We dedicate this blog post to our local thrift store – love that St. Vinny’s!
We picked up these 3 frames for less than $10. Woah.
Now that our Fine Art Prints are available in standard sizes. Picking up a frame that’ll work with ‘em – on the cheap – is easier than ever.
So order up a Fine Art Print, run out to your local thrift shop. (We’ll wait). Then come on back to see just how to make a super simple color blocked gallery wall.
Ingredients
- Fine Art Prints of your favorite photos
- Masking Tape
- Clear Acrylic Medium (or modpodge works if you’ve got it)
- Acrylic Paint
- A Paint Brush
1. Make a Plan
Lay out your frames with photos in them or just sitting on top of them, to figure out your perfect placement.
If you follow Parabo on Snapchat, you saw us doing this ourselves!
Use an app where you can draw on your photos to plan out where you want to paint and which colors you want to use.
2. Take ‘em apart and Tape ‘em Up
Take your photos back out of your frames and remove the backing so you can paint just the wood.
Add tape where you want your color blocking to stop. Be sure to use a credit card or some other flat/hard tool to really smooth it down and into any crevices your frame might have.
3. The Secret Weapon
Paint a thin layer of clear acrylic medium (or modpodge) over the seem where your color will meet your tape.
If any paint is going to seep under the tape it’s going to be the first layer, so if that layer is clear, your final line will look perfectly straight.
4. Color Between the Lines
Paint between those lines of tape you made.
Go ahead and give it two coats if the color is uneven or splotchy at all. Light paint on a dark frame is going to need the most layering.
5. Take off the Tape
Carefully, slowly, peel off the tape to reveal your beautifully color blocked frame. It is also helpful to use a craft knife to lightly score the paint right at the edge of your tape.
This is not a bandaid and your frame doesn’t have feelings, so go as slow as you can.
6. Admire your Handywork
Pop back in those Fine Art Prints and assemble your gallery.
You did a great job! (Send us a photo by using #parabopress, we want to see)!
Here’s a bonus tip: If you use a print that is the exact size as the frame you purchased you will see a bit of the white border we leave around it. See it in that top left photo there? We think it looks quite nice.
If you don’t like that look simply order a bigger size and cut it down (like we did with the flower pic) or find a frame with a mat (like our friends on the mountain there).
