stain on, then got to work on the art.

Using book pages, Mod Podge, and 3"x3" canvas boards, I created the word "HOME".

Now, let me interject this little comment:  Because this was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of project, I don't have pictures of the entire process, but I think you can figure it out.

To paint the letters, I simply free-handed each letter with navy blue acrylic paint using a tiny brush.  I used Mod Podge to attach twine to the board, then attached each canvas square on top of the twine.

To paint the heart, I used a big piece of kraft paper to create a template then traced it onto my board and painted it in with red acrylic paint.

I also free-handed the "is where the....is..." along the bottom.  It's tough to see, but the "i"'s are dotted with tiny red hearts.  My artwork reads "Home is where the heart is...".

Once I completed the paint portion, I felt it needed a little something along the right side.  It looked a bit bare, so I opted to add 4 clothespins to hold family photos.

The clothespins are covered in washi tape to coordinate with the rest of my artwork and affixed to the board with Mod Podge.  I love that I am able to change our family photos whenever I like - seasonally, randomly, whatever.

Now all that's left to do is get my hubby to hang it!

What have you made lately?  Stop by to link it up!  The Monday Motherload is going on now!  Click HERE to link up.

I like to party HERE:
Monday:The Girl Creative, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Lines Across, The Dedicated House, Kathe With An E
Tuesday: Cowgirl Up, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Today’s Creative Blog, Carolyn’s Homework, The Kurtz Corner, The Winthrop Chronicles, Mercy Ink, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Naptime Creations, Lil Ms Tori
Wednesday: Trendy Treehouse, Night Owl Crafting, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Sugar and Dots, The DIY Dreamer, seven thirty three, Rainbows & Honeysuckle, Nap Time is My Time
Thursday: Artsy-Fartsy Mama, Somewhat Simple, The 36th Avenue, A Glimpse Inside, House of Hepworths, The ArtsyGirl Connection, Mom on Timeout, Kreative Creationz
Friday: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Simply Designing, Happy Hour Projects, Craftionary, Too Much Time on My Hands, One Artsy Mama, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Just Us Four, Tatertots and Jello, My Favorite Finds, The Grant Life, Becoming Martha, Atkinson Drive, Wait Til Your Father Gets Home, Chase the Star, Create. Craft. Love.
Weekends: Family Ever After, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, Lovely Crafty Home, Nifty Thrifty Things, Life on Lakeshore Drive