Father’s Day Photo Mat

Still looking for crafty gift ideas for Father’s Day?  How about a personalized double photo mat? It’s Annie, and today I wanted to show you a way to take any photo and dress it up with a just a few sheets of Classic Linen and Basis Cardstocks from the CutCardStock store.

Start by trimming two pieces of Classic Linen Solar White Cardstock to fit into your frame (mine are trimmed to 8″ x 10″).  Then, using either a die-cutting machine or a ruler and craft knife, cut out two concentric rectangles in the center to fit your photograph.  For example, since my photo was sized to 4″ x 6″, I cut one rectangle at 4″ x 6″ and one at 3.5″ x 5.5″.  This leaves a quarter-inch border around my mat when the larger cutout is layered over the smaller cutout.  For a bolder look, you can try a half-inch or inch-wide border.

Center the piece with the larger cutout rectangle on top of the piece with the smaller cutout and adhere together with foam tabs.  You will want to use many foam tabs, especially around the inner and outer edges to create a sturdy double mat.

Die-cut various embellishments out of Basis Cardstock to embellish your photo mat.  Here I used my Silhouette to cut a bobber out of Basis White and Basis Red, a fish and title out of Basis Blue and Basis Aqua, and a worm and cattails out of Basis Olive, Basis Light Brown, and Basis Brown.

Adhere the die-cuts to the Classic Linen cardstock using liquid glue and foam tabs to create a three-dimensional photo mat.  Here, I’ve glued the bottom of the cattails directly to the mat and added foam tabs under some of the tips to really emphasize the dimension.

I hope you enjoyed this personalized photo mat project and thanks so much for stopping by today!  Be sure to visit the CutCardStock store to purchase any of the supplies showcased today and remember that Basis Cardstocks are on sale this month!

~ Annie

Products used in this project: