An easy way to build a large frame from moulding!
I had a busy week last week.
I was watching my friend’s 5 year old daughter while they went to Hawaii. She and my daughter are BFFs so it was a non-stop party! But in addition to her, I was also watching my adorable 16 month old niece while my SIL & BIL went to Bali. You heard me….BALI!! Who goes to Bali, right? So cute Ally was here for 10 days and she left yesterday. I should feel nothing but relief but I miss that little girl. She was my buddy and her thighs and upper arms were so squishy I could hardly stand it! She tolerated all my kisses too, which I appreciated.
So I thought I’d soothe myself today by posting about something we did while we were out visiting Ally’s house over Spring Break.
Shelly (Ally’s mom/my SIL) wanted a new GIANT family portrait for her mantle and so we got to work. From snapping the photo to custom framing it and having it up on the mantle it was under 72 hours and around $50. Here’s how it all went down.
6pm Thursday: Rolled into town. Shelly & fam were all dressed and ready for their family picture to be taken. We went out on her front step and I took less than 30 shots. We wanted this to be as painless and as least traumatizing to the kids as possible. Luckily I got a couple good shots as the kids were the perfect models! We decided on this one:
(what did I tell you about Ally? You can’t see her upper arms or thighs here but seriously… squi-shy and yummy)
10am Friday: Upload and order this photo from Costco as a 20×30 on poster board. I hope hope hope you have seen this option at Costco! I love their poster board prints! Great quality and price. You upload your image then to the right you’ll see “CREATE GIFTS.” Click on that and then click on “ENLARGEMENTS & POSTER BOARDS.” The prices are $9.99 for 11×14, $14.99 for 16×20 and $24.99 for 20×30. You cannot beat that. And the best part? Done in a couple of hours!
2pm Friday: Pick up 20×30 family portrait from Costco (and maybe a pizza or two to feed all the kids that night), sit and stare at it and marvel at the technology which made it all possible.
5pm Friday: Head to Lowe’s to get some moulding for the frame. Laugh when the old-school elderly man who works there asks “Does your husband have a power drill?” and resist the urge to go all feminist on his hiney. Pick up four L-brackets and some liquid nails if you don’t already have them.
1am Saturday (Friday night): Assemble frame. Yes, it’s 1am but this is how Shelly & I roll when we get together.
Items Needed: (some links are affiliate links for your shopping convenience, click here for full disclosure)
- Enough moulding to go around whatever size image you are framing (we got nice chunky 5″ baseboard moulding)
- liquid nails
- Right Angle Brackets and screws (no longer than the thickness of your moulding!)
- paintable wood filler or caulk
1) Cut moulding at 45 degree angles to fit around image. This takes brain power to figure out which way to cut it to make sure the inside edge is always where it needs to be but I believe in you. Shelly had a power saw but I’ve done it using a $15 miter box and some elbow grease before…it’s not hard!
2) Lay out moulding on flat surface to make sure it all goes together like you want it.
3) Glue pieces together with liquid nails (or I’m sure regular wood glue would do the trick too).
4) Figure out where you want your brackets and drill small pilot holes where the screws will go. This is especially important with MDF type moulding to prevent splitting. Fasten the brackets on with the screws (make sure screws are not longer than your moulding is thick!).
5) After attaching all four corners, flip frame over and fill in the gaps with wood filler. I really love this Elmer’s stuff. It comes in all colors, is paintable, sandable and, above all, manageable. No big caulking guns to wrestle with or anything. I dip my finger in water to smooth out the filler and make a nice surface.
2am Saturday morning: Get “second wind” and paint frame. Shelly had some left over paint from her living room she wanted to use. It’s called Kentucky Haze and it’s a Benjamin Moore color. Gorgeous.
Allow to dry overnight (or in our case, whatever is left of the night).
10am Saturday morning: Glaze!! My favorite activity ever!
I mix a small amount of dark stain into some of the Valspar mixing glaze and the slop it on the frame (that’s the most fun part).
I then took paper towels and began wiping it off. I think of it as the opposite of sanding off the raised areas to highlight them. Glazing settles down in and highlights the crevices.
Noon on Saturday: After the glaze has dried, duct tape the photo onto the back of the frame (who is looking there anyway?), place the finished product on the mantle and step back to admire. Fight back the tears of joy & accomplishment.
20×30 photo….framed with 5″ moulding all the way around = a nice 30×40 high impact piece starring the people you love the most.
Here is another angle (with the kids totally not appreciating all our hard work) for you to get a sense of the scale.
I plan to make many more of these in the future. It’s not that hard to build a large frame exactly how you want it! How much would a store bought frame at this size be anyway? I shudder at the thought.
Pin the image below for when you want to build a large frame for yourself! You’ll love the result!
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This is beautiful and the room that it is in is beautiful also.
Connie
Unbelievably gorgeous!!!
Its gorgeous! I have a question.. during the glazing steps, the frame is no longer a blue color? See last pic before “noon on saturday” did you make two or am i missing something here?
ps your fireplace is gor-ge-ous
I believe that’s the glaze causing it to be miscolored because then she wipes it off. It’s simply the glaze over the blue in the picture.
Great tutorial and a beautiful family…love the frame!
As the partner in crime (and proud recipient) just had to say, well done! Are we good or what? Aren’t 2nd winds the best…or worst (for the kids). Fun!
What about that mantel, did you make that? That frame looks great and a wonderful family photo!
This turned out great! I have to do it right now (or next monthish).
P.S. Can you watch my kids while I go to….ohh…I don’t know Australia or something:)
BEAUTIFUL…family and frame! Im following!
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xoxokara
Great tutorial.
That looks great! What does the Valspar glaze do? I usually just use the minwax. Does that seal it like a polyurethane? Thanks for sharing. Your newest follower. Hope you can visit me sometime.
What an amazing idea to make a larger-sized frame! I hate how expensive frames are and try to find them at thrift stores…but I can never find larger frames. Thanks so much for sharing!
I found you through Katie’s Nesting Spot and am your newest follower! I would love for you to stop by http://www.decoratingdiy.blogspot.com and follow me!
Kristen
Turning a House into a Home
Loved this post Landee and plan to use it in the future. Perfect!!!!
nice! i’ve been thinking about doing this for weeks!
I am totally featuring this tomorrow! I love the blue! The whole frame is so cute!
everycreativeendeavor.com
#1: hawaii & bali?-who ya hangin with?! rich folk! 😉
#2: that frame is DARLING!!!!!
#3: now we know what our newest sponsor looks like, such a cuuuute fam!
#4: thanks for linkin up!
#5: you’re awesome. (:
xoxo-kelli & kristi
Love this! I keep thinking to myself that theoretically I should be able to do this but I needed this tutorial!
It looks great! I posted your stenciled backsplash in my post – ‘ No tile backsplash – part 1’.
Awesome! Great tutorial too…thanks!
its absolutely stunning! i love it! saved this in my files 🙂
i’m just going to say it. that picture is not of Landee and her family. it’s her sister-in-law’s family.
but anyway.
i love what you did.
Love it!!! and that last show of the mantel and fireplace… GORG. well done! winks-jen
what a gorgeous family portrait and how you have it in the beautiful frame it looks great
Hi, friend! I’m admiring all your creative posts here so can you please share them with us at the Creative Bloggers’ Party & Hop? Hope to see you there at the party 🙂
Hi there,
Love it! I have a barn wood frame that I want to do that look to. Question:I’m looking all over for this clear mixing glaze. Is there any other product that works that’s not specifically called that?
Thanks for sharing your ideas!
N
awesome sauce!!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I had no idea that I could make a frame all by my lonesome, but you have givine me the tips and courage.
Lee Ann
This was great! You inspired me to make three frames for three paintings on canvas that I was worried about having to get custom framing for.
I used stapes and wood glue, instead of brackets. They worked great, too! I also skipped the glaze and painted them a clean white. =) They worked perfect. You can see the result on our adoption website!
Thanks for the help!
Looks like the link broke… Our adoption website is here! The frames are on our blog of the nursery. =)
Love the idea!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
how much do you think the frame materials cost you (just for the wood)? GREAT job. It’s beautiful.
LOVE this! Found it on pinterest;) I love how you mixed the glaze with the stain.
Thank you for posting this! It looks gorgeous!!!! You are great writers as well…wonderful blog. Im going to do this project today with the first photo of my new baby <3
I need a large mirror with character to hang ab a dresser for my other’s apartment. I found a large mirror in an ugly frame. I plan to take that frame off and attempt this project This wall space in her bedroom has been a challenge for me. It is a bland and boring apartment bedroom. I am thrilled that I have this idea to add some character and at a great price!!! Thanks for a lovely solution
Title is deceiving. You said these were ‘HUGE’…
I came here looking for tips on how to build an 6′ x 11’ frame, not a 6″ x 11″ frame.
Hi Max, this is actually a 2 FOOT by 3 FOOT frame. Which is pretty big for picture frames but I would say the same principles would apply for a 6 foot by 11 foot… just make your moulding pieces bigger! Good luck!
I love your frame idea. What did you use to cover the photo?
Nothing! Which might not be ideal for all situations but it was totally fine with this just sitting up on the high mantel.