Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Scrappy Paper Mache Picture Frame


Hi Good People,
I've had a busy week as usual. I needed to make a personalized gift ---for 8 people!!!
I was at Hobby Lobby and these Paper Mache picture frames were on sale for about a dollar each. I have a whole bottle of ModPodge that I used once in 6 months and thought --Ding Ding Ding!
I later found some wood frames at the Christmas Tree Shop that I like better for the Thank You gifts I'm making but these frames were great for decoupage. 
 For this project, here's what I used:
Frame
Tissue Paper
White Paint
Mod Podge or other decoupage medium
Foam Brush and paint brush
glue
First thing's first.  I used my fingernail to pry the frame apart. The top of the frame,  where you insert the picture, is just a thin slit.  Decoupage is messy and I've glued plenty of things shut that I hadn't intended before. So, this time I decided to work smarter and not harder!




I painted the frame (front and back) matte white.
You don't have to do this step if you are using opaque paper. I used a few sheet of tissue paper that  came in a pack at Hobby Lobby.



Make Life Easy Tip: When applying decoupage, have a few tools with various edges handy for smoothing, tucking and pushing the paper. Fingers work on big objects but I like these inexpensive wooden clay-work tools you can get at the craft store.




I tore up three sheets of the tissue paper in random jagged tears. I made sure to mix the pieces up.  I then painted the frame with ModPodge in a pretty thick layer and applied the paper all around the frame, making sure that the corners were smooth.









After the front of the frame dried, I glued a piece of the paper in the inside to cover up the writing.

Once it dried totally, I glued the edges of the frame back together using  a sticky paper glue.                   I put the finished, dry to touch frame under a stack of heavy books (a dictionary and a couple of hardbacks) and let it dry overnight.







And VIOLA! A decorative picture frame that looked really good on it's own without a picture. 











It also looked good with a photo in it! (Whew, because that was what I was going for!)













I'm pretty proud of my spur of the moment craftiness and I  can see myself making these as a part of the thank you gifts that I'm still trying to put together.

In other news, I'm working on a doll. A doll with a  fan theme -- is that what you call it when you base a craft off of a popular show? See, I'm a novice at such things. But I got the idea while watching and just had to give it a try. I'm sure she'll appear here soon. Wish me luck.

Peas, 
~Dee

4 comments:

  1. The frame is really cool. It looks amazing. XD

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  2. The frame came out beautifully. I cant wait to see your new doll project.

    **Yolie

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  3. The frame is fantastic with the photo in it!

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  4. Thanks so much everyone! The people I gave them to really seemed to like them. I'm hoping to work on my decoupage technique. It's fun to do but it can be a little tricky.

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