Friday, March 5, 2010

Mini-Repurposed Frames

 
Here's another idea Nicole and I worked on when my hubby was out of town and we had our "crazy" craft day.
Before I explain how we made the frames, I need to tell you about the little decorations inside. 
At  The Graphics Fairy, we found this vintage handwriting.  It's so cool how you can instantly print her images on your own printer..for free.  They were perfect. 
Next we put these teeny tiny keys, tied with thin jute twine.  We poked holes right through the cardboard backing after we glued the papers on and wove in the twine.
The pictures are deceptive. The frames are only 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, with about a 2 1/2 inch opening.
The  2 inch keys were perfect for our mini frames!
In our favorite home decor store, we saw mini frames that were really ornate...and expensive.
We wondered how we could make them for super cheap.
In the thrift stores you can find large ornate frames for pennies, but they're always weird sizes.  We thought that maybe we could chop them up and resize them.
Here's a picture to show the scale of how small these are.

So this is what we started with.  I do have to say the old prints were kinda cute!
We used a miter saw to accomplish the first few cuts and realized how, um....dangerous this is!
The frames are so mini, that it's put your fingers awfully close to the blade.
We were trying to salvage as much of the frame as we could and probably put our fingers at risk....or should I say...NICOLE's fingers at risk. :)
The frames are joined at an angle which made them difficult to cut in a miter box.  But it is possible if you don't want to risk it on the miter saw.
First we split the frame in half.

And then we split the other side in half.  We were trying to save the original corners to eliminate having to glue more corners back together.
We made straight cuts first, and then mitered...to keep it even.
Not bad?  But, I was on edge watching Nicole's fingers SO close to the blade!
With a TON of elbow grease you can do it this way, if you want an angled cut.
Or....you can NOT try and save the original corners, and cut the entire frame apart.  Then reassemble all four corners.  The frame would look much more flat.
We did it on this black frame.  We cut at each corner. 
Marked, and cut using the miter BOX.  Much safer. 
Be careful if any of you try this!  We don't want to be responsible for helping you cut off your fingers!:) 
As for putting them back together, they are so small that we used Hard as Nails Glue and taped them to keep in place until dry. 
We spackled the corners, spray painted, and distressed.  I like how the original gold came back through.
Really....cheap....project. 

Sharing with Tracy's Linky party,




Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

25 comments:

Arlene said...

Love these!! I also cut down a beautiful yard sale picture frame to fit a smaller mirror. It worked like a charm and so inexpensive.

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

Awesome job! They are so cute! I love the color, the keys the paper! I love it all!
gail

Jenn said...

Brilliant! I love what you did!
I always get more craftiness done when my hubby is gone too!
Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

These. Are. Awesome. I love them! I just love skeleton keys anyway. The little frames are great! Very good job!
Rebekah {All Thingz Related}

Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures said...

I love those frames. You did a great job. I would have never thought to change the size of a frame. Now I know you can. Thanks.

Mary Beth @ Live. Laugh. Make Something said...

just delightful! Thanks for sharing your terrific idea!

Katie Olthoff said...

Those are adorable, and I love the little keys!

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

That is such a *great* idea!! They turned out adorable!
~Jennifer
www.studiojru.com

KimMalk said...

That was so clever cutting the larger frame down, you've inspired a lot of people.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

These are great, Candace! I love the size and how you put them together with the handwriting background.

Megan Gunyan said...

Wow, great job! You guys are great with a miter saw! I'm impressed. Love the key look and the finished process. I want one!

Funky Junk Interiors said...

This is an awesome tutorial! I wouldn't have thought to cut up a large frame AND keep those corners. What a plan!

You're on the sidebar during SNS. Thanks for linking up!

FJ Donna

~ Regan said...

Great job!! I love Graphics Fairy too.

Kathy@theshebearofeleven said...

What a great idea!

Natasha in Oz said...

They are so beautiful! I am not sure I am up to mitering and sawing but I think I could try an easy version of this! Thank you so much for this fabulous idea.

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Barbara Jean said...

Cutting that big frame the way you did, so as not to have to cut more mitered corners was ingenious!!

Your frames/keys turned out great.

thanks for sharing

blessings

barbara jean

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

Adorable--thanks for the tute on it! Miter cuts are hard for me--luckily hubby is a math teacher so he helps with the math part of it :).

Unknown said...

I love, LOVE and might I say LOVE these! BEAUTIFUL!
~Bridgette {Allthingzrelated}

WhisperWood Cottage said...

Those are so petite and fabulous!

2sisters said...

they look darling! i love them!
teri

Crafty Niche said...

Very, very cute!

Samantha2818 said...

These look fantastic!
Thanks for the tutorial on how to make smaller frames from a bigger one - I have often thought of doing this but didn't know how - now I do!
Thanks,
Sam

Heidi said...

These are SUPER cute! I would totally chop my fingers off if I attempted to cut those!

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

I love these! So pretty!!

Mounette said...

Super bonne idée : MERCI

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...