DIY Decoupage Picture Frame

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, and the inspiration really hit yesterday.

I had an old frame that I was getting ready to throw away. (Actually, I already had thrown it away when I got this idea, so I had to dig it out about 11:30 at night!) The black frame I used was actually really nice, but it was COVERED in hairspray. As you can guess, it had been hanging in my bathroom for years, and developed a very sticky surface. So I just wanted to trash it and get a new one.

But why trash it, when all it really needs is either a very good scrubbing (which I gave up on) or a brand-new surface?

So I got out my tools and went to town. But there wasn't much I even needed for this project.

The old, sticky picture frame, obviously. It's an 8-by-10 with matting for a 5-by-7 photo.

Scrap paper. I used a combination of blacks and whites because, well, that's what I had on hand. But in the end, the cut out pieces sort of resemble a patchwork quilt, and I love it!

Elmer's glue and water, mixed into your very own homemade decoupage. A recipe online said to mix about 1 cup of Elmer's and 1/3 cup of water. I didn't need that much, so I just eyeballed it and used smaller amounts of each. I also used a small sponge paintbrush to apply the glue. (But honestly, I used my fingers to apply the glue more than the brush!)

Then I got started. I used the scrapbook paper and cut out various shapes. Mostly longer pieces, and with mostly straight lines.

Start by brushing a layer of glue onto the frame's surface. Position the paper where you want it, and then paint another layer of glue over the top.

I overlapped the layers a lot. And after I had the surface mostly covered, I went back with contrasting paper to create even more layers.

See the crayons in the background? No, this project didn't call for crayons, but my daughter Avery's coloring project certainly did. =)

And there you go! A brand-new picture frame created with what would have gone in the trash.

Total cost for this picture frame redo? Well, I bought a new bottle of Elmer's, which was on sale (hooray for back-to-school time!) for 40 cents! The paper I already had. So a whopping 40 cents for this baby!

I stuck a piece of white card stock behind the photo of my little cutie and called it a day.

And now I have it displayed in my living room. Project complete!

 Happy crafting!

Anna

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