Superdon's Super-hot-glue Picture Frames

Picture it. Kristl from the merchandising department handed me a stack of frames and let me "go wild" with my craft imagination. I went home and starting searching through my craft boxes to see what I could use to jazz up the photo frames.

I located some completed yo-yos, fabric, stickers, ribbons, costume jewelry, and buttons. Once I found my trusty glue-gun and season one of the Good Wife, I was ready to start crafting.

Yo-yo frames:

I opened my tote of completed yo-yos from last year and pulled out some blue and brown yo-yos to adhere to the photo frames. All it took for this size frame was 10 yo-yos that I strategically placed on the frame. I put a couple dabs of hot glue on the fabric and then pressed the hot glue to the frame. This was extremely simple and helped create a fun fabric photo. 

Fabric frames:

After my success with the fabric yo-yos, I thought that I would adhere fabric directly to the frames. That way, I could have an entire frames covered in fabric. This turned out to be a disaster! The frames had a polished finish. I could not paint them - the paint would not adhere to the slippery frame. Then, I used decoupage to get the fabric to stick. This did not turn out well - the fabric was wider than the insert to put the glass back in, I couldn't get it to line up correctly and it bunched up when it dried. I think someone with more patience and a finer cutting tool could make this work.

Ribbon/Sticker frames:

This was my least favorite of the finished frames, but I think it is because I started this out incorrectly. I learned from the fabric that I would need to be careful with the ledge so I could stick the glass back into the frame. I started winding the ribbon around, but could get it to look nice on the corners. So, I cut strips of ribbon and used hot glue in order to keep the ribbon flat on the frame. I added owl stickers as embellishments. Of all the frames, I think this looks the "cheapest" but all I needed was a frame, ribbon, hot glue gun and stickers to make this.  

Button frames:

This was the easiest of all the frames. I pulled out my button jar, which was organized quite well by my nephews and nieces a few weeks ago by color. I used pink and brown buttons, putting hot glue on the back and pressing down against the frame. I made a second row of buttons on top of the first, adhering them with hot glue.

Jewelry frames:

This one turned out to be the favorite at the office. I took old costume jewelry that I picked up at a flea market for this type of project. I tore it apart and then added it to a picture frame, hot gluing it all down. This frame is by far the heaviest, but looks the most unique (in my humble opinion). If I had more beads or chains, I think I could have made a consistent design. 

Craft safety first! I spent a bunch of time with my glue gun and actually burned myself this time... those glue guns are unforgiving. Look forward to hearing how things went for you!