Photo Collage Gift Project

This framed photo collage is a gift I made to give my Secret Sister at our revealing dinner this evening. The theme for the gift exchange is "For their Heart." My secret sis is all about her family, and so this is a project that I hope will touch her heart each time she sees it, if for no other reason is that she will see her family members.

Okay ---not one stamp image was used here, but it is mostly all made from odds and ends of various pattern papers I had around my stamp room.

I recycled a picture frame I bought cheap from a hotel that was changing the decor, so this was a rather large piece (for me) to paperscape, so not only a work of my heart, but also a frugal gift.

I went with colors that coordinated with the existing matting, and offset 12x12 pattern paper to fill in the backround. I finish the edges and gaps with paper strips, ribbon, and some metallic gold eyelash yarn. {I could not get a photo without the satin center ribbon showing alot of shine and color variation from my camera's flash, but I promise you, the entire thing blends and looks better in real life.} Then I hunted around for colors that would kind of bring up the not-so-noticeable colors from the background. After finding a few, I made my photo mats and frames using my Big Shot, some Sizzix frames and ovals and put together several photo mats and frames, and used the ones I liked best when I was done with that. (I saved the others for the next project...I have 3 more the same size frames to do, but because I am using scraps, they will all be different!)

Lastly, I added butterflies and gold bows around to glam it up a bit, and am leaving it the way it is, until I help my Secret Sister (who will learn my secret identy tonight) put her photgraphs in it, so we may add a few stamped images or phrases at that time, depending on what she chooses.

Hope she likes it!
C-ya Later!