DIY Embroidered Photo Art

One of my favorite things to do is make crafts from my favorite photos! I've been planning some hybrid craft/photography projects for a while and this is a favorite. Adding embroidery to your photo is fun, easy and so cute. Here's how I made this photo art...

1. Open a photo you love in Adobe Photoshop Elements.

2. Choose the Enhance menu on your top bar and then choose "Convert to Black and White".

3. After you choose "Convert to Black and White" this pop-up menu will appear. You will see this menu where you can preview different "styles" for your black and white photo. Some are more intense or more grainy. Experiment with each one them and choose the one you like. You will be able to preview the finished product in your After window on the screen before selecting!

4. As a final step I always adjust my levels. The key command for this is command + L. You can read more details about what levels can do for your photo in this post. Save your new black and white photo under a new name.

Next, print your photo. I printed in an 8x10 size, but you can print in any size that matches a frame you want to use for your project!

For the craft portion of this project you will need: An 8x10 inch photo, an 8x10 inch frame, colored pencils, embroidery thread, a needle, some burlap, glue and scissors.

Trim your photo to size. Mine was a little small, but I knew I wanted to add a border at the end so it worked out well!

Use colored pencils to sketch the embroidery that you want to add. You can embellish the actual elements of your photo (like the bike) or you can add elements (like this grocery bag). A few fun added elements would be words, hearts or arrows.

Alright, take a small needle and start stitching! This is the fun part. Just add colored details all over your photo with basic stitches.

This is a fun detail... did you know that by making several knots in a row you can create a little flower? With about 5 knots each I made this little bouquet for my bike basket!

It's time to finish stitching all the details on your photo. Decide which details you want to stitch. I chose our bikes and bike baskets.

Last, add a cute burlap (or any textile) border to the top and bottom on your photo. Use the glue sparingly so it doesn't wrinkle the paper. Allow it to dry completely and then cut the excess fabric away from the photo and put it in your frame. That's all! Now you have a cute embroidered portrait. These make great gifts!

Have fun making your own photo art! XO. Elsie

Special thanks to Adobe Photoshop Elements for partnering with me on this article. You can follow them here...Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Pinterest

Comments

wow very neat! I would have never thought of this!
http://www.tinacious.me/
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Posted by: Tina @ Tinacious Me | July 30, 2012 at 10:25 AM

Goodness me, that is AMAZING!

Posted by: Juliet | July 30, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Such a brilliant idea. As always!!! I am always amazed by your creativity. The stitch coming out on the photo looks so unique :) I gotta try this for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers
Anh L. @ That Girl. She Smiles

Posted by: Anh Lê | July 30, 2012 at 10:32 AM

I LOVE THIS!!!!!

Thanks for such a rad idea, gonna put it to use immediately.

XOXO

Posted by: Lindsey | July 30, 2012 at 10:33 AM

That's such a gorgeous picture of you two, the embroidery is a brilliant idea!!

Posted by: Chantal Hanna | July 30, 2012 at 10:33 AM

Love this so much, would never have occurred to me to do this!

Posted by: Lucy | July 30, 2012 at 10:33 AM

Love this idea! Definitely wanna try it.

Val
http://valentinaduracinsky.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Val | July 30, 2012 at 10:34 AM