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Upcycling Old Picture Frames into Jewellery Holders

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I recently took part in the Upcycle Revolution challenge with Gumtree. We were tasked with buying an item on Gumtree and upcycling it into something new. You can read more about the challenge here.

For the project I chose to upcycle two old picture frames into jewellery holders.

making jewellery holders

Today I’m going to share with you how I did that.

upcycling project gumtree

What You Will Need:

  • Picture frames
  • Sandpaper
  • Spray Paint
  • Wire or Mesh
  • Wire Cutters

What You Need To Do: 

Step 1: Sanding

The first thing that I had to do with the frames was sand them down so I had a good key to spray the paint onto. Best to remove the back and the glass before you do this as you won’t be using them anyway and they’ll just get in the way.

upcycling project

*Tip* Don’t run to hard! You really have to be careful with ornate frames that you don’t apply to much pressure otherwise you’ll find you start ripping off bits of the frame. Just sand it enough to make it rough to the touch.

Upcycled picture frames

Step 2: Spraying

Lay your frames out onto a surface that you don’t mind getting covered in paint. Follow the instructions on the spray can of the best way to spray and how far away you need to be from the object. In all I needed 3 coats of paint on each frame. I waited an hour between each layer of spray so the previous layer could dry.

upcycling project with gumtree

*Tip* Don’t rush the spraying stage. I know it’s tempting to get as much paint on as possible in one go but believe me you will get a much better finish with multiple thin layers than you will with one thick layer.

upcycling project

Once you have all of your layers on you will need to leave the frames to dry for around 24 hours, although I left mine for 48 to really make sure that the paint had set.

Step 3: Cutting you Wire

The next thing you will need to do is to cut your wire to the right size to fit inside your frame. Use wire cutters to do this. I bought my mesh from a local garden centre although if you happen to have some chicken wire lying around you could also use that.

upcycling project jewellery holder

I found the best way to do this was to lay the frames upside down, place the wire on top and mark where you are going to cut.

Upcycling project gumtree

Once you have your rectangle of mesh cut out you simple push it into the back of the frame and use the small hooks on the frame (that would normally hold in the picture) to hold it into place. It’s that simple!

Making a jewellery holder

You have now finished your item…

upcyled picture frames

As far as upcycling projects go this is a relatively easy one to undertake as it doesn’t require you to have any specific skills such as carpentry. Also you don’t need lots of different tools.

picture frame into jewellery holder

Here’s a short video of the project

3 thoughts on “Upcycling Old Picture Frames into Jewellery Holders”

  1. Pingback: My Plans for National Upcycling Day - Gypsy Soul

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