DIY a rustic glam picture holder for $1.25

Well, sometimes you want to give thoughtful gifts. To many people. Like your kids' school teachers, aids, office secretaries, principals, lunch ladies, church teachers, etc! Or all your neighbors at Christmas! Or maybe you are blessed with a large extended family! If you do, and you are on a budget, read on!

Before I get started on the instructions, I need to give a huge shout out to Shanty-2-Chic!! They have an amazing diy blog and I actually got the idea for this project from them. Check it out here-- http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/12/photo-display-gift-free-printables.html

I loved their project so much that I wanted to make it, just with a few easy changes. I made the "So Very Blessed" print out larger so it would fit on a 12" section of wood, and I decreased the cost by using thumbtacks instead of upholstery tacks. I used premade wire photo holders to make it easier.


Here it is finished:

Please note this blog posts contains affiliate links. I only link to the things I actually use and like!

What you need for each rustic glam photo holder:

12" length of a 2x4 (stud)
$0.25
$3 at Home Depot for 8'- (they will cut the boards for you for free, just ask them)

4 Wire picture holders
http://amzn.to/2kUJRPM
$.79
50 for $9.89

4 Thumb tacks
http://amzn.to/2lNKcTp
$.07
200 for $3.61

1/3 Sheet of White Card stock
http://amzn.to/2lNIK3H
$.01
250 sheets for $7.48
(Free printable available - scroll down)

Misc.
-Sandpaper
-printer ink
-stain (Minwax Provincial- http://amzn.to/2lS54cK)
$.08

Total- $1.25

You will also need a drill and a pretty thin drill bit.

This project is so very easy and after collecting the materials needed, it only takes about 1 minute to wipe the stain on and 1 minute to wipe the excess off, 1 minute to mark and drill the holes, and another minute to tack on the printout. I'm confident you can make these in 5 minutes or less! (Plus about an hour for the stain to dry)

So, first off you get the 2x4 wood cut to 12". It will look like this:

Sand it. Then stain it. I used Minwax Provincial- http://amzn.to/2lS54cK
It's really easy to use- wipe it on with a clean rag and the wipe off any excess after 5 minutes.

Then you need to mark where you want the photo holding wires to go.
I marked mine down the middle at 2", 5", 8", and 10."

Then you choose a drill bit that is just a hair wider than the wire. Drill into the holes you marked. You want your holes to be about 1.5" deep. It doesn't need to be exact though.

After the holes are drilled, put a drop of wood glue or epoxy on the end of each wire and insert into each of the holes.

It will look something like this. Lookin good!!!!

Then you use the thumbtacks to attach the printable. Here it is, so you can print it out if you haven't yet. It should fill up an 8.5" x 11" card stock. You need to use a paper cutter to cut across each one. There are guides on there for your cut lines and the dots are to show you where to put in the thumbtacks.

If you want to make your own printable, the cut out size should be 11"x 2.5."

After you push in your tacks (you can use a hammer if they are too hard to get in), it will look like this! That was so fun!

Then you just need to add you pictures. I would recommend using 4x6 or 3x5 pictures.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Wishing you lots of DIY Love,
Jessica