How To Make a Football Themed Photo Holder (DIY Picture Stand)

My oldest (eldest?) son recently got his eighth grade football team photos taken and they turned out great. He’s growing up way too fast, though. I could not wait to print his picture to display in my DIY football themed photo holder, plus extra copies to send out to all the grandparents.

I use the HP Envy 7640 printer for all my at-home printing needs. This is the printer HP sent to me and all the members of this year’s HP Smart Moms Panel. I am already a fan of HP products, so I was excited to try it out.

I never run out of ink with the HP Instant Ink program. Learn more and get 3 months of HP Instant Ink service when you sign up through my HP Instant Ink referral link. If you sign up, you can then refer your friends and earn free ink for both of you!

I work from home, so this printer is perfect for my office needs like scanning documents and making copies. The HP Envy 7640 can also fax. But mostly, I use it to print documents and photos.

The HP Envy 7460 photo print quality is awesome! I love the convenience of being able to print on demand any photos I want, right in my home. For best results, I use high quality HP photo paper.

I also use the HP Instant Ink service, which saves me a ton of money on printer ink. I print in full color whenever I want, and never worry about running out of ink. Read more about my HP Ink experience here.

Last year, I stuck my son’s football photo in the corner of my mirror so I could see it every day. I kept meaning to put it in a frame, but somehow it just never happened. I did a lot better this year! I made a football-themed photo holder so I could proudly display his picture. It only took me a few minutes to make it, not counting the paint drying time.

You don’t need any special artistic skills to do this. The white football laces don’t have to look perfect. I painted the laces to be sort of scratchy-looking on purpose. A few days after I had made this picture stand, I found a brass metal clip hiding in my craft supply closet. I liked the brass metal clip better than the silver one I had originally used, so I pried off the silver metal clip and glued the brass metal clip onto the photo holder instead.

Want to make a football-themed photo stand? Follow the easy directions listed below.

What You’ll Need:

• 8×8 Wood Canvas
• Gel Stain (I used Craft Smart “Walnut”)
• Foam Brush
• Paint Brush
• White Craft Paint
• Metal Clip
• Strong Multi-Surface Adhesive (I used Aleene’s)

I bought most of the supplies at Michael’s craft store so I could use coupons to save money on the wood canvas and gel stain. I got them for 50% off, thanks to coupons. The other things I had on hand. The wood canvas has a frame around it, so the canvas can stand up on its own. The metal clip holds the picture in place on the photo holder stand.

DIY Photo Holder with Clip Directions:

1. Use a foam brush to apply gel stain to wood canvas (according to gel stain package directions.) I applied two coats of gel stain, allowing the stain to dry in between coats.

2. Use a thin paint brush to paint white football laces on the canvas. Allow to dry completely.

3. Use a strong multi-surface adhesive to attach a metal clip to the canvas. This clip will hold the photo in place. Allow glue to dry according to package directions.

I printed my son’s football picture in a 3×5 size (printed with my HP printer on HP photo paper.) I use a paper trimmer to get perfectly straight lines when I need to trim my photos. HP photo paper comes in a variety of sizes (4×6, 5×7 and 8.5×11).

I have a couple months until my younger son starts playing basketball. That gives me some time to figure out how to make a similar photo stand with a basketball theme. I think it will be fairly easy. I’ll use a basketball orange paint for the canvas, and paint curved black lines to look like a basketball.

If you have any questions about how to make this picture holder craft, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will be happy to send you an answer.