A different style of frame

Like so many of us out there in the world, we are proud to display pictures of our pride and joy......our families!  I have found so many pictures of my family that I want hung, but I am kind of getting tired of the same old style and shape of frame.

I love to boutique shop and shop for homemade treasures, and it is becoming a more frequent sighting of these darling scrolled and cut picture frames.  However, the rule of thumb with this kind of work is, the more scrolls and cuts it has, the more it costs.  You know it's true.  And if you've figured anything out about me after reading some of this blog, you know that I am pretty darn thrifty and if I can find a way to make it myself, I will.  And after seeing a price tag of $45 on an 8X10 frame, that's just what I did, made it myself.

I did not make this frame.  It's similar to the one's I had been seeing
and after seeing one on a website actually hanging on a wall,
I knew I needed one too.

My cousin (who is a much better free-hand artist than myself) drew out a stencil for me.  He did it large as I wanted the opening to be 11x14 for a family photo to hang in. So he drew one that size, and I took it to the copy store and had it laminated and shrunk into different sizes so if I wanted an 8x10 instead, my cousin didn't have to draw another one.  I then headed to the Home Depot where I bought me a nice large piece of wood that cost me $10.59.

I laid the drawing onto my board and traced it.

Then, with my favorite saw, the scroll saw, I began to follow the pattern and cut it out.  Because there were so many turns to make and because I broke a few too many saw blades, it took me about an hour to cut out this one frame.  I am sure, now that I know what I am doing, the next one will be a breeze. But, nonetheless it was cut out, sanded, and with the use of a router, I had a nice finished edge to the frame.

My frame here is not sanded down yet. You'd be surprised at how many flaws
can be removed with a little sandpaper.

Then came the hard part, cutting the straight lines on the inside of the frame.  With a lot of patience, it got done and it was ready to paint.  And here, is the finished product....

I was so proud of how this turned out, I tried it with one more pattern, and here is the result of that....

So there ya go.  For a little less than $30, I had myself 2 11x14 custom made frames that, had I chose to buy at a boutique, would have cost me closer to $300.

It goes to show that if you are willing to put in a little work, and have the tools (or if your neighbor has the tools) and the patience, you too can find yourself bragging about being super crafty!

Now, to get the pictures taken to put inside the frames........hmmmm!