How to Design a Picture Frame

You can make a plain, wooden picture frame more colorful and fun by adding your own designs.

Designing and decorating your own picture frame is a good way to personalize a picture that means a lot to you. This activity is also a perfect craft project to do with friends, the kids or even by yourself. You can put your own unique touches onto your picture frame and make it a one-of-a-kind art project.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Plain wooden picture frame (available at craft stores)
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Decorative items (stickers, foam letters, glitter, ribbon)

1. Select a theme for the picture frame. If you have a specific picture in mind, the theme can realate to the picture. For example, if the picture is from a recent camping trip, you might decide to do an outdoor or camping theme. If the picture is from a holiday, the theme could relate to that specific holiday. If you don't have a specific picture in mind, you don't have to use a theme; you can decorate the frame however you wish.

2. Purchase the decorative items you want to use on the picture frame at your local craft or hobby store. You can choose stickers relating to your theme, such as tents or campfires for a camping theme or jack-o'-lanterns and witch hats if the picture is from Halloween. For non-themed frames, choose stickers in generic shapes and colors such as stars, hearts, circles and squares. Foam letters work well for adding a name or word to the frame. Glitter pens are a good way to add sparkle.

3. Lay your picture frame and decorative items on a flat surface such as a countertop or table. If you are using glitter or paints, put some old newspaper on the surface to keep from making a mess.

4. Place your decorative items on top of the wooden picture frame without gluing them down or removing the backing from the stickers. Arrange the items in an order that you like. For example, you might put someone's name at the top of the picture frame and a row of stickers at the bottom. Or you could put stickers in the four corners with a fun word along the bottom such as "friends" or "forever."

5. Once you've decided how you want the items to be displayed on the frame, glue or stick them onto the frame one by one.

6. Allow the hot glue to dry completely before placing your picture into the frame and displaying it.

References

• Decorating for the Artististic Soul; Decorating Your Own Picture Frames -- A Fun Art Project; Lisa Mason; Jan. 29, 2007

Resources

• Kidz World: Interior Design -- Decorate Your Picture Frames