Patriotic/Military Tribute Photo Frame {Tutorial}

I’ve been wanting to post this tutorial for a while. I actually first did this for Father’s Day last year.  I was trying really hard to think of something for Father’s Day for my father-in-law and step-dad.  In all of that thinking, it dawned on me that they both served in the Military.  My father-in-law served in the National Guard and my awesome step-dad served in the Army.  I think it’s a cool thing for our kids to have such a rich military heritage.  When I made the gifts last year, I knew that I wanted to make a duplicate of each for our family as a reminder of this rich heritage.

I’m so glad that I didn’t make these for our family last year, because now I can share with you how I did it!

Here’s what you need:



An 8x10 floating picture frame. I got mine from Wal-mart for around $10.
An 8x10 photo. If you want a copy of the background I used, email me {shatziweb(at)gmail(dot)com} and I’ll send you the .png file.
Vinyl quotes. I used the quote “Land of the Free; Because of the Brave”
Vinyl star stencil. For the quote and the star stencils, I used my Silhouette to cut out the vinyl.
Glass Etching Cream. It’s kind of expensive to buy, but it lasts forever. I think this bottle was $18ish dollars. I’ve used it for many crafts and have only used less than 1/4 of the bottle.


Once you have all of the supplies, these come together really quickly.  To start, take the two glass pieces out of the picture frame.




Set the top glass piece aside. We’ll use that in a little bit.

Remove the sample paper so you can place your 8x10 photo. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist, but it’s pretty important that you get the photo centered. I used a measuring tape to double check. The frame comes with a couple of adhesive squares to mount your photo on the glass.




After the photo is in place, apply the vinyl directly to the glass.




When I put the vinyl on, I just freehanded the centering. But, the most important thing is placing the words closer to the photo than the edge. If you put it too high up, there is a chance the frame will cut off some of the letters. Basically…center it left to right. Vertically, you want it to be off centered and closer to the photo.
When the vinyl is in place, grab the top glass piece and set it on top of the photo.




I like to use the photo as a guide for placing the star stencils.  I didn’t double check to make sure they were exactly even, but I tried really hard to get them as even as I could. It would make the frame look strange to have the stars not aligned.




Once the vinyl star stencil is in place, set aside the bottom photo/glass piece. Get out the glass etching cream.  Before you apply the etching cream, make sure that the vinyl is completely smoothed out. You don’t want any cream seeping under a rogue wrinkle.



Follow the directions on your etching cream bottle.  For mine, it had to sit for 5 minutes before being rinsed off.  In my experience, the more consistent etch you want, the heavier you need to apply the cream.  If you’re going for an un-even, rustic look, don’t apply the cream as heavy. It probably goes without saying, but only put the etching cream where you want the glass to be etched.  If you accidentally drop a blob in the middle, even if you wipe it quickly, it may still slightly etch the glass.  Definitely something to be careful about.  

When it’s finished, I just rinsed the cream off in the sink. The vinyl just comes off with the cream.
Now, clean the glass,  put your glass pieces back together and place them back in the frame.  And that’s it!



With the 4th of July right around the corner, these would be perfect for decorations.  Or, as a very last minute Father’s Day present. Or, maybe both!


P.S. Did you know that I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest?  I’d love to have you follow me there, too!

Linking up at: 
Weekend: Cups by Kim, I {heart} Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, It's Overflowing, Nifty Thrifty Things, My 1929 Charmer, Positively Splendid, The Foley Family, Tutus & Tea Parties, Twigg Studios, Homemaker in Heels, Cheerios and Lattes, Serenity You,    Monday: Sweet Ann Designs, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Skip to my Lou, The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife, Craft-O-Maniac, Brassy Apple, C.R.A.F.T., The Gunny Sack, Polly Want a Crafter, Lines Across my Face,  Keeping It Simple, Between Naps on the Porch, Be Colorful, Homemaker on a Dime, Sumos Sweet Stuff, DIY Showoff, Making the World Cuter,  The Delectable Home, DIY Home Sweet Home, Home Saavy A to Z, Mad in Crafts,  Ask Anna, The Girl Creative,  Cherished Bliss, The Southern Institute, Etcetorize, Destination Craft,   Tuesday: The DIY Dreamer, Pincushion Creations, The Winthrop Chronicles, My Favorite Finds, Ladybug Blessings, A Diamond in the Stuff, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories AtoZ, Tip Junkie, Sugar Bee Crafts, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sassy Sites, Coastal Charm, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Thrifty Home, Not Just a Housewife, Homework, Uncommon,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy, Crafty Texas Girls, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Newlyweds on a Budget, How to Nest for Less, Mommy by Day Crafter by Night, Chef in Training, I'm Topsy Turvy,Creatively Living, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Naptime Delights, Claiming Our Space, JAQ Studio, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Dragonfly Designs,   Wednesday: Cheap Crafty Mama,  Handy Man Crafty Woman, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Savvy Southern Style, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, DIY by Design, Southern Lovely, Oopsey Daisy, Domestically Speaking, Sew Much Ado, Let Birds Fly, Junk in their Trunk, White Lights on Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting ,Vintage Gwen, Lil Pink Pocket, Dragonfly Designs, Trendy Treehouse, Family Home and Life,  We Learn As We Go, Fabric Bows and More,  My Merrry Messy Life, Earning My Cape,   Thursday: Quality Cheap Home, Loving this Crazy Life, House of Hepworths, Grits and Giggles, Shabby Creek Cottage, A Creative Princess, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Bear Rabbit Bear, Live Laugh Rowe, Michelle's Tasty Creations, The Taylor House, Snap!, My Girlish Whims,  What's Cooking Love, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Liz Marie Blog,  Seven Alive,    Friday: Just Us Four, Create. Craft. Love, Two Sasters, Happy Hour Projects,Tatertots and Jello,  Little Inspiration, Craftionary, Little Becky Homecky. Family Ever After,  My Turn for Us, Joy in the Jumble, One Artsy Mama, Happy Go Lucky, Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, At the Picket Fence,Young and Crafty, Blissful Bucket List,