#DIYVALENTINESDAY : Log Photo Holder with Heart

Valentine's Day has got to be one of my favorite holidays ever because it celebrates love which is what God is...God is love. 

To make this #DIYPHOTOHOLDER, you just need a little time and patience (also required for love), and a few supplies:  a medium size branch, a power mitre saw or table saw or hand saw, a hobby wood burner, pencil, cookie sheet.

1. My husband cut a fairly thick branch into small mini logs; he varied the sizes so I could play.  I highly recommend experimenting with size & the wood burning technique.  The wood was wet so I put the freshly cut logs onto an inexpensive cookie sheet, and baked them at 200 degrees for 1 hour.  I stayed in the kitchen and did other things while the logs baked.  And yes, they came out dry!
2. The next day, I practiced with my wood burning tool called a Hobby Woodburner (my husband ran out and got it for me at Harbor Freight for about $10---did I mention how truly caring he is?).  First, I drew with pencil on the wood, and then I selected a  "wood burning nib" to start burning my heart of my initial drawing.  It was a little tricky at first because a) the wood is textured with rings and b) somewhat uneven for drawing & burning. My solution was to burn several small holes close together.  See the picture on the left at the bottom.  I literally held the wood burning tool straight up and down which allowed me to focus on the placement and the size of  each hole.  This is where the patience part comes in and I took some breaks so that my wood burning would be as neat as possible.  Coffee is always a plus.
3. Next, I worked carefully to cut a 1/4" groove in the top of the log with a handsaw.  This is key because you want the photo to set in there both easily and snug.
4. Speaking of the photo, I used a 4x6 matte finish print that I mounted onto red card stock with spray mount so it would be stiff.  Here are the results below...I couldn't resist doing one of our dog, Bear, as well.  He's the mascot for Weddings by Lyons Photography, and our best bud.