Words in Mini Frames

Hi everyone!

Well I was going to do a little project this weekend, but I was anxious to see how it would turn out, so this is how I spent my afternoon today.

I blogged here about my trip to Goodwill this morning, and how I found these 5 cute little mini frames:

Three of them were 50 cents, and two were 25 cents...so $2.00 total for the 'set'.

The inspiration for doing this craft came from seeing this adorable Mini Framed Spring post on Courtney's blog, A Diamond in the Stuff:

 

So cute, right?

Well I decided that I wanted to make my own version, but it wasn't until I got home that I realized that I had only gotten 5 frames. I tried to think of another word that I could use...but nothing came to mind. Until I remember that my last name had 5 letters..ha!

The first thing I did was to disassemble them. I took the frames into my disaster area of a garage, and spray painted them all with a matte black spray paint:

I already had the spray paint from other projects...so this cost me nothing.

It took 2 thin coats to cover them completely.

While the frames were drying, I cleaned up the glass for each of them, and using Picnik, decided what fonts to use for each of the letters.

Here are the frames all freshly painted. I'm not sure why, but I really prefer a matte black finish for frames instead of a glossy coat.

The frames dried nicely and covered well, except for the one I dropped on the floor while bringing them into my kitchen to work at my counter. (I really need a crafting space/area). The one I dropped landed just right so there was a tiny area on one corner that the paint got scuffed off, so I had go BACK into the garage and fix it...all the while mumbling and cursing.

When I made the Cookie Sheet Bulletin Board, I had gone to Walmart and bought a book of scrapbook paper, so I got that out, and chose 5 different patterns of paper that I wanted to use. Again, this was no cost since it was something I already had.

As I said earlier, I used Picnik to choose which fonts I wanted to use for the letters, and I printed out a different letter on each piece of paper. (I really need a Cricut) Then using the glass from each frame as a guide, I cut out the letters using a utility knife.

Notice how crooked the edges are? I can't cut paper.

I mean I can cut paper....I just can't cut it correctly. Ever.

It doesn't matter what I am cutting....even if I just put the scissors to the paper and make ONE cut.....it comes out crooked!! It's all curvy and wonky and looks like I flunked the cutting and pasting class in kindergarten. 

I know it MUST have something to do with my being left handed. There's simply no other explanation I can come up with. See how there is even a kind of grid patter on the paper above? Doesn't matter. And using the utility knife was an even bigger adventure. I know you're probably thinking.....left-handed scissors. Nope. After using normal scissors all my life, the expensive left-handed ones I have feel just horrible in my hand, and I do an even WORSE job with them, because the paper cuts on the opposite side of the blades. *sigh*

Ok enough of that. 

So after I have all of the letters printed and I schlep my way through the cutting process, I assemble all of the frames back together. Here is a close up of the first letter:

Again the total cost for this project was $2.00...what I paid for the frames. Everything else I used was something I already had.

I am planning on making one wall in my living room a gallery wall with family photos. I thought these little frames would look cute on a floating shelf somewhere mixed with the other, larger photos. For now though, for the sake of taking a photo of the finished project, they sit here on my kitchen shelf:

I like how they turned out, and when I find more little frames I might redo this for my grandson using brighter, bolder colors.

Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look. You are more than welcome to leave a comment, I love hearing from everyone.

Have a wonderful day!

Linking to:

{aka} design ~ 2805 ~ 30 Handmade Days ~ A bowl full of lemons ~ A Glimpse Inside ~ A Little Tipsy ~ Addicted 2 Decorating ~ At Home With K ~ At The Picket Fence ~ Be Different Act Normal ~ Between Naps on the Porch ~ Boogieboard Cottage ~ Brassy Apple ~ Cherished Handmade Treasures ~ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating ~ Coastal Charm ~ Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy ~ C.R.A.F.T. ~ Craft-O-Maniac ~ Debbie Does Creations ~ Delightful Order ~ DIY by Design ~ DIY Showoff ~ Elizabeth & Co ~ Fingerprints on the Fridge ~ Fireflies and Jellybeans ~ Five Days 5 Ways ~ French Country Cottage ~ Funky Junk Interiors ~ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Happy Hour Projects ~ Here Comes the Sun ~ home happy home ~ Home Savvy A To Z ~ homework ~ House of Hepworths ~ House of Grace ~ I Gotta Create! ~ I Heart Nap Time ~ It All Started With Paint ~ It's Overflowing ~ It's So Very Cheri ~ Just a Party with My Peeps ~ Kammy's Korner ~ little becky homecky ~  live laugh rowe ~ love notes by lauryn ~ My 1929 Charmer ~ My Girlish Whims ~ My Repurposed Life ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia ~ No Minimalist Here ~ Not Just A Housewife ~ One Artsy Mama ~ Our Delightful Home ~ Petite Hermine ~ Positively Splendid ~ RadCrafter ~ Randee's Organized Chaos ~ Sassy Sites! ~ Saved by Suzy ~ Savvy  ~ School House Scraps ~ Serendipity and Spice ~ Serenity Now ~ Sew Can Do ~ Sew Many Ways ~ Singing Three Little Birds ~ Skip To My Lou ~ Someday Crafts ~ Southern Lovely ~ Southern Style ~ Stuff and Nonsense ~ Sugar and Dots ~ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Sumo's Sweet Stuff ~ Tea Rose Home ~ The 36th Avenue ~ The Blackberry Vine ~ The Brambleberry Cottage ~ The Charm of Home ~ The Girl Creative ~ The Grant Life ~ The NY Melrose Family ~ The Project Queen ~ The Southern Institute ~ Thrifty 101 ~ Tip Junkie ~ Under The Table and Dreaming ~ Vintage Gwen ~ Young and Crafty