Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Frame Makeover

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I love to find funky frames at thrift stores!
A few tips for finding a frame worthy of a re-do
  • Look for a real wood frame. Plastic will still look like plastic, even when re-painted
  • Make sure the price is right! More than $2-3 is probably too much
  • Find a frame with real glass that is in good shape
  • Look for a frame with a good backing on it, and a way to hang/display it. You don't want a cool frame with no backing. It will be pain. Trust me!

I found a great frame last week on my trip to goodwill. LOVE the details! (the artwork....is hideous!) I knew I wanted something....BLUE this time! I've been feeling a little overdosed on black lately. Is that possible?


I LOVE this color spray paint. It is Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze. It is FABulous.
So, I just gave my frame a few, LIGHT coats of spray paint. I let it dry completely (the hard part, I know....)The color is GREAT!

Next, I wanted to use a black glaze. I've been seeing them used a lot in blogland lately, but didn't have any on hand. I read a tip somewhere (don't remember where) that you can make your own glaze by watering down paint.

TIP: a glaze makes your frame look especially good if you have details you want to bring out. It doesn't do much if you just have a plain frame. I wanted
a glaze for this frame b/c of the interesting lines it had.

To make my own glaze, I grabbed my black acrylic paint and added a little water. I made it pretty runny. I used a foam brush to apply it to the frame, making sure to get in all the cracks.
I then wiped off the excess with a paper towel, until I got the amount of black on there I wanted.
I repeated the brush on/wipe off thing a few times.

Turned out pretty sweet!
I cleaned the glass before I added my final touches. EWWW!

I added some burlap for a background. Like in this post.

I printed off a cute black and white photo of Miss J, and called it good!


Here's BEFORE:

Here's AFTER:
Go find a frame to re-do! It's so fun to make something fabulous for cheap!

I'm linking up over at Domestically Speaking
and
A Soft Place to Land and Finding Fabulous and Craftaholics Anonymous!

23 comments:

  1. so darling I love what you did. The color choice and technique! The burlap is sure cute too! ;) JGG

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  2. Yours is a vast improvement over the original. Nice job!

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  3. It's better than good...it's really great! I like that you made your own glaze. It turned out so well!

    Nancy

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  4. Sarah I LOVE IT!!!! You also make it looks so easy!
    You are VERY crafty!....Why are you not doing homemake??

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  5. oh I love this! Love the touch of burlap and the color! Great job
    ~Tana

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  6. What a gorgeous frame! Love the blue with the black glaze. And the burlap matte! Perfect. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. What a gorgeous frame!! What?! You didn't like the mushroom picture? :) You have a great eye for spotting frames. I don't know if I could have looked past the 'schrooms. Great job on the project. Love it!

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  8. Oh I love, love, love it! I love old chunky frames too. and I love the color you chose. Sooo cute!

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  9. I am so going to try this! Thanks :)

    Lisa

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  10. I just can't see what you see, but I am getting there.

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  11. I bought the same frame/picture at my Goodwill last week in NC! That is just to funny that they are the same. Didn't know what I was going to do with it, just liked the frame. Thanks for sharing and given me a idea for mine. Blessings, Vicky

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  12. Very nice. I love the color you chose. As the background color to your glaze.

    Blessings
    Kim

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  13. LOVE that color. Never thought to use burlap as a mat- great idea. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. so fyi, josh saw this post and got inspired. HE did it. crazy, right? haha, thanks for the new frame :]

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  15. Gorgeous! Thanks for the tip about making your own glaze! Does it matter what kind of paint? Great project! Thanks for sharing your step-by-step process! It really helps a newbie like myself!

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  16. I love your blog, it is si inspiring!!!! Your work is amazing!

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  17. Very crafty and love touch of burlap! I have few dark brown wood frames that I was thinking of spray painting in metallic bronze color. Do you think I need to prime before I spray paint? If yes, can or spray primer? Any suggestions? Love to get your feedback. Thanks!

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