Glazed Frame - Learning By Doing

Have you ever noticed that the pricing of frames at Goodwill seems a little off? Old broken Wal-Mart frame with a 59 cent clearance sticker on it - $2.99. Awesome, chunky, carved oval frame - $2.99.  So when I spotted this lil' lady lying amongst the heaps of crappy gold frames, I snached it up and felt like a won the (very tiny) frame lottery. 

Now I know what your thinking - that it would be a crime paint a hand carved wooden frame. I agree, but  rest assured... it's not real wood. It may look like it, but I'm pretty sure real wood doesn't peel apart in paper-like flakes to reveal a black mystery material underneath. So...out came the spray paint.

I thought it looked pretty good like that, but I wanted to try my glaze and this is the perfect piece. Remember when I wanted to glaze my crappy $5 table but couldn't because I bought the wrong glaze?

As it turns out I didn't buy the wrong glaze, your just supposed to mix it with paint. A reader pointed that out to me...and sure enough it says it right there on the back of the can. So Tim the Tool Man Taylor of me to not read the directions. 

So I went to mix up my glaze and realized that I don't own any black paint. I also don't own any brown or grey paint...closest thing I had was the blue/grey that I used for the kitchen cabinets. I figured that was good enough and threw an unknown amount of paint into an unknown amount of glaze. Measure...who measures? Measurings for losers ...or people that have more than a few scared minutes of naptime to work with.

I mixed it up and rubbed it into all the nooks and crannies. BTW, I didn't read any tutorials on this process...I'm just winging it. Like I said, naptime is too short to spend it reading tutorials.

Anyway, I had to put it on pretty thick to get it all up in there. 

Then I got my rag and started wiping it off, till it looked like this...

I was feeling like the contrast was a little much, so I had the brilliant idea to just put on a layer of plain glaze to dull it down a bit.

 It was working great until it dried and looked the exact same. You know, cause the glaze is clear and all. Whatever, it was worth a shot.

 I needed the instant gratification of putting a photo in it, so I went on the hunt for an 8X10 I already had. Then I spotted this...

That white envelope (on my super messy bedroom bookshelf) is a family photo from our church directly. It's been sitting there for about six months or so - which is a long time, though not as long as that container of bubbles has been sitting there.

So there we have it...two birds with one stone. Family photo off the shelf- check. Teach myself how to glaze by trial and error - check.

Funny story about that photo...Elijah and I had a bad day where he didn't nap at all (I think he was about 16 months in this picture). On the car ride to the church he passed out and we could NOT wake him up. He would open his eyes for a second, then they would roll back into his head and he would crash on Adams chest. So we went with it and I think the final product turned out pretty sweet & hilarious. 

Linked to:Thrifty Decor Chick, Addicted 2 Decorating, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Savvy Southern Style, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Someday Crafts, Chic on a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Southern Hospitality, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, The Thrifty Home,  Beyond the Picket Fence, Oops I Craft My Pants, Between Naps on the Porch, Not Just A Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, I Heart Nap Time, Serenity Now, French Country Cottage, Remodelaholic, Creations By Kara, Homework, The 36th Avenue, Freckled Laundry, Coastal Charm, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Keeping It Simple,  Blue Cricket Design, Be Colorful, Craft O Maniac, Skip to my Lou, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Dittle Dattle, Polly Want A Crafter?, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, DIY By Design, The Girl Creative, It's Overflowing, A Girl ans a Glue Gun, Delightful Order, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Southern Lovely, Sew Much Ado, Young & Crafty, Homemaker on a Dime, Be Different Act Normal, Primitive & Proper, Lolly Jane, DIY Home Sweet Home, Lines Across My Face, Making the World Cuter, Fun to Craft, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Crafty Nest, Running with Glitter, Designer Garden, Cherished Bliss, CRAFT, Lil Luna, All Thingz Related, House of Hepworths, Oopsy Daisy, Domestically Speaking, Ginger Snap Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, Vintage Wanna Bee, The CSI Project