I love Thanksgiving. For us, it’s a pretty laid back holiday. The craziness of Halloween is over, the hustle and bustle of December is not quite upon us, and we get to eat delicious food while hanging out in a cozy home with our family and pondering all things we are grateful for. I might be making my adorable Mini Pots of Pumpkin Cream Pie to share with loved ones and definitely will be staking out the Sweet Potato Casserole. 🙂
I made a little Thanksgiving-ish project this month, but it really can stay up all year long to remind me to give thanks for all I have. It’s a “Give Thanks” framed wall art!
Things I was thankful to have for this project:
- an old frame
- paintable textured wallpaper (found on a roll at Lowe’s)
- cardstock
- pages ripped out of an old book
- spray paint (Kilz Primer, Rustoleum Heirloom White and Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze)
- wood stain (Minwax)
- hot glue gun/hot glue sticks
- distress ink
Let’s talk about the different parts of this project, starting with the frame.
I had this old frame in my basement, pardon the dustiness. 🙂 I cleaned it off and primed it (Kilz white primer) and then spray painted it in Rustoleum Heirloom White, which is really more cream/ivory than white.
Once it was completely dry I used a Minwax stain (that I got on the “oops” table at Home Depot for cheap) to glaze the whole frame and bring out the details. I used the same glazing technique that I used on my beautiful red dining hutch from the summer: brush on the stain, then wipe it off, leaving the stain in the details and crevices. Here is a great tutorial about it from All Things Thrifty: Glazing Furniture 101.
Glazing really is a simple process, I am converted!!! 🙂 It makes a HUGE difference in the overall look of a project like this. I wanted it to look richer and older.
Now let’s discuss the paintable wallpaper–my new best friend. I have been wanting to try this stuff for ages. I’ve seen various projects all over blogland that make me drool. 🙂 I found this roll of white, textured paintable wallpaper at Lowe’s for about $15. It’s a big roll and can be used for plenty of projects that will definitely make it worth the money.
It is SO easy to work with. The coolest thing?? You can spray paint it! I cut a piece of the wallpaper the size to fit in the frame, and then I spray painted it with Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze.
The last piece is the “give thanks” part. I printed out the words onto tan cardstock and cut it out in the shape I wanted. (Using one of my favorite fonts, LD Adornment.)
I distressed the edges with some distress ink that you can find in the scrapbooking section of the craft store. But I wanted to dress it up a little bit more and give it more dimension. So out came my other best friend, old book pages. I LOVE THESE, almost as much as I love chocolate. You can use them for so many awesome projects and the whole book cost me $1. I used it to make my vintage square wreath a month or so ago. I love old book pages.
I cut the page into 1 inch strips and sort of crumbled them up a little bit for some texture.
Then I got out my trusty hot glue gun and glued the strips of old book paper onto the back of my “give thanks” cardstock. I created a little ruffle or pleat by folding the paper and gluing it. It doesn’t have to be perfect at all. I really love the effect of the old ruffly paper. Cute, eh?
Lastly, I put it all together. I popped out the glass part of the framed picture because I wanted the ruffled paper to show off and not get all flattened. 🙂 I simply placed the painted wallpaper into the frame (didn’t even have to use water for this project!), backed it with the cardboard that the original framed picture came with, and then I used those 3-D adhesive dots to stick the “give thanks” piece right smack onto the wallpaper.
Oh, and I inked up the wallpaper with the distress ink as well, to bring out the texture and design of the wallpaper. Don’t want to forget that little detail!
I’m really happy with how it turned out! The blue wallpaper adds such a fun pop of color and texture on the wall and the glazed frame is definitely a happy makeover. 🙂 I’m loving the ruffled old book pages and how it all looks together. This project, even though it had a few steps and parts to it, really did come together quickly and makes a great statement in my home decor.
Happy Thanksgiving this week and remember to give thanks for whatever blessings you enjoy, big or small. I am thankful for you! 🙂
Heather I says
I’m SO loving this – thanks for sharing!!!
Brooke says
Thank you Heather!
Judy in huntsville-AL says
LOVE this – I have some of this wallpaper left over from the roll we put ON OUR CEILING in the kitchen [we didn’t want to spend the money on real tin.] I plan to make a littlle art peice of my own now – thanks for this great idea!
Brooke says
Oooh, I love the ceiling idea–this wallpaper stuff is so cool. There are so many fun ways to do it. Send us a link if you make something with it! Thanks for reading!
Lauren F says
Really neat idea. And thank you for the step by step instructions. I need all the help I can get! Happy Thanksgiving!
Brooke says
No problem and thanks for the sweet comment Lauren!
natalie says
Is the frame wood or plastic? I just got a great deal on some large frames from a Holiday Inn Express with the wood/gold look, but they aren’t real wood. I have been reading about Rustoleum Heirloom White everywhere. Does it work well on plastic? I would love to do the same Heirloom White/glaze finish on my frames.
Brooke says
The frame I used is wood, but I’m pretty sure you can use spray paint on plastic. I do know that there are specific spray paints for plastic, but I think especially on frames that aren’t going to be handled a ton (ie, they will be hung on a wall) then I think the regular spray paint will work just fine. Good luck and have fun! 🙂
Lori says
I love, love, love this! It’s beautiful!!
Brooke says
Thank you Lori!!! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. 🙂
Ellie g says
Oh my word, Brooke! I can hear that frame thanking you from here! I cannot believe that makeover. And I hope you can hear me cursing the fact that now I MUST buy some textured wallpaper. And that I should never throw out 1990’s era crap….because it might become something stupendous! Darn! (and you are oh so fabulous….PS)
Brooke says
You crack me up! And you definitely know how to make a girl feel good about herself. 🙂 For reals. THANKS for your sweet comment!!! And embrace the textured wallpaper. You will be happy when you do. 🙂
Rachel says
Wow, that’s gorgeous! Thanks for the how-to, I’ll be linking.
Brooke says
Thank you so much Rachel!! We always appreciate your support! We appreciate the readers you send our way! 🙂
Jessica says
This is so cute. I made my own version this afternoon. I didn’t have any of the wallpaper so I used scrapbook paper instead. Thanks for the inspiration!
Brooke says
Wow, you’re fast!! Scrapbook paper would be a darling alternative! I’m glad you liked this project and thanks for your sweet comment!
Shirley L says
So cute, love the book page ruffle!
Brooke says
Shirley, the book page ruffle is my favorite part I think. 🙂 Don’t tell the paintable wallpaper, that’s a close second. 🙂
PeaceLoveTerri says
This is so, so cute!!
Brooke says
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Kirsten says
Great looking project! Really like the use of book pages. Love the blue! Thanks for sharing.