Things You'll Need:
- 2-foot square of pine about 1/4 inch thick
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Jigsaw
- Sandpaper
- 5-inch square of clear glass
- Whittling knife
- Wood glue/super glue
- Photograph
- Picture hanger and wire
- Small hinge
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Step 1
Place the 2-foot wood square on a work-safe surface. Measure to the center by making a grid vertically and horizontally at 12 inches. Mark the dot where the two lines cross. Measure 2 1/2 inches to the right, left, top and bottom of this center mark. Draw a 5-inch square using these new measurements. Draw a 6-inch square around the 5-inch square.
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Step 2
Starting at the outside lines of the 6-inch square, draw spikes pointing out. Draw five or six spikes surrounding the 6-inch square to make a star. Each of the spikes should begin and end on the outside line for the 6-inch square without extending inside to the 5-inch square. Make heavy lines over the marks outlining the spikes and the inner 5-inch square so you can see them clearly.
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Step 3
Place the wood square on a sawhorse or work table. Use a jigsaw to cut out the center 5-inch square to make a window. Cut the star out of the surrounding wood by cutting along the outlines of the spikes. Sand the cut edges with sandpaper to smooth splinters.
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Step 4
Cut a square from the scrap wood 5 3/4 inches wide. Sand the cut edges with sandpaper. Place the 5-inch square of glass in the cut window on the star. Trim the edges with a whittling knife if necessary to make the glass fit securely in the window. Squirt a dot of super glue or wood glue in each corner to secure the glass to the wood edges.
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Step 5
Cut the photograph to a square 5 1/8 inches wide. Lay the star frame face down. Place the photograph face down on the back so the picture can be seen through the glass window. Place the slightly larger 5 3/4-inch square of scrap wood on top. Squirt a line a glue around the side and bottom edges of the square and press it to the frame. You should be able to slide the photograph out through the top edge and put a new one in later.
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Step 6
Orientate the star-shaped frame so the photograph is turned the correct way. Screw a picture frame hanger into the wood on the back of the frame. Hang the frame on the wall with a nail.
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Step 7
To place the frame on a table top, use a hinge and scrap wood to make a stand leg. Glue one side of the hinge on the back of the frame near the top of the square center. Measure the distance from the hinge to the table. Add 3 inches to that measurement. Cut a scrap of wood the length you measured and 2 inches wide. Sand the edges. Glue the top end of the wood leg to the other side of the hinge. When it dries, you can pull the leg backward and prop the star frame on a table.
