The beginning of May is full of celebration in my family. With two birthdays and Mother’s Day, we get to enjoy a lot of fun, family moments together. As my son’s birthday approaches each year, he always wants to pull out photographs of when he was a baby, and hear all the stories about the years gone by. It’s such a sweet tradition, and always makes me realize how much times have changed for me regarding photographing and recording our memories! Because I feel like I’m sharing photographs all the time on instagram, somehow I stopped printing and displaying images of our family and our life! Social media is all abuzz with trending topics and filtered and styled shots, and sometimes I have been missing out on capturing and displaying the everyday, wonderful pieces of life.There are a hundred placed to share images online, but the new Kodak Moments App was created as an answer to the endless stream of celebrity influencers. (Remember when I first learned of the app at SXSW?) It is a place for people to connect with family and close friends to share meaningful moments from their everyday lives, with a simple, beautiful layout and captions. One of my very favorite features is how, within the app, I can choose photos from my camera roll and have them automatically send to order as prints at a local Kodak Kiosk (the nearest one to me was at Target, which worked out perfectly since I was on my way there anyway!) Rather than waiting to get prints in the mail, or needing to log into my computer, I was able to send and pick-up some of my favorite recent moments in an hour.
I’ve partnered with the new Kodak Moments App, to share a fun and unique way to capture and share some of your most precious moments with this cool, DIY leather pocket frame. It makes a fun design detail around your own home, or a perfect gift (this one is headed to my mom for Mother’s Day! Shhh.)

To make your leather pocket frame you’ll need:

A sheet of thin plexiglass from a local craft store
A piece of leather at least 1″ wider than your photograph on both sides, and then doubled in length (for example, this photo is 5″x5″, so the leather is 6″x6″ doubled is 6″x12″ so I can fold it in half to make the pocket)
a leather punch
four rivets (comes with tool for applying, I use a snap clamp)
leather cord
an exacto knife
a cutting mat
a straight ruler
1. Score the plexiglass to 1/2″ wider than your photo dimensions with the x-acto knife and ruler on the cutting mat. Once scored, you can snap the plastic along the lines for a clean edge.The plexiglass will both protect the photograph, as well as keep the leather frame sturdy for hanging.2. Cut the leather to size, 1″ wider than the photograph, and twice the length. Trace the outline of the photograph in chalk, then trace a second box 1/2″ inside to just cover the edges of the photo with the leather. Cut out the center. 3. The photo and plexiglass should fit just perfectly behind the leather frame. Fold the doubled length of leather up behind the photograph, forming the pocket at the bottom. 4. Use the leather punch to make a hole through both layers of leather, and the plexiglass on the bottom two corners, and the top two as well. 5. Put a rivet through each hole and cap with the other end of the rivet.6. Hammer or clamp the rivets into place. They will hold all the layers together so the frame pocket will easily hang on the wall, and the photo can be interchanged easily though the back!7. Punch two holes in the top of the leather frame and lace the round leather cord through.8. Tie knots on the front of the frame, hang, and enjoy a wonderful family moment every day!While I’m putting this one in the mail to send to my mom, I already got the supplies out to make a couple more for my own home. How cool would this be with a large print? Or a series of small photos attached like a ladder with some leather knots. I can’t wait to experiment and fill my home with the moments that matter most!
This post was sponsored by Kodak Moments App in partnership with Mom It Forward Blogger Network. All opinions and ideas are my own!