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Glazed Frame – Learning By Doing

Have you ever noticed that the pricing of frames at Goodwill seems a little off? Old broken Wal-Mart frame with a 59 cent clearance sticker on it – $2.99. Awesome, chunky, carved oval frame – $2.99.  So when I spotted this lil’ lady lying amongst the heaps of crappy gold frames, I snached it up and felt like a won the (very tiny) frame lottery. 

oval frame
Now I know what your thinking – that it would be a crime paint a hand carved wooden frame. I agree, but  rest assured… it’s not real wood. It may look like it, but I’m pretty sure real wood doesn’t peel apart in paper-like flakes to reveal a black mystery material underneath. So…out came the spray paint.
frame makeover
I thought it looked pretty good like that, but I wanted to try my glaze and this is the perfect piece. Remember when I wanted to glaze my crappy $5 table but couldn’t because I bought the wrong glaze?
glaze
As it turns out I didn’t buy the wrong glaze, your just supposed to mix it with paint. A reader pointed that out to me…and sure enough it says it right there on the back of the can. So Tim the Tool Man Taylor of me to not read the directions.
So I went to mix up my glaze and realized that I don’t own any black paint. I also don’t own any brown or grey paint…closest thing I had was the blue/grey that I used for the kitchen cabinets. I figured that was good enough and threw an unknown amount of paint into an unknown amount of glaze. Measure…who measures? Measurings for losers …or people that have more than a few scared minutes of naptime to work with.
dark glaze white accents
I mixed it up and rubbed it into all the nooks and crannies. BTW, I didn’t read any tutorials on this process…I’m just winging it. Like I said, naptime is too short to spend it reading tutorials.
Anyway, I had to put it on pretty thick to get it all up in there.
frame makeover
Then I got my rag and started wiping it off, till it looked like this…
Victorian frame makeover
I was feeling like the contrast was a little much, so I had the brilliant idea to just put on a layer of plain glaze to dull it down a bit.
upgrading photo frame
 It was working great until it dried and looked the exact same. You know, cause the glaze is clear and all. Whatever, it was worth a shot.
DIY frame renovation
 I needed the instant gratification of putting a photo in it, so I went on the hunt for an 8X10 I already had. Then I spotted this…
frame photo options
That white envelope (on my super messy bedroom bookshelf) is a family photo from our church directly. It’s been sitting there for about six months or so – which is a long time, though not as long as that container of bubbles has been sitting there.

So there we have it…two birds with one stone. Family photo off the shelf- check. Teach myself how to glaze by trial and error – check.

glaze by trial and error
Funny story about that photo…Elijah and I had a bad day where he didn’t nap at all (I think he was about 16 months in this picture). On the car ride to the church he passed out and we could NOT wake him up. He would open his eyes for a second, then they would roll back into his head and he would crash on Adams chest. So we went with it and I think the final product turned out pretty sweet & hilarious.

Ashley

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43 Comments

  1. Such a sweet pic Ashley! My goodwill's don't carry nice things like that frame lol. Don't get me wrong I do find other things but frames it's a no go… There are some new resale shops hat are just opening and I am going to see if I could do something like this for our new family picture ;) Thanks for the idea chica!

  2. I'm not a fan of the whole painting/distressing/glazing craze BUT I ♥ your frame!
    The glaze just perfectly accentuates the detail and the colours you used are just right.
    The pic is a gorgeous finishing touch – so beautiful.

  3. Love the frame.
    I am laughing SO hard at E sleeping in this picture. Maybe it was just the way you told me the story that is making me laugh so hard, or maybe because I am delirious. It's just hilarious.

  4. Wow that's brilliant! I must try to see the potential in things I see in thrift stores! Cute picture :)
    Found you through Made by You Monday

  5. Great tutorial, Ashley! Your frame turned out just perfectly imperfect! :) And it's a beautiful addition to that awesomely sweet photo of you and your family. ♥

    xoxo laurie

  6. The finished frame looks great!

    And YES, I have absolutely noticed that GW pricing is off sometimes. The thing that 'should' be more is super cheap, while broken crap is ridiculously priced. I always wonder how they decide on prices for their stuff.

  7. That frame is beautiful..I love what you did with it! I can agree Goodwill pricing can be nuts–Dollar Tree items are 1.99 and stuff. But once in awhile you find something awesome for really cheap and that whats keeps me going there…like everyday!

  8. Nice grab on the GOOD frame and leaving the clearance section WalMart ones– (gosh I know what you mean on their pricing of stuff sometimes!)

    Darling makeover!

    Visiting from Under $100 linky party at Beyond The Picket Fence :) Thanks for sharing with us!
    ~Smiles, Suzanne in NW Illinois

  9. Great job with this! I need to get over my fears and try this one day! Why not, right? Especially when you can find the “before” frames so cheap! I would love if you would consider linking this up to “Drab to Fab” this Friday (tomorrow). The theme is taking the ordinary or simple and turning it into something fabulous! This post totally embodies that! I know my readers would get a kick out of seeing this! Here's a link to more info about the party.
    http://www.amynjesse.com/p/drab-to-fab.html
    Hope to see you tomorrow!

  10. What a beautiful picture!! Your little angel snoozing against Daddy's chest is so precious. And way to go girl with the glaze. IMHO you did a great job there. I thought it was awesome white, even better with the glaze. Kudos!!

  11. You have a beautiful smile Ashley.
    I love your web site , and I learn from your ideas, and do you know? You are mi sister! (In Christ) .
    .

  12. love ur DUIs but i thought this one should have a black and white pic…would really make it shine even more. but..who am i to say..i could never come up with creative ideas like this. :)

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