Stacks and Flats... and All the Pretty Things...: Thrifted Frame Makeover & First Day of School Pictures!!!

Friends!!
I'm not lost :)

Summer is always the hardest time of year for me to get regular posts out & it's definitely held true for this summer.

In the past ten days we've had graduation ceremonies, a graduation party, two different birthday parties for hubby, a funeral, back to school shopping to do and we lost one of our sweet kitties.

It's been a crazy week.

Thus the scarce posts around here lately.

But you still love me, right??

I thought I'd pop in & share the pictures I snapped of little man this morning as he started his first day of first grade!

Craziness!
I can't believe he's in a 'grade' now. He sounds all grown up now.

But him & his new little friend he made in line whispered 'I can already tell she looks nice' when their teacher walked up this morning so I think they'll be okay :)

Let's sidetrack & talk about one staple thrifted item we all should have for a moment.

I'm talking frames, peeps.

Awesome, chunky, wooden frames.

These are my all-time favorite pieces to snag at Goodwill and flea markets.

They are usually super cheap & soooo easy to makeover and make look amazing.

And you can use them for anything.

Like first day of school pictures :)

Check out my supplies I gathered for this easy photo prop:

Supplies:

Thrifted frame (3$ from Goodwill)

Fabric

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

Paint

Printable (mine is from Classy Clutter)

The funnest part is picking what color to paint your frame because the sky is the limit!

I went with white because I wanted it to be able to be used over & over again with different printables.

But seriously, go crazy :)

I painted mine white, let it dry & then wrapped the cardboard backing it had with my gorgeous yellow fabric.

Secure the fabric around the board with hot glue and then just pop back into the frame.

You could use scrapbook paper too but my frame was too big & I didn't want to have to piece paper together. You don't have to do this at all if your picture fills the frame all the way. But I wanted a fun pop of color around my print.

It makes the cutest photo prop once it's all done!!

I used a tiny piece of tape to secure my print to the fabric.

I'll change out my prints whenever I need to.

I love having a frame around for random photo shoots :)

Tips for thrifting for frames:

1. Look for the wooden ones! They are so easy to paint...cheapy plastic ones are a pain. Metal ones are fun to paint to.

2. Look for unique shapes. I always keep an eye out for oval, round & curvy frames. They just don't make awesome frames like they used to. So I snatch them up when I see them! I always keep a stash in my garage and I go through them quick!

3. Get the ones with glass already. Unless you're specifically looking for glass-less ones for a project, get ones with glass. Pictures & prints always look better behind glass :) I've bought some before thinking that another 8x10 frame's glass would fit and they usually don't.

4. The chunkier the better! Chunky frames with awesome detail look amazing once they are all painted up. Yes, sometimes you have to look past the hideous colors they already are... but they are so worth it. Promise :)

And don't forget to think outside the box when it comes to awesome frames.

Use them as trays, as photo props, as wreaths. Cluster them together for awesome collages, use them on your mantles, & set them as a centerpiece for your next party!!

Here are a couple ways I've used them in the past to get your creative juices flowing...