How to Make Decorative Rustic Picture Frames
If you've decorated your home with a rustic style and need accessories to complement the look or if you simply want to create a craft using items you have on hand, make simple picture frames with twigs and jute for an eye-catching, natural look. Let your kids help with this simple project to design photo frames as gifts for teachers, classmates, friends and family members. The children can also embellish the easy frames with washable paint, glitter glue or embellishments for extra color or pizazz.
Things You'll Need
- Ruler
- Pencil
- White poster board or chipboard
- Scissors or craft knife
- 12 to 16 thin wood twigs
- White glue or adhesive dots
- Jute or brown embroidery floss
- Magnetic adhesive tape
- Tape
Instructions
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1
Use a ruler and pencil to measure and make lines on a piece of white poster board or chipboard to mark off a 5-by-7-inch rectangle. Cut the shape out with scissors or a craft knife.
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2
Draw a 4-by-6-inch rectangle onto the center of the 5-by-7-inch piece of poster board or chipboard with a pencil. Carefully cut the shape out with scissors or a craft knife, leaving a 1-inch wide frame.
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3
Cut six to eight thin wood twigs to 6-inch lengths with sharp scissors and cut six to eight twigs to 8-inch lengths.
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4
Affix three to four of the 8-inch-long twigs across the top of the horizontal frame with white glue or adhesive dots, pressing them together to prevent the white poster board from showing through. Affix the remaining 8-inch-long twigs across the bottom of the frame.
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5
Center and stick three to four of the 6-inch-long twigs along the left side of the frame with white glue or adhesive dots. Repeat the process with three to four twigs on the right side of the frame.
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6
Snip an 8-inch-long piece of jute or brown embroidery floss with scissors. Wrap it around the upper-left corner of the frame, lashing the horizontal and vertical twigs together. Tie the ends of the jute in a knot and snip the ends with scissors. Repeat the process for the remaining three corners of the frame.
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7
Push a 5-inch-long piece of jute under the top of the frame, pull it around and tie the two ends of the jute together to create a loop to hang the frame on a bulletin board or window. You can also add two strips of magnetic adhesive tape to the back of the frame to hang the photo on the refrigerator or a decorative magnet board. Affix a photo to the back of the rustic twig picture frame with tape.
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Tips & Warnings
You may need additional wood twigs to completely cover the poster board or chipboard if your twigs are exceptionally skinny or less if your twigs are thick.
Create colorful twig frames by painting the wood sticks with washable paint and allowing them to dry before affixing them to the poster board or chipboard. You can also create designs with glitter glue along the twigs or add accents like rhinestones or sequins with adhesive dots.
If you don't have twigs available, create the rustic photo frames with wood craft sticks or blunt wood dowels instead.
