Post-it note photo cube

Made on a Glowforge
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#1

For Mother’s Day this year I wanted to make something both personal and practical, and that my daughter could help out with. My wife works in an office, and I was trying to think of something I could add photos to that would also serve as a useful desktop item. I finally settled on a classic hinged-top box design, but modified with a cutout to serve as a post-it note holder.

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To personalize, I used Mod Podge to affix family photos to each side (done before cutting for a borderless effect) and added a custom drawing by my daughter to the underside of the lid. It was a bit of an experiment, but it turned out great, and mom was very happy with it!

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43 Likes
#2

That turned out great!

I’m sure it’ll be a great feeling every time she opens it up.

#3

Excellent! (Love family gifts that everyone contributes to.) :grinning:

1 Like
#4

That practical, personal gift is a win!

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#5

Very cool! I love the idea of sticking the photos down before cutting; came out great!

#6

I am sure she will display it with pride.

#7

What a great idea! I’ll have to make one for my husband. See, yet again, something I would not have thought of, but seeing it I can now make him one. As someone that uses her GF for myself (as in not for profit), this is why I really appreciate others sharing ideas. I’m not very creative but when I see something I like I will figure out how to recreate it to fit my needs.

3 Likes
#8

Really nice! :slight_smile:

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#9

Such a great idea to add the photos in this way. And for your daughter to be part of it making it!

2 Likes
#10

Clever idea! I really like practical gifts that have a personal component.

2 Likes
#11

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

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#12

Can I ask- did you print the photo yourself like on a home printer? Laser jet or ink jet? Regular paper?

May I also ask did you laser this before or after you put the photo on? If after did you mask it at all?

I’m just really excited to give this a try.

#13

Can I ask- did you print the photo yourself like on a home printer? Laser jet or ink jet? Regular paper?

Photo printed from the photo lab (old school :slight_smile: ). I don’t think inkjet color would have been vibrant enough, at least not with my budget home printer. Since it’s a “photo” cube I wanted the images to have the best quality possible.

May I also ask did you laser this before or after you put the photo on? If after did you mask it at all?

I started with a full sheet of MDF and drew layout lines with pencil so that the photos would end up straight. I rolled out a thin coat of Mod Podge, then laid out all of the photos on that using my pencil guidelines. Once those set up, I then applied another layer of Mod Podge directly over all of the photos to coat. Try to minimize brush strokes over the photos (I think a wide foam brush would work best to avoid bristle lines). Mine ended up having some brush texture, which is OK, but I think the smoother the better. Once the Mod Podge was completely dry, I masked the entire thing with a sheet of stick-on masking paper. The paper was thin enough to be able to see the photo outlines well enough for laser alignment.

3 Likes