Fabric and Paper Covered Mats

Mother's Day is this Sunday so I thought I would share a fairly simple and easy project that would make a fantastic gift. I must admit I don't like pictures of myself but now that I have become a Mom there is nothing I love more than pictures of my children. I wish I had more wall space just to display my photos of them. I love this project because for not too much time or expense you can make a gift that is functional and stylish. These are so easy to make you may even want to make some for yourself with seasonal prints that you can change out for different holidays! You can use paper or fabric so the possibilities are endless to make a mat that works for anyone's decor. Have fun and have a Happy Mother's Day!

      MATERIALS:

• A picture mat- whatever size you want and a piece of fabric or paper that is at least 1-2  inches wider than the outside dimensions of the mat, ie. if your mat is 8x10 then the paper or fabric needs to be at least 10x12
• Spray glue 
• A pair of scissors 
• Mod-podge- I used satin finish but glossy or matte will work fine too
• Small foam brush

Trace your mat onto the wrong side of your paper/fabric.  

Once you've traced your mat onto you material you will want to draw an X shape in the middle section of your mat tracing and then draw a square leaving 1" on each side for folding over to the back of your mat. 

 Cut out the middle square leaving 1" all around and also cut along the diagonal lines that you drew.

Spray the front of your mat with the adhesive spray and using the tracing as a guide place the mat glue side down onto the back of your paper/fabric. Once your mat is secured into place cut off the corners of your paper/fabric. 

Now start folding your paper onto the back of the mat using the mod podge to glue it into place.

Repeat process for the inside of the mat.

The finished product should look something like this.

And finally if your mat has beveled edges along the inside you can use a ruler to bring out the bevel. Just slide your ruler along the edge at an angle and it should flatten the paper along the bevel as shown above.

One final note, if you've never used Mod Podge it's awesome stuff! It dries totally clear and it's a glue and sealer all in one. If you don't have it and don't want to buy it then tape or hot glue will work too but you will get the most permanent and best looking results with the Mod Podge.