Block Photo Display

I wanted to make something fun for my sister's birthday and I knew it would go over well if it involved my boys.  She is a very proud aunt so this was a perfect gift!

To start this project I needed to make the wire photo holders.  I used OOK brand of wire that I purchased at Home Depot but you could also use wire from the craft store that is intended for jewelry.  I began with a 14" piece of wire and started to make the heart shape.  

I found these small pliers (in the jewelry/craft section of Wal-Mart) very handy when shaping the wire.

After I shaped the heart, I wrapped the wire around a small paint bottle to get the circle shape.  This also helped to keep the circle shape a consistent size.  The following pictures will help give you an idea of the process I went through to get this shape.  While this is the shape I choose, you could easily make your own design here.

The next step was to prepare my block.  While it may be odd in other homes...in my home I already had a 14" section of a 2x4 cut, sanded and painted black just laying around waiting for a purpose.  I decided to distress the block by sanding the edges since 2x4s are generally pretty rough - this made it look intentional.  Next I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out vinyl letters and place them on the block.  I decided to spray on a clear coat to seal the block before moving onto my next step.

Next I drilled small holes where I wanted my photo holders to be placed.  It is important to drill the holes just slightly larger than the wire - you want a snug fit.  Once the holes are drilled, I used my E6000 glue (found at all craft stores) to glue the wire photo holders in place.

Now you can decide to place the photos so just a little wire heart shows or just the circle.

This is a fun and thoughtful gift that is easy to make.  You can easily change the wording to fit your needs.  It can sit nicely on a desk or shelf and the photos can be easily changed.  You could also use this to hold notes or messages.  I hope this inspires you to make something amazing!