Upcycle Frame to Message Board

I apologize for not having a new blog post sooner. It was a crazy week with work and school. And as my husband reminds me, reading for school is more important than the blog. Boo. I had this post written for over a week, and had started taking pictures a few days ago, but got interrupted by a phone call from work for me to go back in. So, after doing some reading and cleaning today, I was finally able to take the photos for this post! 

I love having decor that says something about who we are or is inspirational. We have a few things like this around the house, and today I want to tell you about one I made myself!

This frame was originally walnut and had a matte that displayed 9 horizontal pictures. I liked that it could hold so many pictures, but it was so plain and.... Blah. I like more creative ways to display our photos. Or at least more interesting frames!

So, I took this idea from.... Pinterest! I removed the matte, glass, and back and spray painted the frame white. I have learned at lot about spray painting over the last year. Temperature of the environment is important! It can't be too hot or cold. Tried that. The cold did some kinda cool things to the paint on a bottle I was working on, though.

Another tip is to use a spray paint gun. This $3 investment saves my finger when painting! Some brands of spray paint have nicer, bigger buttons though which are not only easier to use, but don't even work with the gun. One of the great things about spray paint is that you can basically paint any type of surface (check out the list on the back), and no sanding or priming needed! Just make sure it is clean!!

So after spray painting, I let it dry for a few hours and then sanded it a little on the edges to give it a distressed look.

Now, for the background you have a variety of options: tissue paper, wrapping paper, fabric, maybe even newsprint. The key though is to have something that your marker will show up on top of. So, you might not want a very dark or colorful pattern. I have had this wrapping paper for a while and love it! It works great for this project because of the neutral and subdued colors: I don't have to worry about the marker being visible!

Measure the size of the glass, cut the paper to fit, and use double sided tape to secure to the backing of the frame, so the tape will not be visible.

Replace the glass and backing, and that's it!! Then choose a message for the board and write in DRY ERASE marker on the glass. You could use it for a to-do list, grocery list, calendar, or just to write cool quotes on (like me)!

If you are looking for an easy DIY project, this is it!! And with so many ways to make it unique and display it, it's a great project for anyone!!