Personalized Light Box

Ever wondered what to do with that perfect picture you've been hanging on to?

I've seen glass blocks used in many crafty ways, usually around Christmas time. I figured why not paste a super cute photo of my kiddos on it and have them use it as a nightlight in their room. Also makes a great personalized gift for friends and family any time of the year!

What you need:

1-glass block (8x8)

1-glass drill bit (1/2")

1-box of Xmas white lights (100ct. works nice)

1-picture printed

1-decorative ribbon

-Strong glue: US Artquest Perfect Paper Adhesive for gloss paper works well

DO NOT USE GLUE GUN GLUE - I tried this and the glue bubbled up on my photo and didn't last long due to the heat intensity of the light bulbs.

Steps:

1. Drill a 1/2" hole on one side of the glass block near the ridge. SAFETY: Please wear safety glasses when doing this. Tiny glass shards will fly.

HOW-TO Drill a hole in a glass block:

Go to your local store, such as Home Depot, and buy a glass drill bit. Take it slow and don't try to press too hard or the block might break. Put some oil like kerosene oil on the tip and around in the hole to keep it drilling smooth. Be patient and it will make a nice hole the size you need.

2. Rinse out glass block with warm soapy water and let dry.

3. Feed the Christmas lights through the hole and leave the male plug outside of the hole. NOTE: I could not find any cheap white lights that did not have a plug in both sides of the strand. What I did was cut the wire to the female plug and used electrical tape to wrap it up. This way it will feed into the hole without any problems. Again, remember to leave the male plug outside of the hole.

4. Print out your favorite photo to fit inside the ridges of outside of the block. You can print two photos, one for each side if you'd like.

5. Glue back of the photo onto front face of the glass block.

6. Wrap the sides with pretty ribbon and tie in a bow.