I love frames filled with character like this one. No, the gold is not my style, but that is easy to take care of. Yes, it is ugly the way it is, but look at this detail! It is beautiful.
You can't find this detail just anywhere. You would either have to pay some serious money for this...or...find it in the thrift store for $5! If you are willing to look past the ugliness of what is, and look at what could be, you can find yourself some real treasures for barely any money.
First I gave it a good coat of Rust-Oleum Double Cover Primer.
I used a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover Aqua Satin for my color. I can't tell you how much I love love love this color! Of course with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I tend to want things black right now. I know that will change after Valentines Day...but if I were making this for my house at this moment, I would probably paint it black.
The next step is where the price of this project jumped way up. I wanted a piece of aluminum sheeting in order to make a magnetic board. They had tiny pieces and HUGE pieces. I had to buy the huge piece. The lady at Home Depot seemed to think they sold half pieces, but there weren't any. Besides, I already have plans for the leftovers. I think the sheet was around $23, but it will be used for several projects...I had to keep reminding myself of that.
I also needed to by a pair of metal sheers. I found the cheapest pair for $10. Considering that I will use these over and over I am ok with the price. At the time, I wasn't sure. They did however, cut through the sheeting like butter! And since I have a great friend who passed on a whole roll of metal sheeting that I can use in smaller frames, these were a needed tool in my tool kit. Thanks M!
Look at this piece just BEGGING to be assembled!
I am not sure what the best adhesive choice would be at this point. I was considering Gorilla Glue, but since it has a tendency to expand more than I want it to, well, I was afraid it would ooze out onto the front of my metal sheeting. That would be ugly! I had some E-6000 on hand and figured it would be a good choice.
It worked great! Once I laid my metal sheeting down, I placed some weight on each of the corners to hold the piece down overnight. I don't think you would need to wait that long, but I was on my way to bed, so overnight it was!
Just look what a beauty this turned out to be! The 8 1/2 x 11 paper gives you an idea of just how large this piece is. I wish I didn't have a use for it already, because I would love to keep it right where it is.
How pretty are the details? My friend T is going to use this for her daughter's Silent Auction at school. They are going to use magnetic bulldog clips to attach various gift cards from our area. I think it will be a great presentation and also a fun, functional piece when they are done.
Just in case you were curious about the message on my board. It is from my sweet, sweet daughter. She melted my heart with this one!
I am trying to figure out how I want to preserve this letter. I have some ideas that I think would be great, but I would LOVE to hear some ideas from you! Leave me a comment with all of your brilliant ideas.
I am linking on to the following party:
Very cute~would love to make one of these! I'll definitely be on the lookout for a lovely detailed frame (on the cheap!) thanks for the tutorial-i think E-6000 is great for projects (not our health) since it dries clear :)
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