Display Your Digital Travel Photos in a Framed Montage

Skill: This Photo project is of easy to moderate skill, with basic tool skills.

Hands-on time: Under two hours.

Total time: Allow 24 hours for the glass paints to dry and set.

Materials & Tools:
•3 plain, untreated cutting boards
•Sandpaper and tack cloth
•Minwax water-based pre-stain wood conditioner
•Minwax water-based wood stain in island blue
•Minwax water-based wood stain in whitewash pickling stain
•Stir sticks
•Foam paint brush (5 cm)
•Lint-free cloths
•Minwax polycrylic clear protective finish
•Sheet of Plexiglas or acrylic large enough to cut three panes -- one for each cutting board -- available at Hardware stores
•Scoring knife to cut plastic
•Cutting mat and steel ruler
•Pencil or marking pen
•Drill and small drill bit
•Pictures of your choice
•Double-sided Scotch tape (photo safe)
•12 upholstery tacks and a tack hammer
•3 large sawtooth hangers and nails
•Latex gloves (optional)
MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE AT HARDWARE AND ABOVE MENTIONED STORES

Miy Directions:
The pictures are covered with Plexiglas panes fastened with decorative upholstery tacks. Pictures can be changed any time to suit your mood or decor.

Start by sanding the cutting boards and wiping away dust with a tack cloth.

For colour uniformity, apply a pre-stain wood conditioner with a foam brush. Let dry.

Choose a water-based stain colour to suit your decor or theme and stir well. Wear latex gloves if you wish but water-based stains are a breeze to clean up.

Working on one cutting board at a time, use a foam brush or cloth to apply the blue stain and wipe it off with a clean cloth immediately. This allows the natural grain of the wood to show. Let dry for at least two hours.

Apply the whitewash pickling stain, wiping it off immediately after applying in the direction of the wood grain. The finish has a touch of white that shows the wood grain and blue stain. Let dry at least two hours.

For added beauty and protection, apply a coat of protective gloss. Let dry for a couple of hours and apply the hanging hardware at the back of each cutting board.

Measure each cutting board and, on a cutting mat, cut Plexiglas, using a steel ruler as a guide. Use the scoring knife to score the cutting line and snap the pane at the cutting line. Sand the edges.

Drill a small hole in each corner. Remove the liner from the panes, and clean them. Print your pictures in the appropriate size and stick them to the cutting board using double-sided tape. Place the Plexiglas over each montage and secure with upholstery tacks.

Miy Variations:
For an industrial look, use bulky bolts instead of upholstery tacks. For a natural look, don't stain the cutting boards.