Upcycled Thrift Store Frame

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This is Day 3 of the 5 Days of Crafting, where I take what I have on hand from the thrift store or just laying around and create a craft.  I found this small piece of Easter décor laying under some picture frames.  I totally forgot I had it!  It was marked at $1.99 (which I thought was kinda high, just saying) but green was the Color of the Day so I scored it for a buck.

Old Easter frame decor.
Easter Frame Before

My daughter had posted a picture of my granddaughters a few months back and I just fell in love with it.  They have a boat and my granddaughters (three of them) love to go out on the water.  I immediately thought this old frame would be perfect for the picture!  I needed to make it look more nautical.  Time to upcycle! You can see a picture frame that I upcycled HERE.

Prepping the Upcycled Thrift Store Frame

This is a very simple project, so this will probably be one of the shortest crafts I have ever completed.  But, simple or not, it keeps me busy and I get to share it with all of you! 

First, I removed the bunny rabbit plastic photo.  It was simple because it had these picture turn buttons that you just simply turn to remove the picture.

Removing bunny picture
Turn Buttons

Next, I gave the frame a wipe down with a damp wash cloth. 

Painting the Frame

For this project, I will be using some leftover Dixie Belle Paint in the color Gulf (appropriate, right?).    It’s a pretty turquoise blue.

Jar of Dixie Belle Gulf
Dixie Belle Gulf

The entire frame only took one coat of paint.

Distressing

After the paint dried for about an hour, I came back and distressed around the edges.  I wanted some of the original white to peek through.  The turquoise and the white just reminded me of being out on the open blue water with big white fluffy clouds overhead!

After I finished painting, the frame just looked boring.  The Hubs suggested adding a vinyl decal (ya’ll know it’s his specialty!).  He created a decal with white vinyl that read “Salt Life” because they love the saltwater. He applied the decal to the bottom portion of the frame.

Salt Life vinyl decal.
Salt Life Vinyl Decal

I printed the photo on a piece of glossy photo paper and added it to the frame.  Since this would be sitting on a tabletop or fireplace mantel, I did not add anything over the photo. 

I did not apply a topcoat because I felt I didn’t need it.  The grandbabies absolutely loved it!  This took all of 10 minutes.  Well for me anyways.  I am not a Cricut machine person.  Just let me paint!

Nautical Frame
Nautical Frame after Makeover

Save it for later!

6 thoughts on “Upcycled Thrift Store Frame”

  1. Cheryl Atkinson

    I haven’t used The Gulf yet but it is pretty and that decal is something else. Thank you for sharing!

  2. Gulf is one of my favorite DB colors. Perfect color for your nautical upcycle – nice job! Boy, could I pick your hubby’s brain on his Cricut expertise.

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