As one of the newest members of Hallmark’s creative community, Meredith C. brings her fresh perspective to the Hallmark ornament studio. When she’s not busy designing Hallmark ornaments, she can be found creating keepsakes for her walls! We loved her DIY photo wall art idea so much, we asked her to show some fellow artists (and us!) how to do it ourselves.

For the first two and a half years of our marriage while I was going to school in Savannah, my husband and I lived in three rentals. I made a point not to buy too many decorative items, just some accent pieces here and there, because I knew we would be moving often.

Living that way made us realize we wanted a place to call home, somewhere to settle into and stay. We were excited when the opportunity to do exactly that came about just as my schooling was finishing up. As soon as I graduated (seriously, the next day!) we moved here to Kansas City with a trailer full of boxes and our two pups in the back seat.

We unpacked and quickly made our new house our home. And almost as quickly I discovered that decorating a home from scratch is kind of daunting and can get really expensive if you’re not careful! So I had to get creative. That’s when I came up with this DIY picture frame. It’s fun, easy (no joke), and inexpensive – the trifecta!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 8×10 canvas (get them on sale or in a pack)
• Hallmark decorative tissue paper (my personal favorites are from the Hallmark Signature line)
• Mod Podge^® (or mix a bottle of glue and 1/3 cup of water)
• Foam brush
• Twine or yarn
• Washi tape
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Cut or rip tissue paper into pieces, big or little, it’s up to you.
2. Apply Mod Podge^® to your canvas.
3. Place pieces of tissue paper onto the canvas.
4. Apply a layer of Mod Podge^® over the paper.
5. To make tassels, wrap twine or yarn around your hand several times (at least ten times) and then make one cut down the middle of the circle. Lay a piece of twine (about the size of one of your tassel strings) perpendicularly under the center of the bundle. Tie a knot around the bundle. Fold the bundle at the knot, then ½” below the knot tie a small string around the bundle and your tassel is complete!
6. Attach tassels to the board or to a longer string to dangle from the bottom of the canvas.
7. Wrap twine around your canvas at least four times and attach it to the back with your washi tape.
8. Place your photo under the strings. If your photo starts to curl you may want to use your washi tape to secure it to the canvas.

Now hang it up and marvel at your one-of-a-kind photo display!

Photography by Kevin Cozad.

Want more craft ideas from our artists? Check out our DIY section!

— Meredith C.