shaped wood frames tutorial

What an exciting day it has been. It was so fun to be featured on

The Daily Dish (click link to go to video tutorial)

and share this tutorial with you all!

I'm sure I am not the only one that has found a way to make these mdf frames but I would like to share with you how I make them.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• MDF board (I purchased mine from Home Depot, the 1/2"thick for~$10 and the 3/4" thick for~$11.50)
• pattern for frame
• skill/jigsaw (you can find the saw for around $30 in a quick search I found THIS)
• drill
• sandpaper
• if painting: primer (Krylon), spray paint or acrylic paint
• if mod podging: mod podge (of course), paper
• painters tape: if painting stripes

This is just half of the large mdf board from Home Depot, if you are making 12"x12" frames you can 8 frames out of 1 large board. depending on the thickness you choose and the paint the cost is about $1.50-$1.75 per frame! You can't beat that! The large stripped frame in a previous post and featured on the video is one full board that I free handed the pattern for

Next trace your pattern for frame (you can free-hand it or use paper with decorative edges, I like My Minds Eye paper for this) Try not to get too complicated with your pattern, the more curves and edges, the more difficult it is going to be to cut out.

I cut out a 6x6 paper to trace the opening part in the middle
Use the skill/jigsaw to cut out the center. You might want to make a few practice cuts if you aren't very comfortable with the saw, just please be careful! It really isn't too bad, it just takes some getting used to.

 Once the outside is cut, use a drill to cut out the center, ignore the spot I have in the center of the frame, drill the hole in one of the corners and then use the skill saw from there.

 *optional next step: if you have access to a router, now would be the time to pull that bad boy out. A router will give the frame a bumpy edge (see photo bellow) and a fun texture.

Then sand, sand, and sand! Sand paper is perfectly find for this but....

 if you happen to come across a metal file in your tool bag, celebrate just a little bit because this bad boy really helps in the creases.

 Once you are all done sanding you are really to funk-ify your frame however you like

• spray paint: if you will be spray painting use a primer first, absorbs paint like no other so primer will help you not have to do so many layers.
• paint stripes: first prime the board, then apply the first paint color (the lightest one), measure out your stripes and tape off, paint your next color.
• acrylic paint
• use glaze to antique
• mod podge paper or fabric: paint or stain the edges of the frame, then apply thin layer of mod podge to frame and add paper, smooth out with popsicle stick or credit card. If the paper over laps, just use sand paper to clean up the edges.

This is just black acrylic paint, you can see how the frames absorbs the paint. 

 This is spray painted and then the edges were sanded. to add the picture you can adhere your photo to cardboard or something stiff and then use a good tape to bond it to the frame.

You can display these babies on easels or use a picture hangers for the back.

coming soon....

A full tutorial on these wood frames.... WOOOHOOOO!!

I also have a promise. I promise to post something new at least once a week. I am a full time mom and sometimes it is hard to take the time to do so, but this is my goal.... and I am going to have some fun doing so!

Magnetic family tree

A couple of years ago a local craft/paper (Heartland paper) company had a beautiful magnetic family tree.  It was beautiful and perfect for my home, it was also perfect for a woman's group activity (hurray for Relief Society!)

This is my board and my lovely family. This one is 16"x20". The paper is just mod podged on to the magnet board. I used e6000 to adhere the bottle caps to the magnets and a 1" hole punch to cut out each photo. Each bottle cap should have some leaves on them, but I got a little lazy.

There are many places around me you can find a magnet board, but because I was getting them in bulk I chose Etsy. She also sold me the bottle caps. I got to thinking that it would be an awesome birthday gift/undertaking to make this for my grandmother. I come from a large family, a VERY LARGE FAMILY. To fit the full 160+ bottle caps I needed a large board, I did a 40"x50".

Some perspective of just how big this board was.

 I measured the paper and designed and drew out the tree, sorry I have no pattern for that but I did use a poster board  to make a pattern from first and then drew it out on paper.

I had to section them off into families because there are just SO many family members!

The finished product, hanging on Nonna's wall.

Ruffle tree skirt

Like many other ladies with a good eye, I pinned THIS on pinterest and knew I didn't want it to just be a "someday" pin... I had to make it asap.

So I did, of course. After some blisters and loving husband to tend after the little ones, I finished!
Just some notes, my ruffles are 2" a friend of mine did this skirt with 3" ruffles which means less rows but it was breath taking, I kind of wish I would have done 3" just because of the time.
You get to choose the lesser of 2 evils, if you use a high temp glue gun, you get burned... use a glove (garden, snow, etc.)... if you use a low temp glue gun you will get blisters from squeezing the trigger.
My fabric is muslin from hobby lobby (originally $5 a yard but 40% off!) I used a canvas drop cloth like in the tutorial, mine was a 5x5 from home depot (~$7)
I love it and am so happy to finally have a beautiful tree skirt!