Use old book pages, scrapbook paper, and Mod Podge to make a DIY photo mat. This picture mat is easy to customize for your decor.
Skills Required: None. You’ll be applying smaller pieces of paper to a photo mat with Mod Podge. Allowing proper dry time should help you avoid any wrinkles.
Hi everyone! It’s Ashlee from My So Called Crafty Life, and today I am back to share an easy DIY photo mat with you guys! I love dressing up plain photo mats, and have decoupaged paper and fabrics on them before.
This is a great way to “zhuzh” up an old photo mat you already own, or give new life to a thrift store/Goodwill find. Framing is pretty expensive. This is one of those ways you can get the look you want on a budget!
I have been on a bit of a patchwork kick lately and wanted to try my hand at a DIY photo mat using a patchy pattern. I had such a blast making this piece, I want to make a bunch more!
There are a few things I love about this idea:
- It’s perfect if you don’t feel comfortable cutting everything “exact.” There is a lot of leeway for mistakes that won’t be noticeable with this patchwork design.
- It’s inexpensive and easily sized up without adding too much cost. Check the Goodwill for base mats for this project. I see them there all the time!
Are you ready to learn how to make this photo mat? Keep reading!
DIY Picture Frame Mat
Gather These Supplies
- Mat board or a pre cut mat
- Scrapbook paper, book pages, wallpaper, etc.
- Mod Podge Matte
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Paper cutter or scissors
- Frame
Instructions
If you need to cut the mat board, measure the inside of your frame. Cut the outside of the mat board to fit the inside of your frame, and then measure in two to three inches all the way around so your borders are even.
Cut out the opening to be the size you desire. Now you have a base for your DIY photo mat.
Decide how wide you want your paper strips. I made mine around an inch tall by about an inch longer than the width of the mat.
So, each strip was approximately 1.25″ x 3.5″. Cut out about thirty strips or more depending on the height of the strips and the size of the mat.
Now, brush a little decoupage medium on the back of a paper strip. Smooth it onto your mat making sure it is straight. Add another strip right next to the first, you can overlap them a tiny bit.
Keep adding strips to your DIY photo mat. When you get to the top trim the width of the strip so that it sits flush with the inside edge.
Then add a vertical strip and keep adding until you get to the next corner and trim the pieces flush as needed.
Once you have added strips around your whole mat, then you need to decoupage the ends to the back side of the mat. Brush a little decoupage medium onto the back of your mat.
Fold over the ends to the backside and smooth down onto the medium. Work a little bit at a time until you have completely adhered all your ends.
Let the Mod Podge dry and then you are ready to add your art and frame it.
I love how my DIY picture mat turned out! It uses some of my favorite scrapbook paper scraps and some book pages from my vintage kids book scraps. The process was really fun, and didn’t take long at all.
It was a little bit of work cutting all the strips, but it was fun to create the collage of them! The best thing about this project is that it is so easy to customize it to your style.
This DIY photo mat is going in my craft room, but with some more sophisticated papers it could be a wonderful gift for mom for Mother’s Day! I hope you all will give it a try sometime!
DIY Photo Mat
Learn how to make a photo mat using paper scraps and Mod Podge. This is a very simple home decorating project.
Materials
- Mat board or a pre cut mat
- Scrapbook paper, book pages, wallpaper, etc.
- Mod Podge Matte
- Frame
Tools
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Paper cutter or scissors
Instructions
- If you need to cut the mat board, measure the inside of the frame. Cut the outside of the mat board to fit the frame.
- Measure in two to three inches all the way around the mat, and cut the opening to be your desired size.
- Cut out approximately thirty strips of paper depending on the size of the strips and the size of the mat.
- Brush decoupage medium on the back of a paper strip. Smooth it onto the mat, making sure it is straight. Add another strip right next to the first, overlapping if needed.
- Keep adding strips to the DIY photo mat. When you get to the top, trim the width of the strip so that it sits flush with the inside edge.
- Add a vertical strip and keep adding until you get to the next corner. Trim the pieces flush as needed.
- Once you have added strips around the entire mat, decoupage the ends to the back side of the mat. Brush Mod Podge onto the back and fold over the edges. Smooth.
- Let the Mod Podge dry. Add the art and mat to the frame.
If you enjoyed this project, I’d love for you to check out these other simple home decor ideas made with Mod Podge: