Hi All,

For today’s project I went back to my custom framing roots and created this framed wonder. It was originally an old 11×11 white frame with beige and black matting. It was nothing special but made of great materials. Truly, it was just begging to get a face-lift.

First I created my art using some wafer thin dies from W Plus 9’s Fresh Cut Florals. These stamps are very friendly to customization. It is one of the few stamps I have that you are able to layer images. If you notice, each element has been stamped multiple times to build layers.  It was my first try using them…and I am pretty much in love. I’ll have to mess around with them some more to see what else I can create.

Then I used some quality heavy weight designer papers to create some matting (matting is the border around the image) and added some trim to cover up the beige beveled edge that was previously on the mats.

To Jolie-fy the frame itself,  I painted it silver and dry brushed in some more silver. Then I took out some aggression and textured it like a maniac. No…not really. I did texture it, but I wasn’t angry.

I used one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE brands of glass cleaner to make the glass look like new (it was VERY hazed). If you have some mirrors or glass that is hazed from age, sun or any other weather…this stuff works wonders. Its the brand custom framers use to clean up some of the worst-conditioned frames that customers bring in.

And after ALL those steps….Here’s the final piece.