Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Acrylic Covered Picture Frames...{What Wendy did Wednesdays!}

One of my daughters little friends was baptized a member of our church last week. It was so fun to attend as my daughter's baptism is right around the corner.
In my quest to come up with an {original} gift I came up with this...
 
 
Okay, so this is the one I will give my daughter. For her friend I made a smaller, single frame that displayed The Gospel Standards from the Faith in God book.
And, yeah I forgot to take a picture, sorry!
 
You can see the document I made HERE
or print off a generic/editable version HERE
{I think I will also make one for my daughter that is going into the
YoungWomen's program but with the YW Theme in the first frame.}
 
 
My first attempt at these was a few years ago. I needed new frames for my girls' pictures as we had just added our #5 and of course they no longer sold the ones that I already had!
 
I changed the new one up a bit, but the building was basically the same.
 
Gather a few supplies...
close up of the labels!
get the most flexible acrylic you can, and be sure the sizes match up on your hardware
{I bought all of this at Lowe's but know Home Depot carries it too.}
 
your picture
a clear acrylic sheet {see my note about sizing}
(4) 3/4in. long machine screws {these are the ones with a FLAT head}
(4) acorn nuts-be sure they are the same size as the machine screws!
Wood cut to frame your acrylic. 1/2" MDF or 1" pine work great.
Paint
Drill and Drill bits
Ribbon to match
 
*sizing note: 
Picking an Acrylic sheet: a 5x7 picture looks better using an 8x10 acrylic sheet, an 8x10 with a 10x13, etc. Both stores carry smaller pre-cut sheets. I know that Lowe's will custom cut a bigger sheet down if you have an odd sized pic. I would suggest taking your photo with you, and laying the acrylic over it to see what you like. Do not match up your acrylic to the size of your picture! Otherwise you'll be drilling holes into your photo!
Cutting your Wood Piece: I like to leave a 1 1/2 inch border{ from the edge of the acrylic} on the bottom and sides, and 2 inches across the top. If you plan on adding vinyl to the bottom, adjust for the width of your quote.
 
Start by painting the wood piece.
 I like to sand down the edges and corners. For the beadboard frame, I sanded and stained.
Let it dry.
 
 
Center the acrylic sheet onto the wood and tape in place. Measure in and down 1/2 inch from each corner and mark. {The acrylic has a plastic coating on it so you can write on that.}
 
Slowly drill a hole into each corner at your mark. Be sure to go completely through the wood as well.
 
Turn the piece over and with a drill bit slightly larger than the screw head, drill down about 1/4 inch.
DO NOT DRILL THROUGH THE WOOD!
{You're making a bed for the screw to hide in}
Turn back to front and with larger drill bit, drill a hole through each of the top two corners 1/2 inch in and down. Thread ribbon through those holes tying in the front center.
 
 Remove the film from the acrylic.
Center your picture and acrylic back onto the wood, lining up screw holes. 
Insert the screws from the back so that they poke out the front. Cover the screw threads with an acorn nut and your done.
 A handmade frame that will keep your pictures safe and is easy to change out.
 

That's what I did today...Happy Crafting!
 

6 comments:

Amy at Ameroonie Designs said...

Very cute Wendy! And what a thoughtful gift for giving friends.
xoxo,
Amy

Ami Allison said...

WOW!! What a sweet gift! I am a new follower from 773. You have an AWESOME shop! :)

Poston Kingdom said...

Yay! Thanks lady! And here I was thinking I was going to have to brave my way into Portland or something! Who knew Home Depot had the answer the whole time?! Love it!

J

Stef said...

I love your frame!!! I've wanted to make one of these for a long time!! You have inspired me to get my butt in gear!
Stef
itsallinmyheadstefsblog.blogspot.com

Valerie said...

Great tutorial! I've seen these frames before and really liked them~ now I know how to make my own! :)

Tiffany said...

Absolutely love this idea! My son is getting baptized this year and i am going to make one of these. I can always count on your blog for great ideas. Really it's one of my favorites!

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