DIY Oversized Framed Photos

I am in love with this project.  I first fell in love with the inspiration when I saw it Pinterest and now I am in love with my version of it.  I still really adore the original - it really can't be beat.

                                        my frame                                                  Pinterest

(Disclaimer: Don't mind the lack of - well - things in this picture.  This corner of the room is a work in progress.  Especially since Lola tore down the curtain and rod on the left.  Next project - turning those curtains into roman shades.)

But since it would cost A LOT of money to frame that many photos I had to come up with my own smaller scale version - that is CHEAP.

And you can make your own too.

First I had my husband use left over wood to create the frame.  With a little glue and a staple gun I assembled the cut pieces.

Then I purchased a piece of SMOOTH MDF or plywood. I know this isn't helpful but I really don't know what it is actually called.  Ehhhh......I bought at our local big box hardware store.....this tutorial is failing.......

Let's get this back on track.  Next I stained the frame using my new best friend, Minwax's Polyshade, a stain and poly in one.  Time and money saver.  Yes.  It is the same stuff I used for the corbel shelf.

I also painted the back board above white for a nice backdrop to the photos.  Based on your photos and room it could be fun to pick black or a fun color to spice it up a bit.  I am a plain jane so due to my fear of color I stick with the basics. 

My next step was to choose my photos.  I knew I needed 27 photos to fill in the frame so I selected 50. Once I had my potential photos I tested out whether I liked color, sepia, or black and white photos for my frame.  I decided that I needed some color but do to my fear of it that it needed to be bleached.

Next I measured out the dimensions and how much space would be needed between each photo so I could measure and secure the photos with a glue stick before going to town with the Mod Podge.

The last and final step was just SEVERAL coats of Mod Podge.  I chose Matte because I love it but glossy is great too.  The one challenge was getting some mod podge behind the photos since they were partially secured with glue.  I only put a dab of glue in the center of each photo so I was able to pull the corners and edges back to give the backs a thin coating.  It definitely was all they needed.  The photos are not falling off anytime soon.

If you look closely you can see the ridges and lines from the mod podge but that doesn't really bother me plus you have to look very closely to see it.  But it is something to consider - especially as you are layering it on.

So there you have it - your very own oversized framed photo display.

Now what to do with this corner?!

What should I put on the other wall?  I am thinking 3 horizontal pieces of artwork or perhaps a verse or wording of some type spread out across three frames....Any ideas?