Funky Frame to Seaside Chic

I have a Gallery Photo Wall in our Family Room. It is a collection that took awhile to assemble. The frames are mostly from Garage Sales and Thrift stores. They are all creamy white frames with a casual feel. I like calming and casual, it goes well with our life at the beach.

My daughter presented me with this frame:


Umm...thank you honey. What do I do with that? How do I fit this into my casual, beachy decor? I really wanted to know how long I was actually going to have to keep it out before she wouldn't notice when it was gone. I know...not the best Mom moment.

You'll never believe it, but this frame is a real treasure on my wall. Yep, right there on my Gallery Photo Wall. You aren't buying it. Really! This frame is priceless! It has history. It has a story. I love a piece with a good story!

We went to Bingo Night with my daughter's Brownie Troop. My son won the first game and chose a bubble sword...pretty cool prize for a boy at a Brownies event! A few games later my daughter won. There were LOTS of cool things for girls. Lots of things any kid would want to choose, but not my girl. She chose this frame for her Mom. Really? This is just her. She is a giver. She has a tender heart and is always thinking of others. A sweet, sweet girl with a giant heart.

Ok...maybe secretly I was not so in love with this frame and was wishing she had chosen something for herself so I wouldn't be the proud owner of this lovely frame. Maybe I tried to convince her to choose something for herself, that she didn't NEED to get something for Mommy. What kind of Mom wishes her kid would be LESS selfless? Hmmm...now we know who was being selfish. The same Mom that had NO IDEA what to do with this frame. How is that going to fit in my home? Really...how?

I had to think about this one for quite some time. It didn't come to me right away. Finally, I decided I needed to TRY to spruce it up. I needed to figure out how it was going to be used in our home. I needed to recognize my daughter's kindness in a concrete, visual way. If I couldn't figure out how to change it, then I needed to accept it and at least display it.

I thought MAYBE it would end up in the kids room. They have blues in their room. It could be worked into their space. Nope. It is a treasure on my wall! How could it be??

The two blue squares and the orange circle turned out to be push pins that were easily removed. This was a cork board! Hmmm...that is interesting. Maybe there is hope here. My brain started to spin with possibilities.

I primed it with Rust-Oleum Double Cover Primer. When the primer was dry, I sprayed it with Rust-Oleum Dual Cover Heritage White Satin. When the paint was dry, I took the center frame off...which came apart in pieces, not as a whole. Of course. Nothing about this frame was turning out to be easy. Then I sprayed the back with spray adhesive and covered it with burlap. I took the smaller frame pieces and put them back at the center of the frame. Since it had come apart, I needed to hot glue it back together. Then I decided to add a sand dollar from one of our beach adventures. Beautiful! Who would have thought? I was in love with this frame!


I LOOOOOOVE this frame! I love the giving heart that gave it to me. I love the challenge of making it something we would treasure in our home. I love the sand dollar that reminds me of so many beach adventures with my kids. I love my daughter who understands that Mommy likes to "tweak" things. It is what I do and she is fine with that.

To me, this frame is truly priceless!

Stay tuned for Monday's post. I will be showing the entire Gallery Photo Wall!

I am linking up to these parties: