DIY Photo Card Display!

Hi guys! I know I wasn't super active for the past 6 months (@school can u not) but I PROMISE I'll be posting more!

Today, I'm bringing you a DIY on a unique way to display your photo cards! Personally, I had a bunch of photo cards laying around from buying albums and merch that I kept in a drawer only to take them out every once in a while to admire. However, why do that when you can display them out on your desk and actually put them to use?!

Here's the final product that I'll be making:

I originally received the tree as a stand alone birthday gift, which I found pretty lame on its own, but I had an idea to clip on some photo cards after I discovered some extra mini clothespins I had and VOILA!

Lets get started :)

Things you'll need:

Around 15 Photocards

Around 50 3"x3" pieces of paper

1 branch

1 pot

Hot glue OR cement

Shredded paper OR thin paper that can be easily crinkled and molded

Mini clothespins

Step 1: To make the "tree", you'll need a moderately sized branch. You don't need to rip it off of an actual tree--one off of the ground will be fine--but if there are any rough edges, make sure to sand them down and trim any excess branches that look messy. You want the base of the branch to have no branches coming off of it, like a real tree "trunk".

Step 2: To attach the branch to the base, my friend used a small styrofoam cup and some cement, but I did some experimenting on my own and discovered that you can actually attach it to the bottom of a pot using some hot glue. Just make sure to use a substantial amount, and then use some nice paper or filling to fill in the blank spots of the pot so it won't fall. If you don't have either, I'd imagine you could just use some nice crinkled paper or shredded paper and wedge the branch into it -- if you use the cement method, you'll still have to add this paper to cover up the cup.

Step 3: To make each leaf, you'll need small pieces of paper. My pieces were around 3 inches by 3 inches, give or take some, but it doesn't need to be this exact measurement-- your "flower"/"leaf" will just be smaller or bigger if it is! I used a paper that was printed on one side and plain on the other.

Step 4: Fold the paper halfway from one corner down to the opposite, and repeat with the other 2 corners.

Step 5: Unfold the paper and fold 2 opposite corners into the middle, making sure that the printed side faces down onto the table, and the print shows on the parts that are folded over.

Step 5: Repeat 2 more times with new pieces of paper.

Step 6: Take one of your folded pieces and pick it up, pinching the 2 sides together, making sure your fingers are touching the PRINTED portion of the paper.

Step 7: Do the same with the other 2 pieces, and hold them all together in a bunch. The picture above shows how it should look from the back (first 2) and from the front (3rd).

Step 8: Get a wire or twisty tie (you can find them at most supermarkets used for twisting the bags closed - just take a few :P) and wrap it around the bunch, making sure that the middle of the twisty tie hits the portion of the bunch that is printed (front). Tie the twisty once around the back after its folded around.

Step 9: Fluff the flower! Make the leaves spread out all around the tie, and fluff each individual leaf by taking the edge with the fold and pressing it towards the center.

Step 10: Voila! You have one flower! I repeated this process to make around 16 flowers, but its up to you as to how many you want to make.

Step 11: After you've made all your flowers, attach them to each branch by taking the back of the twisty tie and tightly twisting around the part of the branch you want. Repeat with all your flowers, placing them several inches apart on each branch.

Step 12: After you've tied all your flowers, grab some mini clothespins and your photo cards. I had a pack of both lying around, but if you don't, heres a link for them at Joann's.

Step 13: Clip each card onto a leaf of the flower using a clothespin.

:D And you're done!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, and I promise I'll be back with a more posts in a few days :)

Susie