Vintage wooden spool photo holders...
Got these spools on a whim at Brimfield. I just loved the color of the wood, the vintage labels, and I saw lots of potential in them. Their size is perfect for my collection of vintage photo booth pictures. My nerd girl heart is totally geeking out on these- tiny old pics in tiny old wooden spools!
For Renegade Brooklyn I sawed a line across birch stumps for item signage. Remembering that, brought me to this project, wooden spool photo holders. They don't have to be vintage, these vintage-like spools would work too, and you can stain the wood.
It's easy to make these, but using a hacksaw requires lots of patience and of course, be extra super careful! The hardest part for me was making smooth back and forth motions to cut the wood. The blade kept jumping around, which caused the paper labels to get a little messed up (bummed me out). So, take it real slow.
You'll need:
Wooden spools
Pencil
Ruler
Vice grip (optional, totally helpful!)
Hacksaw
Photographs
- Mark the spools diagonally with a pencil and ruler.
- Hold the spool in place, or even better use a vice grip if you have one (I didn't have this). Drag the saw along the pencil guide line in one direction until you make a distinct groove in the wood.
- Saw slowly back and forth until the groove is about 1/4" deep. Be careful, the blade can jump out of the groove and mark the spool or even cut you if you're not careful.
- Slide your photo in. If the photo is falling forward, place some cardboard behind the picture to hold it in place.
Happy Weekend...
What a sweet idea! And I'll take any excuse to use a hacksaw. Love these :)
ReplyDeleteyeah! using a hack saw definitely made my craft arsenal much tougher!
DeletePrefer not to hacksaw - I might try a skinny craft stick or something similar inserted into the hole in the spool. Worth a try, I guess.
ReplyDeleteHi Gail, I've seen little wire photo holders using wood spools. That would work too for sure. Hope you try it.
Deletedoooo it! (and then show me!)
ReplyDeleteThis is an adorable idea! I have my grandma's old sewing machine that I use as a table in my living room. I have large and small spools on it and I think these would be adorable on it! Thanks for the good idea!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute idea! I think these would make the perfect addition to my grandma's new home sewing machine that lives in my living room!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this project!
ReplyDeleteI made a couple of my own and posted a quick blog about it:
http://belrossa.blogspot.com/2012/03/diy-spool-photo-holders.html
I love this! I have bunches of spools but not many very small family photos. I may try using 2 spools for a little little bit larger photo.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute. I love to decorate my tables when entertaining, these would be cute place settings. Get a photo of each guest (before the dinner) and use it as their place setting. Maybe add their name and give it as a thank you. Thanks for sharing your talent.
ReplyDeleteDianne
I don't know why my comment won't work! Let's try again! I have a bunch of small school pics, spools, and a small floating shelf in the sewing room. I'm thinking I need to do this project!
ReplyDelete