Photo Mat Re-Do aka When your home with a sick child

Last week I was home with a sick little one for a few days. What is the best thing to do when you are in the situation? Catch up on laundry? Don’t be silly. Pack away the summer clothes? That's ridiculous – it could get warm again. Do some crafting? YAHTZZEE!

I am in the process of making some changes in Lilly’s room. I consulted with her and she handed me a plastic ice cream cone – YES! I have her blessing. The first project was a simple one – some photos for the walls.

I found some yellow 5 x 7 photo mats I had purchased at the dollar store. I had just picked up some scrap booking paper at Tarjay for $.98. Black and white polka dots. Sweet. You will also need an x-acto knife, scotch tape, scissors, cutting mat, ruler and a frame. Before you get started make sure the little one is occupied. We went with coloring pages and crayons. Keep tissues close by, I have a feeling someone is going to need their nose wiped. Here we go:

• Turn your scrapbook paper with the image you want on your mat facing down. Place your photo mat on top.


• Trace the center square of your mat onto the paper. Use pencil or if you’re a rebel like me go with pen. Yeah, I’m crazy like that. Measure about ½ inch up from each line of your square. Now connect all of these lines to make a larger square around your photo cut-out.


• Stop. Wipe child’s nose. Ask her to please not eat crayons.


• With your x-acto and ruler cut out the smaller square on your cutting mat. WARNING: your child will see the shiny x-acto knife and begin to plot ways to steal it, please be sure to keep this and scissors away from child.


• Now, where the corners of your small square (now gone) and large square meet connect with a cut. We will call these the “angled folds”


• Ask child to stop coloring on your cutting mat and wipe nose again.


• Place photo mat on top of paper and line it up so that the angled folds are visible in the empty square. Fold them up like you are wrapping a gift and secure them with tape.


• If your paper is significantly larger than your mat on the outside edges you can trim, otherwise just fold them in and tape them on as well.


• Tell child that you are almost done and show her covered mat. They will respond with a look of “Whatever” and ask for juice. Give them the juice.


• For a little extra flair I added butterflies to the mat as well. Just use a craft hole punch and a different pattern or colored paper. Apply these with double sided tape.


• Put a photo in your mat and place it in frame.


• Hang it on the wall.
  

Ask sick child if they like the picture. They will respond with “I watch choo-choo” or hand you a plastic hamburger. Both of these should be taken as signs of a successful photo mat transformation!