People who like to create something with their own hands can do a variety of crafts, objects for arranging the interior. Today on the shelves in stores there are many frames for photos, they are varied and cute, but their prices are usually quite high. Therefore, having made a framework for photographs with your own hands, you can not only show imagination and pour a piece of soul into the interior of the apartment, but also save the budget. Therefore, it is worth allotting personal time for this mission.
Handmade benefits
Why is it worth making a photo frame with your own hands? Embodying reality with his own hands, a person can:
- Fully express your imagination and create such a frame as you like.
- Save money.
- Fill the space of an apartment or house with your own energy.
These are just some of the factors that indicate that making photo frames with your own hands is worth it.
What manufacturing tools will be required
To do the job without obstacles, you should think in advance about tools and materials that may come in handy. Much depends on the main raw material from which the frame will be made. But still, a standard set of tools exists. These include:
- The main material of the frame.
- Scissors and a knife for selected raw materials.
- Mounting and moving elements.
- A stencil on which the shape of the frame will be cut.
- Ruler and pencil.
- Glue for fixing on the surface of decorative elements.
Cardboard craft
Cardboard photo frames can be thought of in a variety of ways, perfectly matching the color scheme and texture to the interior of the apartment or house. You need to act in turn:
- First of all, you should consider what shape and design the photo frame will be.
- Then draw on the cardboard with a pencil and a ruler a contour along which the frame shape will be cut.
- After that, you can start decorating the prepared element. Anything can act as a decoration of a composition. Some take into account various techniques (decoupage, origami, quilling), others simply paste over the base for the frame with bright colored paper. In any case, you need to act carefully and slowly.
- When the decor is complete, you can begin to mount the movable mechanisms, with which the frame will open and close after the photograph is inserted. The mechanism can be fixed using hot-melt adhesive or double-sided tape.
Upon completion of mounting the movable mechanism, the frame can be considered finished. It remains only to choose a picture that will become a profitable addition to the product made by hand.
Plywood photo frames
Plywood is also often used to create do-it-yourself products. This material is strong enough and will last for many years. It is not difficult to work with plywood, but still some skills and additional tools will be required. It is necessary to prepare such tools:
- Jigsaw, electric or manual. The choice depends on the skills of the master and financial capabilities.
- Files with different grain sizes will also be required. They will help to make the surface even and smooth.
- Paint will be needed if the color of the raw materials is planned to be changed.
When all the necessary materials are at hand, you can get to work. The sequence is as follows:
- First you need to create a template for the future frame in special programs or draw it on a piece of paper.
- Then the contours of the template must be transferred to the prepared plywood.
- If the plywood is thin, then it is better to seal it by working, connecting the two parts together with glue.
- Then, with a jigsaw, carefully, without undue effort, it is necessary to cut out the form.
- You can process the surface every time or after finishing giving the frame the desired shape.
- Each bend must be gently wiped so that sharp corners do not protrude. This is done using files of different sizes. Grouting begins with a large nail file, then medium, and already at the end of small work. For confidence, it is also recommended to walk through the treated areas with a piece of sandpaper.
- Before you start decorating the product, you need to carefully clean the frame from dust and residues of exfoliated wood. This is easy to do with a large brush.
- When the workpiece is cleaned, you can start painting, if it is planned, or gluing decor elements.
- For durability of the result and giving the product shine, it is varnished.
A frame made of plywood will transform any room favorably, and correctly selected decorative elements will allow the product to fit perfectly into the interior design solution.
From salt dough
Lovers of creating with their own hands are well aware that the dough is not only a mass for baking pies, but also an excellent raw material for the manufacture of various products. A frame for photos from salt dough will look great if you first decide on the design and stock up on all the necessary materials.
First of all, you need to cook the dough to create a frame. To do this, you will need:
- 1 cup finely ground salt.
- 1 cup wheat flour.
- 5 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
- Some water.
- Dyes or colored paints.
This recipe will help to get a mass that is ideal for sculpting. After combining all the components, it is advisable to keep the dough in a cool place for several hours.
When the required amount of time has passed, you can begin to sculpt the frame. To do this, you need:
- Come up with a form.
- Cut it out of the rolled dough.
- Then create decor elements from the rest of the flour mass and attach them to the base.
- After the photo frame has acquired the desired appearance, the product is immersed in the oven at low temperature.
- After it is required to allow the product to cool, and you can proceed with decorating.
A frame of salt dough will look great in any interior design decision.
From felt
Felt is a very interesting material to experiment with. Frames for photos from felt are bright and unusual. In addition, for the manufacture does not require much experience.
Make a frame in this order:
- First, prepare all the necessary materials for work.
- Then, gently apply a contour to the fabric with a pencil, along which the shape will then be cut.
- After you can sew a piece of oilcloth on the threads, it will be instead of glass.
- You also need to sew the back to the front of the same shape, leaving one side not sewn into which the photo will be inserted.
- Then the product is decorated. You can decorate felt with anything, from beads, buttons, to complex compositions with embroidery, shells and other improvised elements.
Frames made of felt will make the atmosphere in the room warm and sincere, so you should take into account such products.
Plaster Products
Gypsum is an excellent material for making frames for photographs. Such products look professional and expensive, regardless of whether the needleworker has experience working with the material or not. To work, you will need:
- Plastic, rubber or any other mold to create the shape of the desired size and design. Some use ordinary plastic containers with a curly bottom. This will help not only create a beautiful frame, but also save money by not wasting it on professional molds.
- Dry mix of gypsum.
- Acrylic paints to give the desired color to the frame.
- Pebbles, rhinestones, shiny beads for decorating a frame made of plaster for photographs.
These materials will help to create a beautiful and original frame, which will not differ from the one sold in stores.
Frames from improvised materials
Each apartment has many seemingly unnecessary little things that, if desired, and the ability to give a new life. These things may be:
- Various ribbons, pieces of fabric of beautiful colors.
- Buttons of different colors and sizes.
- Shells and pebbles.
- Pieces of thread.
- Broken Christmas toys.
- Sand.
- Dried leaflets.
Photo frames made from improvised materials will make an excellent product for interior decoration. All these elements can be attached to the form from the selected material, creating an incredibly original composition. The most important thing is to use your imagination and not be afraid to translate your plans into reality. It is important, before making a photo frame with your own hands, to think about what kind of picture it will have upon completion of work.
Design ideas
It is important to initially decide what design should be in the frame so that it fits the overall picture of the interior and fits into the space of the apartment, house. There are many options for how to make a photo frame with your own hands, you can take into account the frames of this form:
- Square frame.
- Round product for a photo.
- Asymmetric form.
- In the form of a heart.
- A large frame into which you can insert several photos.
Antique frame also looks interesting in the interior of an apartment or house.
You should also pre-think not only the form, but also the options for framing the frame. You can take into account such options for finishing the prepared form of the frame:
- Staining.
- Gluing with colored paper or using decoupage technique.
- Decorating the frame with beads, rhinestones.
- Also popular is the marine theme, which uses shells, colorful sand.
- You can use cereals, coffee beans, and even seeds.
Thoroughly thought out the design and choosing it for the interior, you can not only create a beautiful frame for a photo, but also bring freshness and soul to the space of an apartment or house.