Recycling Old Frames

A couple of years ago I got a harebrained idea to frame a whole bunch of photos in different styles of frames and put them on my office wall.  I liked the look for about a month, then it seemed cluttered and just "off" somehow.  When we moved, I was all set to sell all the frames that weren't black, and in fact put them in my little booth at the antique mall.  Since none of them sold, I brought them all home and decided I would recycle them into something for my new decor.

Today my friend came over to craft with me and helped me create these beautiful frames.  Most of the ideas were my own, but she interjected several excellent suggestions that all enhanced the project considerably. I took pictures along the way, in case any reader wanted to recreate them at home, so those photos and a tutorial follow. Enjoy!

Click on the image to see better.  The large frame still needs something in it, but I put together the contents of the two smaller ones today.

 This was the large frame that I started with.  First take the glass and mat out and set aside.

 I used Making Memories acrylic paint, but I think latex might have worked a little better. Also, priming or scuffing the surface some would have helped the paint to adhere better.  I started with white paint, putting two coats on and letting it dry thoroughly.

 I wasn't too worried about getting it perfect since I knew I would be smudging other stuff on it.

 Next, I sponged on some very watered down brown paint so it would get into all the crevices.  This I wiped off with a paper towel, leaving it sort of smudged and dirty looking. While it was drying, I removed the inner wooden piece around the mat opening and used some pages from an old hymnal to decoupage onto the mat.

This is a picture of the mat after I had it decoupaged and reapplied the little wooden inner frame. I used the ink and that little tool to sponge on some walnut ink to the frame, then I put it all together.

Here is a closer look at the other two frames.  I did pretty much the same thing for them, only instead of sponging on the walnut ink, I spritzed on glimmer mist (green) and Smooch (gingerbread).  Each layer of different medium gave it a different look.  I think I could have kept on adding things all day!

I used a piece of printed paper cut to size then stamped and embossed the three images onto a page from the hymnal.  Then I tore around the edges to make it fit the frame better, as well as deal with a few tears that were already there.

This other one has a little bit of three dimensional look to it with the raised bird and rubberized leaves.  I will print out a little text box to put in the upper right hand corner when I decide what to put in the third frame.

Here they are amid all the tools and trash of the day!