How to Make Cardboard Frames

Customize a cardboard frame with stickers or labels.

Cardboard frames serve to set off photographs, homemade craft items, or kids' artwork. Create cardboard frames and dress them up into marketing tools, desk decor or wall arrangements. This projects offers an inexpensive and versatile photo or art frame to decorate and personalize. Keep it for home, school or business use--or give cardboard frames as gifts. Apply decorating ingenuity and no one will know the frame started life as part of a cardboard box.

Things You'll Need

• Utility knife
• Cutting board
• Cardboard
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Stickers, glitter, shells, stencils, labels or stick-on letters (optional)

Instructions

1. Measure the height and width of the item to be framed. For example, employ a ruler to check the size of a 5-inch by 7-inch photograph. Make a note of the measurement.

2. Draw a rectangle 1/4 inch smaller in each direction--in this example, 4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches. This way the edge of the photograph doesn't show and the frame holds the picture or artwork in place.

3. Draw a second rectangle, employing the ruler to draw straight lines. To create a 1 1/2-inch wide frame, draw the second rectangle 1 1/2 inches larger than the first rectangle in each direction.

4. Hold the cardboard down on a cutting board. Cut out the cardboard frame with a utility knife. Keep your hand out of the path of the blade.

5. Line up the cardboard frame with the corner of the cardboard, so that the bottom and side edge of the frame are even with the bottom and side edge of the cardboard. Hold the frame firmly. Use a pencil to trace the two other sides of the frame onto the cardboard.

6. Cut out the rectangle for the back of the frame.

7. Draw a sail shape--or half a triangle--on the cardboard. Make the sail 2 inches shorter than the frame, depending on the size of the frame. Make the base of the sail 3 to 4 inches wide. This creates the stand to hold the frame in a standing position, if you want to use it on a table or desk.

8. Cut out the sail and cut off the top point 1/2 inch below the tip. Fold 1/2 inch of the cardboard on the straight--not angled--side of the sail at a 90-degree angle.

9. Center the solid rectangle over the cardboard frame and rest it on top of the frame. Apply glue to the half inch of folded cardboard on the side of the cardboard that will face the back of the frame when the sail is extended from the frame at 90 degrees as a stand for holding up the frame.

10. Line up the wide end of the sail with the bottom of the frame at the center of the back of the frame. Press the glued edge of the sail against the back of the frame. Hold the sail in place for a slow count of 30. Set a book on top of the glued edge to help clamp the cardboard picture frame's stand in place.

11. Decorate the cardboard frame with stickers, stick-on letters to spell out names, glitter, shells, stenciled drawings, free-hand art--or anything else that personalizes the frame.

Tips & Warnings

• Get kids involved in making and decorating cardboard frames.

• Glue miniature party favors from a craft store onto the cardboard frames.

• Paint the cardboard frames.

• Precut cardboard frames for kids to decorate for a group project.

• Keep utility knives away from kids.

References

• Martha Stewart: Kids' Cardboard Frame
• National Geographic Kids: Homemade Photo Frame

Resources

• Artists Helping Children: Photo Frames