DIY Pallet Photo Frames with Mod Podge Photo Transfer

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If you're anything like me you have approximately 1.4 million digital images stored somewhere that have never seen the light of day. And it's a shame really, isn't it!

That's why I knew exactly what I would do when I found out I got to work with Mod PodgePhoto Transfer Medium. It was time to bring some of those photos out into the light.

Of course, since I work with wood on a daily basis it only made sense for me to transfer these photos to wood. We made these wooden frames from pallet wood. Three boards wide with strips of pallet wood on the back to hold it all together. I left the wood natural so the aging and patina you see here occurred all by itself. Beautiful, isn't it!

I used these photos that I took at a birthday party almost a year ago. I took the digital files to Office Max and had them print me color copies on regular copy paper. Be sure to have them reverse (mirror-image) your photo or graphic, especially if it has words or letters. It will come out backward otherwise. I trimmed the photos down to get rid of any white edges as the medium is not transparent.

Now it's time to get to work!

Looks a little scary at first. You apply enough medium to completely cover your photo copy until you can no longer see any of the photo through the medium.

See! It almost disappears against the white background. Once you've coated it completely it's time to apply it to your surface. Make sure to press gently from the center out to remove any air bubbles.

And now, you wait! This is the absolute hardest part. From here, you must let it sit for 24 hours to cure before removing the paper.

After you've waited 24 hours for the medium to cure it's time to remove the paper. Place a damp towel or sponge over the paper and let it sit for 2 minutes.

Now it's time to gently rub the paper away from your image being careful not to press too hard and remove part of your image.

Rub in a circular motion until all of the paper has been removed.

Have a dust pan on hand!

Now. I told you before to rub gently so as not to accidentally remove any of your image. But being me, I actually want to remove some of the image. I was going for more of a rugged look so while I was careful around their faces I purposefully rubbed some of the image away, especially where the wooden slats came together. And then I went back with a sanding block and rounded off the edges of each image a bit.

I especially like the more rustic look here! I think it works nicely with the old door in the background.

And finally, I sealed each of the images with my Matte Mod Podge, which I ALWAYS have on hand and use for everything.

And there you have it! It's as easy as that to get some of those photos out of your computer and onto your walls. Or any other place you'd like to put them since you can use this medium on fabric, glass, metal, wood and terra cots pots (I know this because I also made some lovely pots, too!).

So why not head to a Michaels Store near you and get started! You can find Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium there. And you can find more from Plaid Crafts, here:

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Jamie Lott

This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.