Family Crossword Picture

Look what my amazing friend showed me!  Isn't she fabulous!  She was kind enough to let me pick through her stash of letters so I could create one too!  I LOVE how the letters pop with color.  Her husband is a photog fanatic so she has amazing photos with it too!  She deserves a prize!  lol

I decided to attempt to do mine the opposite of hers.  She did color blocks with Black and White photos... So.. I will do Black blocks with Color photos!  Along the way I did a few changes in case... I wanted to change it!  Read on to see!

First you need to gather a bunch of different letters.  We used fridge magnets and wooden blocks in a giant jumble!  Do you see the largest ones?  They are Fiberglass letters!  She found them at a garage sale, but her son got frustrated with them cause the set was missing some letters. THE ARE MY FAV!!!  Arrange them how you would like your crossword to look.  I used our names and the word family.  You could add in other words if you need.  They kinda help with connecting the names.  Don't forget to take a picture so you have something to refer back to!!!!

I then lined them all up and spray painted them black. 

I painted the background on some because it was hard to read the letters.

 The frame was 2 bucks at the thrift store.  I was being picky cause I didn't want it to be to heavy!  Funny... this is one case where the picture looks MUCH better than the original.  I was going to peel off the rest of the fun white laminent, but... some didn't want to come off.  So instead... 

I used some leathery fabric I had to wrap around it!  I cut it into the right size strips and then hot glued it in place on the back.  Seriously... turned out sooo pretty!

 I used 4x6 index cards to mock where pictures would go so I could place the letters right.  I the Hot Glued the letters in place!  Yup!  Right onto the top of the glass!  I was very careful.  I put glue on the letters FIRST and then blew for about 6 seconds so the hot glue wouldn't crack the glass.  This way I can easily take them off if they need to be rearranged.

I then cut the cardboard slightly smaller than the pics would be.  I got the silver brackets to help hold the cardboard and glass better.  The staples were pretty weak.  I had to cut the cardboard a little so the brackets would fit.  I didn't factor in the cardboard when I bought them... Oops!  But... that glass ain't wigglin' no more!

Last I simple figured out which pictures I wanted to use and where I wanted them to go.  I slid them in between the glass and the cardboard,  using scrapbook squares to stick them down.  And DONE!  I think.  Here is my finished product!  I'm trying to decided if it needs a ribbon around the inside of the pictures.  I love it the way it is, but... just seems like it's missing something there?  I was going to a faux mat with the pictures.  Hmm..

Here is a finished view from the side so that you can see the difference in all the blocks.  I wish I had a better camera!  This turned out so much cuter than the picture here.  Rgg...

Total Cost: $8.50

Letters - Free from a friend

Frame - 2.00 from thrift store

Fabric & Glue - Had on hand

Black spray paint - 3.25 for 2 bottles