Hey friends!
As many of you know, one of our very favorite things to do is to find an old item, ‘shanty’ it up a bit, and give it a whole new life. It really is what started our whole site. I always like keeping my eyes out for old frames! There are so many fun ways to revamp an old frame. I recently gave this one a makeover for my little girl’s room! I turned it into a magnetic photo and memo board. Here is how it turned out…
How fun is that?? This is a quick and super easy project! Let’s get started!
List of Supplies!
Empty frame
1 sheet of cardboard (size of frame or larger)
1 sheet of galvanized metal (plumbing section at Lowe’s)
fabric
spray paint
spray adhesive
hot glue gun
1×3 wood scraps (optional to make your frame larger)
Start with a cheap frame like this sad guy below. This one actually had artwork in it too… Bad.
Now, I really wanted to beef this frame up a bit, so I decided to add some wood to it. I used my miter saw for this part, but a cheap hand saw and miter box from the hardware store work great as well!
No matter what saw you choose to use, make sure you have your safety gear on!
We get asked all the time about what safety gear we wear and recommend! Our favorite brand is 3M™ TEKK Protection™!
Two of my personal favorite items that I am wearing here are the Holmes WorkWear Safety glasses, and the Digital WorkTunes Hearing Protectors. Safety is always #1 with us no matter how small the project! You may have a wonderful piece you created, but if you can’t see it or hear your kids tell you how much they love it, it kind of takes all the fun out of it! Am I right? So… Protect yourself guys!
I even like to keep these hanging right by my saw so I never forget them!
I started my making all my cuts! I used scrap 1×3 for this frame which you can also purchase really cheap! I measured these from short point to short point to get the dimensions I needed. I measured at 1″ from the outer edge of my existing frame. I started with these two sides…
I used my cordless brad nailer and wood glue to attach them.
I keep my work glasses on the entire time I am building any project. These are great because they have attached hearing protectors that you can just push in really quick for times when you need them like this!
Love them!
I measured short point to short point again to get the measurements of my last two boards. I attached them the same way.
That’s it for the frame! I gave the whole thing a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch spray paint in Summer Squash.
While that was drying, I started on the inside!
I purchased a 24×36 sheet of galvanized metal from Lowe’s. It is in the PLUMBING section… not the roofing material. It was around $7 for the sheet. I have found the best way to cut this stuff is by using a sharp pair of scissors like sewing scissors. I cut my metal sheet an inch less than the inside of my frame all around and then hot glued it down to a piece of thick cardboard like this!
You can use any fabric you want on this part! I LOVE the fabric I chose. I found it at OnlineFabricStore.com. The print I used is called Premier Prints Zig Zag in black. It’s cute and cheap too… My kind of fabric!
I just used my scissors to cut the fabric leaving about 1″ all around.
Then, I used a bit of spray adhesive on my metal and placed it face down on the fabric like this. Tack down your extra fabric on the back with a hot glue gun!
After my frame dried, I put the fabric covered board inside! Easy peasy!
My final step was hanging it on the wall. I found a fun knob and spray painted it black.
After it dried, I attached it to her wall and used some twine to hang the frame. Done.
Here is how it turned out!
Hope you love it! This really is a fun and easy way to give any old frame a new life!
Thanks so much for stopping by guys! I would love for you to pin and share my project below! 🙂
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