Make it at Home Gifts #1 (suitable for children)

This year my wife said that I shouldn't spend any money for Mother's Day. I agreed but could not let her celebrate the occasion without some type of gift to show how much I appreciate her. So what do I do? I got to the work shop.

I know it is too late to use these ideas for this year's Mother's Day, but I couldn't post them ahead of time or she would have known what I was doing. These ideas can be used as gifts for any occasion or just to show you care for someone. In all I am going to cover three projects. I will assign difficulty levels, list materials needed, cover costs and offer step by step instructions. I hope you enjoy these posts. I will make sure they are all linked.

All of these projects were made from reclaimed pallets. Despite what many people say on Pinterest I very rarely find pallets for free, but I can consistently buy pallets any where from 25¢ to $2.00 depending on size and shape of the pallet.

Also please also realize that difficulty levels I assign are based on use of hand tools only. I do not have a table saw or router or anything like that. Difficulty level will probably go down with more advanced tools. 

Project: Photo Zigzag Displayer

Difficulty Level: Beginner (if an adult cuts the pieces this is an excellent project for children)

Cost: $3.00 to $12.00 dependent on if you have any of the materials on hand before beginning.

Actual cost: Maybe $1.00 (you will have enough supplies leftover to do another project.)

Take a 6 inch wide board, normally the outside crossboards in a pallet and cut 3, 7 inch pieces. 

Sand each individual piece.

Nail the pieces together at right angles creating a zigzag pattern. Then paint. You can use any color you want, I chose black. Lowe's has a can of gloss black paint for $0.99 from Project Source. Small box of nails less than $2.00, you will only have to use 12 nails. There will be a lot left over for other projects.

Select the pictures you want to use. Remember if you use actual photos you will not be able to get them off later. I printed our photos from the computer. A good quality photo paper with a matte finish will work best. Allow your photos to completely dry before you continue.

Cut your photos to size and glue a photo to each section. I used wood glue because that is what I had on hand. Any white school glue will do nicely. Allow to dry completely. A small bottle of glue can be bought at the Dollar Store for, you guessed it $1.00.

After the glue has completely dried spray with high gloss varnish or lacquer. When it dries you are done. A spray can of gloss lacquer costs anywhere from $3.00 to $9.00 depending on name brand.

That is it.

I hope you enjoy these projects and I wish you...

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