Sunday 16 February 2014

Window Photo Frame




Do you remember my old, iron window frame from last weekend?



And my plans to turn it into a photo frame? Well, I finally have some photos for you (and thank you for all your helpful comments/messages on the plan - this wasn't something in my comfort zone so I really appreciated them).

My scruffy old piece of board scrubbed up OK. I painted it a charcoal colour, tried out several arrangements of photos before deciding on black and white throughout, and then drilled a hole in each corner and screwed it into the wall.





I used these little sticky dots to attach the photos. I think they're the kind of thing you can use for scrapbooking, but they worked pretty well for this too, and now I can easily swop the photos around if needed.

They were a little fiddly to use but not too bad, I think they come in larger sizes which might have been easier.

I bought some chain which I attached to the frame and then hung the window frame so it dangled in the right place over the photo board. I used quite a heavy duty screw but, since the frame is so heavy, my safety inspector (Harry!) suggested that we could also do with a couple of huge screws sticking out and supporting it from underneath. This also helped to keep the frame flush against the board, rather than hanging forwards a bit at the top. Here it is:


Hard to see the window frame really clearly in a photo, it does show up better in person. I did think about painting it, but I really like the old iron look. Perhaps I should have made the charcoal background a bit lighter?

Unfortunately, the huge screws at the bottom did have a slightly bad effect on the plaster on the wall! Especially as it was quite difficult to get them into exactly the right position, so we did end up with a couple more holes than we actually wanted! You might see what I mean better in this photo...

In our defence, it really wasn't the easiest wall to drill into, it was the old exterior wall of the barn and is solid stone underneath the plaster.

Nothing that a bit of polyfiller and paint can't put right! Unfortunately I didn't have any filler to hand, so I slapped a bit of paint on as a short term improvement until I get some filler.

And I don't suppose I can really finish this off without giving you a close up of some of the old photos for some 'ahhh' moments. Here's my Dad, all small and cute:



A lovely, but slightly stained photo, from my Mum and Dad's wedding. They've been married 55 years, pretty impressive!



Here is a very sweet, romantic photo from their honeymoon:





And just to round off the 'ahhh' moments, here's me!



Looking more similar to Maria than we'd previously appreciated. I think the frame and whole arrangement is one that's likely to change around as the mood hits us over time. It might change quite drastically, I think it could look lovely really bright and colourful. But that adaptability is one of the good things about it. And for now I think we're all happy with it as it is.


It's half term this week, we have visitors expected, sleepovers and outings planned, and a weekend away coming up, so I might be a bit hit and miss on the posting front this week. I'll just see how it goes. Hope you have a wonderful week where you are too.

Sally.

6 comments:

  1. You were so cute! And very Maria like

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    1. You should have seen some of the other photos of me, some very embarrassing!

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  2. That looks fantastic, I'm loving the beams and wooden stair that are peeking into the last photo! It's a beautiful way to show case pictures. It'd look great with seasonal pictures/items/art in at a later date

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  3. It turned out fabulous! I also like the look the chain gives it. The close up photos are so sweet! This definitely brings character, charm and family history into your lovely home.

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    1. Thank you, that's such a lovely comment and very eloquently put! I love the 'character, charm and family history' phrase, I didn't really think about exactly what I wanted to achieve beforehand, but if I had, that phrase would probably have summed it up perfectly, only I wouldn't have managed to phrase it so perfectly myself!

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  4. I absolutely love what you did! The old photos are charming...what a sweet little girl you were! I also love the wood beams...your home is lovely.

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