Saving old picture frames
June 11, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Crafty Solutions, Doing it Yourself
Picture frames are one of the easiest DIY saves you can try. If you find gross old frames at thrift stores or garage sales, have old frames around the house, or some broken frames, you can still fix them up and use them, thus saving money on new ones.
Ideas for saving old frames…
Paint - of course a super easy fix when it’s just cosmetics that are the issue. Remember to remove the glass, or cover it with paper before painting. Also, try odd colors. For example, silver metallic paint doesn’t look that flashy, it actually looks awesome when used to frame black & white photos. If you’re super handy with a paint brush or sponge you can find an image to work off of (like the one above) and stencil a design on your frame.
Clean up – clean old wooden frames with a little bit of denatured alcohol and some linseed oil. Sometimes just getting the gunk off a frame will perk it up enough to use.
Distress your frame – I like distressed everything, and large frames especially look good this way. It’s not a polished look, but works for casual homes.
Clean up the matting – If you’ve got a decent frame with an icky looking mat, all you need is some extra wall paper (in a small design style, or plain) to cover the old mat. You can also of course buy a basic mat replacement which is cheaper than a whole frame.
Make it 3D – You can use puffy paint on a frame, decoupage dried flowers on, or attach items like buttons, brass stars, and so fourth to make a frame that pops out. These are cool for things like children’s art and photos.
Missing glass – Unless you’re handy with a glass cutter, don’t use old glass to replace the broken glass in a frame. Glass snaps easily, so if you do use a glass cutter be careful. If you can’t buy replacement glass for a frame, use the frame for something that’s a-ok without a frame, like your kids art or a sunprint.
What other ways can you think of to save old frames?
[image via stock.xchng]
