Picture This Finale!

The last post was about making a reclaimed wood picture frame. I had finished the actual frame, but it wasn't really usable because it didn't have glass or a backing. You didn't think that I would leave you all hanging did you? Get it? It's a play on words. ...Okay not a great one.

Since I had the frame, I took it to a nearby frame shop. They measured the insert, and cut the glass and the backing. The whole thing took about 5 minutes. Not only that, it only cost 5 smackers!

They gave me these to use to hold the backing.

I know that it is on the back, and no one will see it, but I wanted to change the gold and silver to something that matches or at least blends in with the dark ebony stain on the back. I used just a bit of this great rust-oleum spray paint that I had saved up to use for a future project.

I screwed in the six clasps, and painted the backing with regular acrylic paint that I already had. They gave me a white foam board, and that would have been too much contrast. Again, I realize that this is the back, but I don't want it to stick out like a sore thumb. This is what the back of the frame looked like in the end:

If you really wanted you could tack on another backing in order to make it a stand up frame. This is only another couple dollars from the frame store. Super easy, but unnecessary if you want to prop it up against a wall or hang it.

Here is the final product. Dun, dun, dun dunnnn......

And the detail shot:

And here is the price break down:

Wood to make the frame - $0 - I had this left over from a past project.
Elmer's Wood Glue - $0 - Already owned
Ebony wood stain - ~$8
Clear polyurethane - $0 - I had this left over from a past project.
Glass and backing - $5 - my glass and backing was about 7" x 9". It would have cost a bit more for a bigger piece.

Total = $13

Considering I found these two frames for about $40 each at the Rebuilding Center, I think that I came across on top.

Plus, I like mine better. :)

Picture This!

This past December I went to a trade show. I came home with a pile of goodies, but among the stack was this little number:

It is a 4x6 postcard that I thought it would be a nice addition to the guest room bedside table. The next step, to make a cute little frame to house it. As you may know, I have had a love affair with reclaimed wood furniture for a while, so I decided to use my faux reclaimed wood technique to make a country-chic picture frame.

I'm no stranger to making a picture frame-esque shape. In college I made a lot of canvases for painting. Tomato, tomato, right? Ya, except when it is actually a picture frame it has to look pretty. No hiding the uneven edges under a stretched canvas.

To start, I used some wood that we bought at the Re-Build It Center on N Mississippi. We got about 30+ pieces of cedar planks for about $30, although I think that we underpaid because the man who sold them to us didn't realize they were cedar. ...oops? Nabil used it for a bench that he built for our entry way, but we have quite a bit left over, enter new projects for Courtney.

The wood that we had was intended to be used for railings (I think). They came with a grove already cut in the back. 

This actually ended up working well for me because I only had to make one long cut instead of two. I basically just ended up cutting off one side of the groove to make it an even notch taken off the plank. Since I did this however, it meant that the glass will end up going in farther behind the frame, and because of that I will probably have to tape the picture to the backside of the glass. This will all make sense in a bit, once you see the cuts that I made.

After beating the crap out of three 8ft planks, I began cutting. You want to make sure to cut the notch out the back before staining the wood. I used my husband's hand dandy skill saw for the cut. My dad has taught me that to make a cut with a skill saw, make sure that you have another piece of wood next to the piece you are cutting. This will help keep the saw nice and straight while cutting. Our skill saw does have a laser guide though, so I'm not sure it was too necessary, but the extra wood pieces also helped to hold the plank tightly in our wood cutter. PS, this is not the safest way to keep the wood tight, but it worked for this purpose. Also notice the pencil line where I measured out where I needed to cut (1/4 in away from the edge).

After cutting the pieces, I sanded the edges using our orbital sander to make sure that nothing went higher than the original cut that came in the center of the back. This was my attempt at making sure the whole cut was the same depth. Once they are cut into smaller pieces, you will want them to line up as evenly as possible. You can kinda see in the pic below that the cut on the left was better than the right.

Sander and wood filler to the rescue! I used wood filler to make sure that the surface was even. Since the glass is going to be resting against this surface, it is important to make sure it is as even as possible.

Next is the fun part, staining the wood, followed by using the miter saw for 45* angle cuts. You can get the full tutorial for staining here, but when you are done, this is what you will get:

*on a side note, I did cut the wood into smaller pieces to make them more manageable to stain and cut. This step is optional, but if you do this, or are using smaller pieces to start with, make sure they were twice the size of outside edge. I used a drawing that I made before the project to ensure I knew correct sizes. I had to hone my 9th grade algebra skills. See kids, knowing your math facts does pay off.

Finally, miter saw, here I come! This is in my opinion, this most fun tool EVER. It's just so easy to use and looks so BA.

For the first cut, just cut the edge into a 45* angle. Make sure the pointed part is on the side that will be used for the outside of the frame. For the second cut, measure the inside edge to just a little shorter than 6 inches (or whatever size you want your frame to be).

You want to make two pieces that are exactly the same size. This will ensure that your frame stays a rectangle and doesn't turn into a diamond or some oblong trapezoid. That's right, I know my shapes. When the ends are flush on both ends, they are the same size. I had to trim one of the pieces just a bit to make them exact.

If they look like this, they are not the same size. Yup, I did that... Good thing I had extra wood.

Now repeat with two more pieces. Since I wanted to make a double frame, I had to make six more pieces. Here is what I had once everything was done.

The next part is lining the frame up tightly and using wood glue to connect all the pieces. Normally, I would stick a nail in side and then cover up the head, but A, I don't have a handy air compressor or a nail gun like the college art department had, and B, since it is just a small fram the doesn't weight much, the nails aren't really necessary, the wood glue will hold everything just fine.

When the corners dired, I flipped it around and applied a LOT more glue in the corner, and any evdent cracks.

Again, when that dried, I added a little more wood filler inbetween to boards. This is mostly for asthentic value. Stained wood filler looks better than dried wood glue.

I then sanded the back of the frame, and added a full coat of stain. I didn't treat the back like I did the front. I just left the stain as is. I also used the mostly dried brush to fill an imperfections in the front (i.e. the frame corners where the saw cuts took off some splinters to reveal the unstained wood below).

Lastly, I applied a few coats of polyurethane. The pain in the ass part about this (and any decorative paint project really) is that you have to apply a coat, wait for it to dry, and repeat as necessary. What is that expression? ...oh ya, It's like watching paint dry. Boring! To do the front and back, it took a whole week because I would apply a coat right when I got home from work, and then wait a full day before sanding and applying the next coat. I have discovered, that with polyurethane, it is best to use steel wool to sand inbetween coats. I ended up applying three coats to the front, and two to the back.

My favorite part about this project is the details up close. I love that beat-up/repurposed look come to life.

And now, it's done! ...until I finish the rest.

I hope that helps to show that although the process is a little tedious, it is actually pretty easy, and I just saved you over $30! The next post will cover how and where to get glass for the frame. :)

Until next time...



Faux Reclaimed Wood

It seems that the new big thing in home decor is reclaimed wood furniture, and I have to say, I am in  LOVE. The look of old wood turned new is gorgeous, and what Portlander doesn't appreciate recycling. I have had a headboard reclaimed wood project in mind for a while now, and still fully intend on doing it, but I needed a smaller first project to start. I decided to start with picture frames. The finished frames will come in a later post. This post is all about making faux reclaimed wood. I originally got the idea and many of the techniques from one of my favorite blogs. You can find it here.

I know what you are thinking, and yes I did just contradict myself. What is the point of making new wood look "reclaimed"? Why would you buy new wood just to beat it up? My dad is probably saying that as he reads this right now. I understand that it seems a little weird, but it looks pretty dad :) , and there are a few problems with actually using old wood. For one, it is very difficult to find usable old wood. Most weathered wood is at least partially rotted, or has too much nail/screw damage to make it reusable. And, depending on the size of the project you may not be able to find enough usable wood for what you need. For these reasons, I chose to use newer wood and beat the crap out of the surface. Plus, it is always fun to release some pent up frustration by beating up a plank of wood. But enough talking typing. The deets are below.

The wood that I used was cedar (I think). We got it at a local re-build it store, so it is technically "reclaimed", but the wood is actually really nice. We got a great deal. It came with the weird groove right in the middle of one side. I think that it was originally used for railings?

Anyway, to distress the wood, I used a number of different tools we already had. Firstly, if the wood that you are using is brand new, you will probably need to sand down the edges to make them a little more round. This makes it look more worn. The planks that I had were already rounded on the corners, so I just started right in on beating it up. Below are the tools and a tutorial of what I did, and below the first picture is how the wood looked after.

Bag of screws: Put a handful of screws in a bag and start swinging. This was the easiest and I think the most efficient. I did this one the whole length of the wood, not just in spots.

A huge screw: I used this to drag across the plank. Simply scrape the wood a few times with the teeth of the screw. Cedar is a hard wood, so it was a little more difficult than it would have been with pine.

The trusty hammer: Swing away and make a bunch of dents. I kinda used the corner of the hammer so it wasn't a perfect circle when it hit the wood. A circle may look like it was hit on purpose, and not through years of wear and tear.

Chisel: Use the edge of the tool, and just start scraping away.

Little nails: Place one on the board, and smack it with the hammer.

There are many other techniques that that you can use. I've heard of people using chains and bricks, but we just had what was on hand. So how do you get from the damaged new wood to the after? First, make sure to sand it down again. Just enough so that the surface is smooth. You don't want to give a passerby a gaping splinter wound. Next, you will need a dark stain. We used ebony because I wanted to see a bigger contrast. There are a few different techniques. You can see from the picture below that the board on the left is darker than the right.

For the board on the left, I put the stain right on the board using a crappy $1 foam brush. Right after, I wiped the stain off with a paper towel. This allows the stain to get in all the little cracks but gets taken off the surface. For the board on the right, I did the same thing, but I first put on a layer of water with a second brush. Make sure to use a different brush for the water and the stain because the stain is oil based so one brush will not pick up both. Using the water does the same thing but allows less stain to soak into the wood. It is a little lighter, and I think that it is a little more real looking. You can see the dry product below:

Pretty cool huh? Tune in soon for the finished product. Until next time...