Letterpress Frame

Hi Everyone!  Tons of stuff going on here (really all month long).  I have finished about 98% of what needs to be done to be ready for the Inspiration Unlimited Event in Las Vegas next week and have begun the kitting process for the classes in Waxahachie, TX in Oct.  Because of the type of classes I teach, it takes some work to get everything ready for an event or store visit which includes planning, ordering, prepping and prepping some more; writing instructions, making copies, shipping and finally teaching.  Lots of preparation that really starts a couple months ahead of a store visit.  Suffice it to say, we have been busy over here but happy with the work that has been done!  Super excited to be in Vegas with my best friend Liz who will be filling in for my husband who needs stay home to work. Too bad for him.

Well enough about that...on to today's super easy project.  This is adaptable in so many ways.  Follow along and I'll show you how I did it....

I opened a package of Letterpress (one of my very favorite products) and dumped them out on the table.  I began to create a few words from the set (kinda like playing Bananagrams but with limited vowels!).

I had a wood board in my stash from a previous project that was 6" tall x 7" wide (now lets see if it works).  I went ahead and painted it with black Distress Paint and let it dry.

NOTE: If you don't have a board to work with, then a heavy weight chipboard or another rigid surface will do.  The surface I am working with is about 1/4" thick but 1/8" thick would be perfectly fine.  Nothing fancy.

 

Once I decided on the placement of the words.  I started filling in the "frame" with the letters and numbers left from the package.  Can you see the words travel, find and go?  It is a bit of a puzzle since the letters are different widths but it worked out pretty well in the end.  I chose to leave a 4 x 4" space in the middle for my photo.

If you choose the picture first, then you have the opportunity to personalize the frame.  I chose generic travel words that could go with many pictures, but some other ideas are:

1. numbers for a specific date (wedding or baby birth) or year
2. add a name - first or last
3. place you vacationed

Once you are happy with the layout, take a picture with your phone or camera.  When you go to put the letters back on the board after painting, you can use the photo as a reference.
 
You might notice that once I used up all the Letterpress, my board needed to be about 1/2" narrower.  I'm going to be very honest here.  To solve the problem I waited for my husband to get home from work and said, "please cut on this line".  He did, which left me with a perfect 6 x 6 1/2" surface to work with.

I choose some Distress Paint to color the words I chose.  I went with different shades of blue but they really could be any color you have on hand.  In the end, Evergreen Bough turned out to be my favorite.

Once dry, I sanded each letter with the Sanding Grip.  I have no idea why I never used a Sanding Grip for the first part of my crafting career - I seriously love this tool. 

 Sanding is complete so I darkened up the letters with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

 

Letterpress blocks are 1" high, so my 6 letter word "travel" worked out perfectly for the 6" tall board.

When I first put the word travel down, I had it right next to the picture, I decided to move it over one row to break up the brown and black tones.

So here is my final version - now I just need to glue them down.

Multi Medium does the trick.  It takes a bit of finessing if you want the edges nice and straight but I just worked fast adding the Multi Medium one row at a time, then adjusted as I went. 

Now for the picture.
Paris in the Spring of 2012 - the trees were blossoming...it was magical!

 Mine was a tight fit so really no need for glue.

Because I used the 1/4" wood as a base I had no problem at all standing the frame up - nice and sturdy.
I love the way it looks on the shelf in my family room.  This is such an easy project that anyone can do!  I also think it would make a great personalized gift for a birthday or Christmas.

now carry on,
paula

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