Pictures on Wood

This one was made for my mom, the dog on top died 7 years ago- Poppy, she was my dog growing up. The one underneath- Roshi- my mom got when Poppy died. Roshi passed about a week ago- I thought this would be a good way for my mom to hold on to their memories forever.

I made this for my best friend.. Recently this dog-Taz-went to heaven.. She loved this dog, as did I. He was part of the family. And his death was a tragidy, she is very torn up about it. The concept is easy, but it does take some time.

You need:

*A picture- Printed on paper- whatever size you would like

*Gel Medium (can be found in painting section of craft store) I used Basics

*Mod Podge

*Piece of wood- that matches size of the picture you printed out. (also found at craft store- in wood section)

*Sand paper- Fine

*First you print out picture- the ones on top were 5x7s- the one on the bottom was 8x10. Sand the area picture is to be applied- makes everything stick and hold better. You apply the gel medium to the front of the wood and make sure its totally covered. It doesnt have to be very thick- just needs to be covered.

*You lay the picture down- face down onto the gel. Make sure you press down firmly- getting all bubbles out.

*Wait.... You can leave it overnight- or let it dry at least 6 hours to make sure its totally dry.

*Get a wet cloth and soak the back of the picture- making it kinda transparent.

*Start to rub- gently rub off the paper- this takes some time, and some of the color will rub off- but it gives it a rustic look. I usually rub off the topmost layer and let dry a minute until it turns white again. Then apply cloth to small parts at a time- rubbing til you cant feel anymore paper left. Once all the paper residue is gone, let dry again for about 5-10 minutes.

*Apply Mod Podge across the top of the picture. let dry about 10 minutes and add another layer.

I stained the wood around the bigger one since it was a thick wood block- if you do decide to stain the wood surrounding do it while the picture is still covered in paper- if any stain gets on it will come right off with paper. Make sure you apply Mod Podge to stained areas also to get that shine.

 Thats it! You can hang these with ribbon to hang on the wall, or you can put them on little canvas stands. anything goes- the wood is usually thick enough that you can add nails or little hanging clips.