Framed! In gold, and linen, and some more gold for good measure

As part of the great February Frame Find I scored this ornate vintage frame.  I loved the layering of the (fake) gold, linen texture (also probably fake), and more (fake) gold along the innermost edge. 

What I didn't like was the aged looked on the frame achieved with (or because of?) brown speckling.  At first I thought some of brown speckles and grey colors inside the raised ("carved") parts of the frame were just accumulated dust or dirt that could be cleaned off, but nope, that was part of the original paint treatment.

I realize this sort of aged treatment gives the frame a softer look, and is sometimes deliberately used to good effect  to show the detail of the 'carved' details on the frames - often done with glazing.  This softer look is definitely less hard and shiny, but to my eyes it also made the frame look dirty and that made it distracting.  So after a full cleaning it was time to get out the Antique Iridescent Gold paint and my tiny brush (yes, still the one that was chewed up by a previous roommate's cat) and get to work. After two-or-so coats of paint I'm satisfied with the lighter and brighter and glow-ier look.

Post-paint and sitting pretty

The 'carved' design around the outer edge of the frame - which to me looks like apostrophes and quotes - no longer has gray color in the grooves. The inner corner rope-like detail is not so dark as before, and the brown speckles that were along the broad flat areas have been covered over.  In a few spots they still add a bit of shadow from behind the paint, but I'm ok with that because it breaks up the uniformity of color and the very non-uniformity of my uneven brush strokes.

Corner details, from gray to glowing.

I don't have a painting or photo to put in this frame yet, so the full reveal will have to be at some future date.  Perhaps a seascape? 

In the meantime, remember the transformative power of paint, and happy freestyling!

Fabric-covered cork board

I saw a simple cork-board at le dump earlier this fall, and I passed it by. Yup. Walked right by, didn't think I would want it, headed straight for the other shelves.  Silly me.  While I was conversing with the on-site recycling specialist he pointed out that there were actually TWO cork boards available, one large unframed board, and a smaller one framed in wood. So, ok, I took the small one.  I didn't take a before picture, imagine a bulletin board made of cork, then imagine one with an unpainted, unstained wooden frame around it. There you go.

At first I thought I would paint the frame, then I decided to go all out girly and cover it with fabric to make it into a jewelry holder. Cue fabric-hunting music.  A trip to the local Goodwill led me to two linen skirts, one salmon pink, the other black.  ~$2.50 each, and I think I even used my student discount.  Here they are drying after a vigorous wash.

buy, wash, craft!

Then the spray paint got involved.....

not quite what I had in mind

 ...but it turned out to be not quite the shade I had envisioned. Too reddish, not old gold enough, you disappoint me spray paint can [head shaking side to side slowly].  Not one to give up on this frame I thought I could simulate the look of bronze by going over the gold with black permanent marker. Don't judge, I was using what I had on hand.

can permanent marker fix this mess?

At some point I realized that in order to wrap the cork properly I would need to disassemble the frame and remove the work board.  

if you squint it sort of looks like bronze, promise.

Here is the frame, in all its permanent-markered glory, after I pried it open to get the cork out. Hmmm, still kind of ugly, especially up close.  After coming to a place of acceptance regarding the ugliness of the frame color I decided to spray paint the whole frame white. Even that was a chore, it took multiple coats and I finally stopped when I achieve some color I'll call... driftwood (said in a breathy mystical voice accompanied by an expansive hand gesture).

Wrapping the corkboard with the salmon pink linen was pretty straightforward. I wanted to have the decorative seam running diagonal across the board, so there were a few strategic drops of super-glue on the front in order to secure it before I started to pull and staple on the back.

Here is a close-up of the seam detail near the top left corner.

seam detail from the original skirt

I found these decorative push-pins with hooks at my local hardware store, they were probably the most expensive part of this project since I bought 3 packs (3 pins/pack).

After the re-assembly and addition of hanging hardware my new jewelry display was ready for the wall.

 The salmon pink fabric is not quiiiite a perfect fit against the blue walls, but it works for now.  What color combos you would have chosen for the freestyle project?