Last month at my in-laws, I swooned–as I always do—over the fantastic painting in their front room.
But rather than turn to a life of crime and just tuck it into my suitcase when we left, I determined to make my own version of it. I snapped several photos for reference.
So when I saw this frame at Salvation Army for $5.99 a couple of weeks after our visit, I knew it was a perfect contender for this makeover. I removed the backing, photo, and glass.
But how do I get from someone’s 90’s piano recital to the rustic little red church antique frame??
To age the frame, I was hoping for a downpour or some really nasty weather for me to subject the frame to, but alas, the weather has been so agreeable! What’s a girl to do?! 1) I put some water on the frame and left it outside in the sun for a day. It didn’t really seem to do much… besides intimidate the frame into submission? 😉 2) Next, I slathered creamy-white paint all over the frame. I was not particularly worried about perfect strokes or 100% coverage. 3) Once the paint was dry, I added a layer of DecoArt One Step Crackle. I literally just squirted it straight onto the frame and then spread it out.
Once the crackle dry, I sanded the edges and some surfaces with a fine grit sandpaper. If I sanded back more than I wanted to, I just added back a little cream paint: easy fix! I worked fast and kept it loose.
Next, I added a tiny bit of dark brown paint to a small cup of water and painted it all over the frame so amply that I might as well have just poured it on! Once I got it in all the nooks and crannies, I wiped and blotted it back off with paper towels. It’s nice to leave it in the corners and crevices, where dirt and dust would naturally accumulate over the years.
And voila! In about ten minutes (plus drying time), you can have a hundred-year-old frame, aged to perfection!
Thank you to our sweet contributor: Gina… Visit her blog at Camp Clem.
Gina, thanks for the frame tutorial!! You are awesome!!
Love your tutorials, Gina! You always make them easy to understand and put in all the steps so that even a non-crafty person like me can have a presentable product to show for my time. Thanks again for connecting us to yet another great blog: Bargain Hoot.
Love it. I actually got rid of a bunch of old frames when I did a house cleaning last year and now I am KICKING MYSELF. I may have had a masterpiece in the making:) I will keep my eyes open at the yard sales from now on!
You are so stinkin’ talented! I would just love to hang out with you and craft all day! Love you girl!
Great job! I just bought some crackle medium not being sure what I would use it for but I always wanted to do something with it. Thanks for the great idea!