Altered Frame

Today I am sharing the different stages of altering an old veneered frame that has had a small cross stitch sampler in it for about 25yrs. The frame was looking very tatty and the embroidery was in need of a wash so it seemed the perfect time to get to work on it.

I was inspired to alter this frame having read Sue Carrington's altered box on the Paperartsy Blog, to view this blog click on the link http://blog.paperartsy.co.uk/2014/06/altered-box-with-lynne-perrella-stamps.html

This is how the frame looked before I set to work on it, I stripped off the veneer and sanded the wood to remove any residue of glue. I then gave it a coat of French Roast, then a coat of Toad Hall followed by some small random areas of French Roast.

I then brushed some areas with Americana Weathered wood where I wanted a cracked effect and once this was dry added a coat of Mermaid all over. A light sanding was given to a couple of patches to reveal a little more of the under colours.

I then applied Grunge Paste through the Bird and Branch Stencil by Tando Creative to the bottom righthand corner. Next I spread a little Grunge Paste through some netting with my finger on 3 random spots.

Once this was dry I made a light wash with bundled sage Distress Stain and water to add a slight colour to the leaves and stems of the flowers. The flowers were coloured in the same way using seedless preserves Distress Stain. 

I applied some walnut stain Distress Ink to the edges of the frame and then randomly stamped the diamonds in Archival Watering Can, the trellis in walnut stain and the ' don't eat the daisies' in black soot Distress Ink.

I also did some stamping on the edges so as to tie it all together.

To finish the whole frame off I applied areas of Treasure Gold Wax in Olive Bronze and Sapphire and then buffed up with a soft cloth.

Now all that's left to do is press the cross stitch, place it back in the frame and hang it on the spare bedroom wall.

I would like to enter this for the PaperArtsy Weekly Challenge.

Today I went to the Craft Barn at Nutfield where they were hosting their yearly Extravaganza and Leandra Franich from PaperArtsy was demonstrating some wonderful background papers using the Fresco Chalk Acrylics, learnt some great techniques and if anyone is thinking of going along tomorrow I highly recommend it.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave any questions or comments at the bottom of the page. Hope you all have a great weekend, take care and hopefully see you back here soon Jane x