Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

4×6, 5×7, 8×10: ahh, the sacred sizes of photo prints.

Well, not anymore: Photo, meet Mr. Scissor.

Yup, for this DIY, we’re giving you permission to cut up your fave photograph.

*Gasp!*

But don’t worry, this tutorial isn’t out to hurt your precious photo. We’re gonna show you how cutting your pic up can turn it into a one-of-a-kind photo art piece that you’ll want to display on your wall.

It’s time to think outside the standard ol’ print size.

Make Geometric Art With Your Pics + Scissors!

p.s. Guess what! Our buddies at PosterXXL are having an awesome deal on custom photo iPhone cases. Better nab one before it’s over!

Why Should I Get Snippy With My Photos?

Cutting up your pic into shapes not only makes the photo composition more eye-catching but they’re just more fun to cut out, too!

These photographic art will look great gracing your own walls, but we’re sure they’d look just as rad hanging up on your friend’s or Pop’s wall—wedding gift or Father’s Day present, anyone?

And hey, you don’t need to be a Picasso to do this photo art project—all you need are a few tools and ingredients easily found at your local craft shop as well as around your house.

What You Need:

• An 8″ x 10″ unprimed wooden art panel (regular white canvas works, too)
• Your favorite 8″ x 10″ photo (we went with a matte finish)
• 4-5 different sized circular objects, like cups & bowls
• Ballpoint pen
• Scissors
• Small, disposable foam plate
• Mod Podge with your choice of finish (we went with matte to match with our photo)
• Brush for Mod Podge
• Scrap paper to protect your work surface

STEP 1: Tracing Time

Take your photo print and put it up on a window. Tape your photo so that its back faces you.

Grab one of your circular objects, place it on your photo back and trace around it with the ballpoint pen. Repeat with your other circular things.

(We’re tracing out our circle shapes on the back of our photo so that the front part of the photo-the part that’s gonna show—won’t get ruined.)

We went with circles to match our bubbly sea pic, but feel free to experiment with other shapes, like triangles and diamonds. Or, mix it up by combining a bunch of different shapes—geometry FTW!

STEP 2: Cue Some Cutting Action

Now that your circles are traced out, it’s time to get your scissors and get snippy.

Carefully cut out the circles you’ve traced.

STEP 3: Piece It All Together

Before actually gluing your photo pieces, first lay them all out according to how you’re going to glue it on the wooden art panel.

Use the leftover scraps of the photo you cut out of to help you if you’re a little puzzled on how it’s all suppose to come together.

STEP 4: Glue It Good

With your pieces it’s time to get your glue on.

Take your scrap paper and cover where you’re working.

Pour a little bit of Mod Podge into the small foam plate. Use your brush to put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of one of your cut-out photo pieces. Repeat until you’ve glued all of your photo pieces onto the art panel.

Sip some lemonade and relax while your almost-finished photo art piece dries.

STEP 5: Seal The Deal

Once your cut-out photo pieces have dried, it’s time to seal the whole piece with a generous layer of Mod Podge using your trusty brush.

Let the piece dry and voilà!—your photographic pièce de résistance is done.

If you find that after your art piece has dried, it feels a bit rough and gritty, you can make it more smooth by lightly sanding the top using some fine-textured sandpaper.

Other Cutting Edge Ideas

• Use fun stencils to cut out your photos, like we did above!
• Avid hiker? Make a neat mountain-shaped photo collage like Liesl Pfeffer’s!
• Cut out letters from trip photos that spell out where you went to, as inspired by Ashley Campbell’s photo project.
• André Britz turned parts of a pic into photo button pins!

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