My Family Tree Shadow Box

I've been wanting a Family Tree of sorts for a while now,

a few ideas have been tossing around in my head.

I'm a visual person, the type that doesn't really read

the articles in magazines, just scans through to see the pictures.

Which is ironic- being that English was my favorite subject

and our Dad is an Editor/Journalist.

So when we girls wanted to do something inspired by Martha Stewart

for the CSI Project Challenge....

2 ideas came to mind.....

A sweet idea we had for a re purposed framed shadow box

and of course Martha's lovely Family Tree Crafts.

It also doesn't hurt that we love vintage old photos!

(I'm feeling old enough to be vintage!)

We thought it would be fun to show 2 similar styles of trees,
one a Direct Line 5 Generation Family Tree
and the other a Family Tree with all sorts of Favorite Family Pictures.
(Because we know it's hard to find all those direct photos!)

I've wanted to build a shadow box for a while now for my daughter's blessing gown

because I'm too cheap to pay the $400 for a custom made one

and the others in the store are at least $150 for a plain box.
So we decided to experiment with these!

Candace scored some great deals (freebies) from a model home auction.

Remember those lovely ottoman's....

These two frames have sat behind my grill since last fall

and we'd actually forgotten about them till now.

First we measured and cut our pine 1x4's to build a box

just slightly larger than the frame opening.

We primed and painted the box and frame.

For the frame and hinges to sit flush on top of the box

you'll need to use your wood carving tools to scrape out enough for the hinges to be inset.

(Wood Carving Tools~~Harbor Freight $2.99

or if you're particularly handy with a flat head screwdriver...)

We pre-drilled our hinge holes and hand screwed them into place.

Once we had them in place on the box we laid

the frame on top where we wanted it to be and

marked with a pencil where the top hinges would be.

This makes it super easy to put them on.

Don't forget to add the little hook enclosure to keep it closed!

Next let's work on the inside!

We just used the mat board from the original art work.

Spray a good coat of spray adhesive and adhere your fabric.

I used muslin and Candace used creme burlap, each for a natural look.

Make sure you start in the middle and smooth your way out.

After trimming with a 1 inch border, 

glue the edges to the bottom side for a nice finished look.

Next we trimmed some branches from one of my trees

and started to arrange and glue them together.

We used a glue gun and really added a bunch for extra strength on the back.

Then we coated it with some brown spray paint

followed by a "mist" of pewter.  I love this effect!

Candace wanted to play with the Celluclay again

and after cutting her tree form from foam board, she covered it with the Celluclay,

mimicking the natural wood grains and knots.
It was fun to do!

After letting it dry overnight, it was sanded and painted.

We cut out a bunch of leaves on the Cricut,

We even "misted" some of the paper leaves to tie in with the shimmer on the trunk.

For even more 3-D effect we folded each leaf in half.

Using the glue gun we started gluing the leaves in place randomly as desired.
Candace glued on faux leaves from a lavender shrub instead of using the Cricut leaves.

Last but not least.....

and of course what takes the longest.....

is to start collecting your pictures.

After 5 phone calls, several emails and 2 trips to get copies.....

It took us a while to get them all sized, cropped and sepia'ed.

I got a little frustrated because the only options on my computer for smaller sizes were

Wallet vs. Thumbnail.

Wallet obviously won.

I didn't really want them that large to start with but

after seeing the excitement in my little girls eyes,

seeing all these amazing people who make us who we are.

Plus to see the excitement on our Mom's face to see this.....

Priceless!

We just glued the mat board into the back of the box

and put some hanging gear on and it's perfect!

Here's Candace's:

Here's Mine:

Botanical Prints

I love getting something for free! 

Melaine from My Sweet Savannah

 posted 

 free botanical prints

 on her blog when she made a grid frame wall display using the prints.

 I love her blog, I always come away so inspired after leaving it!

I was rearranging my shelves this week and decided to use the prints.  I really haven't figured out what else to put along with them, but I like it so far? :)

I have been holding on to these clearanced PB frames I found 6 YEARS ago!  I have little piles of decorations that I never use because of not knowing how to use them in my home...and FEAR of using them wrong.

I like these frames but the mats were the wrong size.  So...I cut them!

 

There's probably a much better way to cut mats, but I was being resourceful and used what I had.  In this case, a blade from a box cutter knife.  I tilted it at an angle and it cut like butter! :)

I sized the prints in Picasa to my mat size and printed on white cardstock paper. 

 

Cheap and easy!

Thanks to Melaine for sharing and making them available for everyone!

Mini-Repurposed Frames

 

Here's another idea Nicole and I worked on when my hubby was out of town and we had our "crazy" craft day.

Before I explain how we made the frames, I need to tell you about the little decorations inside. 

At  The Graphics Fairy, we found this vintage handwriting.  It's so cool how you can instantly print her images on your own printer..for free.  They were perfect. 

Next we put these teeny tiny keys, tied with thin jute twine.  We poked holes right through the cardboard backing after we glued the papers on and wove in the twine.

The pictures are deceptive. The frames are only 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, with about a 2 1/2 inch opening.

The  2 inch keys were perfect for our mini frames!

In our favorite home decor store, we saw mini frames that were really ornate...and expensive.

We wondered how we could make them for super cheap.

In the thrift stores you can find large ornate frames for pennies, but they're always weird sizes.  We thought that maybe we could chop them up and resize them.

Here's a picture to show the scale of how small these are.

So this is what we started with.  I do have to say the old prints were kinda cute!

We used a miter saw to accomplish the first few cuts and realized how, um....dangerous this is!

The frames are so mini, that it's put your fingers awfully close to the blade.

We were trying to salvage as much of the frame as we could and probably put our fingers at risk....or should I say...NICOLE's fingers at risk. :)

The frames are joined at an angle which made them difficult to cut in a miter box.  But it is possible if you don't want to risk it on the miter saw.

First we split the frame in half.

And then we split the other side in half.  We were trying to save the original corners to eliminate having to glue more corners back together.

We made straight cuts first, and then mitered...to keep it even.

Not bad?  But, I was on edge watching Nicole's fingers SO close to the blade!

With a TON of elbow grease you can do it this way, if you want an angled cut.

Or....you can NOT try and save the original corners, and cut the entire frame apart.  Then reassemble all four corners.  The frame would look much more flat.

We did it on this black frame.  We cut at each corner. 

Marked, and cut using the miter BOX.  Much safer. 

Be careful if any of you try this!  We don't want to be responsible for helping you cut off your fingers!:) 

As for putting them back together, they are so small that we used Hard as Nails Glue and taped them to keep in place until dry. 

We spackled the corners, spray painted, and distressed.  I like how the original gold came back through.

Really....cheap....project. 

Sharing with Tracy's Linky party,

Cheap DIY Frame

I got up the courage to take all four boys into Target for pictures.  I begged Grandma to help me wrangle them all into the studio. We were able to get some cute shots. I have been needing some frames to put the photos in and these ones have been in my head for a while now. They are cheap- and don't require mats.  Plus, I cheated.  Target doesn't get the pictures in for another week.  These are the tiny photos from online.  I simply printed them off and glue sticked them onto chipboard.  I don't have to worry about ruining a nice photo without any glass.

I distressed them a bit- because I eventually plan to use them in their rooms. 

My intention with the little photos was to mod podge over them to give the pictures a "painting" look.  Not a good idea with ink jet printers.  I made my second boy look pink!  It worked with the colorful Santa Clause a few months back?! 

I started with a small 10.00 sheet of MDF that Home Depot cut up for me into 12x12" squares.  I marked a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.

Drilled a hole.

Put the jigsaw in the hole, and cut VERY crookedly around the square!:)

The crookedness will be covered by trim...don't worry!

This is the plastic, cheap picture frame moulding found at Home Depot.  About two dollars.

I had to try out my new Christmas present.  My in-laws gave me a gift certificate to Home Depot....not their SON.....but me..!  The guy in the store thought that was pretty funny. I'm so spoiled....thank you to my lovely mother and father in law! :)

I also picked up cheap 1x2's for 82 cents a piece.  Just make sure they lay straight.  Measure and miter the corners.  You could easily use a miter box.  I did on a couple of the trim cuts.

I always like to glue before I nail.

Nail away! 

If I do this again, I will put the inside trim on first.  Mine wasn't as square or straight as I would have liked it.

When I glued the trim on, I created a little bit of a lip, or overhang, so I could later insert the picture.

I glued this on with hard as nails glue.  It worked wonderfully.

Fill the cracks!

Sand.

I primed.

I thought I wanted them silver, but didn't like it for the kids' rooms.

I went to town distressing, but regret it now!  It does help hide all the imperfections and crookedness.

I sprayed them over in white.  When I rubbed the edges, the silver came out...and I think I like it.  It looks very shabby!:)

You know, I'm kinda the blog hog with all my projects, because Nicole is pretty busy with her business....but I do call her several times (more than she would like) a day, asking how in the heck to do all this.  She is THE much wiser and capable, older sister! :)