Joel Callen
Home & Garden

How to create a shabby chic photo frame (for a quarter of the price)

While furniture may be essential for making your house comfortable, it’s often the soft furnishings that turn a house into a home. Whether it be a canvas, large framed image or a selection of 8x4s, nothing personalises a space like photos. Not only a chance to share memories, framing photos also offers the opportunity to get creative and tap into your home décor to create something that adds to the room as a whole.

Shabby chic is all about capturing that rustic, gently distressed vibe. Perfect for homes with a coastal or more traditional decorating scheme, a shabby chic frame can be customised using colour to fit a range of different decors, at a fraction of the cost of a bought frame.

Here’s how to do it…

You’ll need:

Directions:

  1. If your picture frame is glossy or already has a coat of paint, start by sanding it back to create a clean surface. Leaving a glossy coat behind will make it tricky to create the distressed look you are going for.
  2. Once sanded back, use a damp cloth to wipe away dust or any remaining residue.
  3. Paint two coats of your chosen colour onto the frame and set aside to dry.
  4. When completely dry, start sanding! You want to take the top layer of the paint almost off.
  5. Wipe frame clean with a clean, dry cloth.
  6. Dilute white paint with a ratio of two parts paint to one part water.
  7. Paint onto the frame, working into the sanded back parts.
  8. Use a damp cloth to both smudge in the colour and wipe some away to create a distressed look.
  9. Set aside to dry.
  10. You can seal with a clear gloss sealant if you choose to or simply allow to dry completely before using.

Related links:

DIY craft you can do with the grandkids

3 fab ways you can use Mason jars

Make your own (fancy) pin board for under $10

 

Tags:
DIY, craft, photo frame, home, decor