Made by Mr. Dollar
These are the first few steps of a project I’ve been working on in my spare time. It’s a gift, so I’ve had to be somewhat secretive about it. Hopefully I’ll be finishing up or at least making some progress in the near future.
This project is a photo frame keepsake for a fellow dog lover. These shots cover only a few hours of work.
The materials are a foam board frame (which will be replaced by a handmade wooden frame) and great stuff foam rough carved to a basic shape that will be covered with PM and have many details added on top.
[Note from Jonni – Mr. Dollar has written two tutorials for our blog, too. This one is a Christmas project, and this one is for Halloween. You won’t want to miss either one. And click on his name above to see his Instagram page!]
What a great idea! I can’t wait to see the finished product! Great job!
What a very creative idea. I thought, for a moment, about all those frames I have stored out in the garage. I’m sure your friend will love it. I’m a dog lover, so please show it to us as it progresses. Thanks.
Thanks Rex. I will show the progression. Always nice to see a fellow Dog lover.
This project is certainly scalable depending on the frame size. I plan to make more in various sizes. It is hard to find unique frames for memories, I’m finding.
I’m also thinking of customizing them with different types of Dogs so it can be a more intimate keepsake.
Neat! How well does the paper mache stick to that type of foam? Will you need to cover it with masking tape? Though that might not stick too well either. What a nice gift this will be!
Thanks Eileen. The PM sticks surprisingly well to the foam. I used great stuff, which is a closed-cell foam, so the PM can bond to it very well and it doesn’t get slick when the paste is applied, which makes the PM process flow a little better without it sliding around as it tends to do on some surfaces.
I skipped the masking tape for this one because it just wasn’t needed. If you have some holes or need the surface a bit smoother you can certainly use masking tape. I just wouldn’t let it sit too long with just the masking tape because it will start to come off after a while, but we’re talking days maybe weeks. It’s really not an issue in the short term especially if it’s inside.
At times I will use sticky back foil tape (HVAC) instead of masking tape because it is quite a bit thicker and will give you the strength of a few layers of masking tape without the extra waste of material. You can PM over the foil tape the same way you would the masking tape.
Great project! I hope we get to see it when it’s done, too (if that won’t spoil the surprise). 🙂
Thanks Jonni! I will definitely post more when it’s complete. In fact I have quite a few photos, maybe enough for a tutorial if there is any interest.
I’m definitely interested – your tutorials are always a huge hit! And this would be a great gift project, so I’m sure a lot of people would love to see how they could make one of their own.