Ornate Frame Makeover

I love Saturdays! I think it is the best day of the week, because it is fun, it is productive, and it is relaxing. It is also our dump day! While Greg deals with our garbage, I get to have fun spending some time at the Put & Take, which is always full of surprises. I don’t always find great things at Put & Take, but even looking at the items people leave there makes me feel like I’m at a tag sale, and I really love tag sales!

Last Saturday was a lucky day, as I found this frame at Put & Take. Although the sides were worn out, the frame was still in pretty decent shape. Appliques were intact and the frame was not warped. Thinking that a little paint could bring it back to life, I decided to take it home with us and make it good and handsome again.

When we got home, things got even better, as it was the perfect size to display the cork art I was working on. Besides, the frame’s color looked great with the cork art. Deciding on the paint color didn’t take any time at all: dark brown it was! But first I had to fix the scars on the sides and front. As usual, a little bit of a wood filler on the scars followed by a short sanding did the trick. For the final prep, I cleaned the frame, and it was all ready for the painting session.

I had some Folkart Home Decor Chalk Paint in Java color color at home. It really is a nice rich brown, and I painted the frame with two coats.

The frame’s appliques originally had light gold highlights. Normally I am not a fan of gold, but I was trying to stay close to frame’s original colors, so I knew I had to highlight the appliques with a metallic finish wax. To select the highlight color, I grabbed all the Rub ‘n Buff colors I had and applied them on a piece of painted scrap wood. I decided to use the one that looks like copper. It is called Autumn Gold.

Highlighting the appliques was so easy. I dabbed a little bit of Rub ‘n Buff Autumn Gold on my finger, then wiped my finger on a piece of paper towel to get rid of the access and with slight pressure rubbed my finger on the appliques.

Once the highlights were completed, I applied Deco Art Americana Decor Clear Creme Wax to finish off the frame.

Here is my revamped frame together with the cork art in it. I love the way it all came together.

And here are some close-ups.

The colors of both the frame and the cork art match fantastically, and I couldn’t ask for a better frame to display this cork art.

Handan, xo