D.I.Y. {altered frames}

Hi! For once, I remembered to take step-by-step pictures as I made something! Woo-hoo! I never do that. I had been hoping these frames would actually turn out well and might make a nifty blog post — and I think they did!

The frames that are displayed above my couch used to be dark brown wood. Rather than fight the fact that I was going to be making them so much lighter, I used the dark brown to create distressed points in the coloring. That was helpful in how many coats of each color I was going to need to use.

I wasn't in love with the colors of yellow that were available to me, so I ended up mixing two different yellows. And I mixed them casually, creating parts of the paint job that are deeper or lighter than other parts. I liked that effect paired with the dark brown areas peeking through.

I used whatever white paint I had laying around in the basement, as well as a cool stencil sponge that was just plain fun to use.

After priming the brown wood a bit with a quick coat of white, I then painted using the color that I wanted the stripes to be — yellow.

I put down the painter's tape onto the dried yellow paint to create the stripes. I then painted the white over it. Again, I was quite casual with the white paint. I wanted part of the yellow to peek through, as well as the white under that and the dark brown wood that the frame originally was.

Peel the tape off once the paint has dried and that'll do it! Put the glass back in, choose your pictures and you are all set to go!

Here is a picture of the finished project. I decided to coat one the frames without the tape, so it was painted yellow and then painted with two layers of the white. You can see the yellow and dark brown through that middle frame as well. 

Thanks for stopping to see my DIY frames project. Maybe this has inspired you to give some of your frames a face lift, too!

Use your Cricut for a quick, updated look

If you're like me, you love your die cutters. I am most in love with my Big Shot. Of course, I can't live without the Cricut. And now I have the Slice Fabrique to play around with (got it for my birthday!) 

I've been wanting to update the pictures in my master bathroom for months now, and I finally pulled the trigger on it last week after I was inspired by the red and aqua. I've been drawn to this color combination over and over again.

I'm so pleased with how these turned out, and it was such a quick project. I always change out these frames more than any other in the house, so I'm sure I'll be at it again sometime around the holidays. 

Thanks for stopping by to see my new die cut wall art. Have a great Wednesday!

custom-made art for the bride and groom

I have a friend who was very excited about taking her husband's name when they got married. So excited that she had the 'H' for her new name carved into their pumpkin centerpieces. (They were actually very cute.)

When I went to get her wedding gift, I decided that it had to go along with her 'H' theme, and this idea was born.

For the monogram-enthused bride, a piece of art showcasing her new last initial is a personal gift that she may truly appreciate.


Recommended supplies: A frame with a mat, an exacto knife, scissors, glue and glue dots, a Cricut or other die cute machine for the lettering. Also patterned paper and/or card stock.

Remove the mat from the frame. Place it on the paper of your choice and using an exacto knife, trace around the mat. Glue the paper onto the front of the mat.

For this particular frame, I chose to add ribbon embellishment to the edge of the paper. Then choose a paper that will go on the inside of the mat and will serve as the background for your initial. Using glue dots, attach the paper to the backside of mat.

Select a paper that will be the initial. I used Dotted Swiss in black for this particular one. Double check, using your Cricut mat, that you are cutting the letter to fit the mat opening. After you have the initial cut out, attach it to the inside background paper.


Using the Beyond Birthdays cartridge, I added the word 'love' to scroll across the initial. It's a nice touch that brings it all together as a symbol for their day.


Thanks for stopping by today for more of my wedding week! If all goes well, I hope to have more for you tomorrow. (And don't forget to get your LO in for Sketchy Thursdays!)

moms love handmade frames!

Today I want to share with you an altered frame I made for a Mother's Day gift idea. It was quick to make and is a great way to showcase any of the small photos of the kids for mom or grandma.


Supplies: Prima & Making Memories flowers. Basic Grey Phoebe collection paper. K&Co. self-adhesive gems for the bubbles in the center of the flowers.

Not too much time to write today, but I wanted to make sure I shared this frame idea. Mother's Day is almost here! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and grandmas out there!

A quick reminder to pebblesjns: E-mail me your address at dianadesigns@rochester.rr.com by end of the day May 9 to claim your NSD giveaway prize.

A sentiment for all to see

Before my son was able to say, "I love you," we encouraged him to say, "I do" after we said, "I love you," to him. It became our family's thing for the longest time. Not satisfied with just scrapping a page about it, I made this picture to hang in our dining room.

The frame was a find in the clearance section of Joann's. It originally had 'KITCHEN' as the artwork, but I cut out the backing and took that out. I used family papers, Making Memories tags, Prima flowers and American Crafts ribbon. The lettering is done with my Cricut, the Platin Schoolbook font. I used a roll of brown packing tape to make a new backing once I was finished.

This is probably my most cherished picture in the house. It captured that brief time when Nate was learning phrases and testing reactions.

Now he says, "I love you" without hesitating, and he never says just, "i do." But when we are in our dining room, he is that little boy again just learning to speak.

This would make a great idea for Mother's Day. Get that phrase outta the book and onto the wall... She'll cherish it always, I promise.