52 Weeks of Pinspiration {Week 14}–Decorative Frames

Welcome to Week 14 of my Pinspiration series! This week we’re gonna get our craft on!  Wanna play? 

A couple of weeks ago I spied this adorable frame on Crate Paper’s blog and pinned it to my ‘Fun stuff to make’ pinboard.

http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/2012/03/craft-with-crate-cindy-cundy.html

I just loved the colorful mix of patterned paper and embellishments.  It just so happened that one of my girlfriends at work was having a birthday, so I thought a decorative frame such as this would make a great gift idea.  So I read the easy to follow instruction on Crate Paper’s blog and then head out to my local Michael’s for supplies.

I ended up buying a couple of pieces of patterned scrapbook paper, a roll of ribbon and a roll of blingy accents, and a package of silk flowers.  Oh and this ready-to-decorate MDF frame.

Here is the final product.

Let me show you how I made it.  It’s super easy!!

I veered a little from Crate Paper’s method because I already had a full container of Mod Podge at home and didn’t want to buy yet another type of adhesive/sealant.  So what I did is paint the front and sides of my frame with a good coat of paint.  Ideally, a well prepared crafter would use a coordinating color of acrylic craft paint, but don’t worry if all you have is a can of leftover ceiling paint from your kitchen remodel six years ago. 

{Oh, btw – sorry for the poor photo quality.  I was working in the basement at night with terrible light.}

OK.  So the next step is to trace the frame onto the back of a piece of scrapbook paper.  I chose to use my frame in the landscape direction and decided to use the smaller print for the main portion of the frame. 

After cutting out the traced image, I applied an even coat of Mod Podge over the entire face of the frame. 

I then adhered the cut-out paper to the frame.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t fit perfectly and hangs off the sides a bit.  We’ll fix that here in a minute.

Next I cut a strip of coordinating paper to fit the bottom section of the frame, below the frame opening.  I applied another even coat of Mod Podge and adhered it directly on top of the existing paper.

So far so good.  I really like the particular combination of these two papers – one smaller geometric and one larger all-over print. 

The next thing I did was to dig around in our basement for this sponge sanding block.  Then I did as Crate Paper suggested went around the sides of my frame (inside and outside) to remove any of the raw edges.

(You might recall that I used this same sanding block on an upstairs bathroom window last year. Who knew that it would come in handy for crafting too! )

OK.  So now that the frame base is ready, the next step is to embellish this puppy!  My friend had just returned from a vacation to Antigua so I decided to go with a travel/beachy/water theme.  I thought the glittery aquamarine ribbon and jeweled tape were slightly reminiscent of that amazing Caribbean water.

To give the ribbon a little more texture, I ran it through my sewing machine making simple pleats. 

Then I used my trusty hot-glue gun and, starting from the back side of the frame, attached the pleated ribbon to the front of the frame along the bottom of the frame opening.  The jeweled tape was self-adhesive so I just attached it right along the stitching line on my ribbon.

The final step was to arrange the silk flowers and attach them with hot-glue.

I just LOVE this ribbon/gem combo!  I love how it kinda twinkles – it totally reminds me of the way the sunlight dances on the ocean.

I was so pleased with how this frame turned out that I made another one for my friend Tonya’s baby shower last week.  Betcha can’t guess what she’s having. 

I used the same basic technique on this frame and added some embellishments using my vast stash of scrapbooking supplies.

This was a really fun, easy project that would be great to do with kiddos.  And it just takes a few basic supplies.  So please…do try this at home. 

Next week I’ll share a couple of great Pinterest projects that my friends have been making.  Until then, I hope you have a very blessed Easter.

Love, Kelly