Photo Craft - Vintage Photo Frames
Christmas Gift Idea - Recycling Vintage Photo Frames
Continuing my series on gifts and crafts for your photographs on the run up to Christmas, this is something that I really enjoyed doing. I was lucky to be given these old, metal frames a few weeks ago and as soon as I saw them, I had an idea of what I wanted to do with them.
This is what the frames looked like when I had them. The metal was tarnished and the backs had come unstuck. They'd been filled with fabric printed images with foam behind to create a spongy surface. The foam had mostly disintegrated.
So I collected some craft kit together - a couple of photographs printed in the correct size, pencil, scissors, newspaper to protect the surface when spray painting, glue and black spray paint (leftover from when I made my own pinhole cameras).
I gave the frames a good clean (with ever-useful baby wipes) and scraped off the remaining foam that was stuck to the frames.
Then spray-painted the frames. I love spray-painting, even though the smell is overwhelming. They had to be left overnight to dry.
Cut the photographs to size using the frame backs as templates.
I put a thin line of glue on the inside rim of the frame before sticking down the photographs and the backs, then added a layer of glue around the outside at the back, which dried clear. The frames had been put together like that originally as I'd scraped off the old glue, so it made sense to me to use the same method.
Et voilà! I really like the result of these, especially with the black and white photographs and matt-black of the frames. Upcycling, recycling, whatever you'd like to call it, they have a new lease of life rather than being thrown away which can only be a good thing. If you come across old framed pictures when clearing out, at a car boot or in a charity shop, consider what they might look like painted in a colour of your choice and with the image replaced. Any way to get your photos displayed and printed!
Please do let me know if you give this idea a go - I'd love to see your creations! Another idea coming next week.