Photo Frames

The glass from 20 frames had their glass broken when delivered at a local shop. They were tried to be returned to the supplier but as they did not want the hassle of picking them up again gave a full refund and said for the shop owner to dispose of them as they want. It was mentioned to me and I asked if I could have them. I could see with a little bit of work I could transform them with the plan of giving some as Christmas presents.

This is what I did:-

1. Bought the frames home from the shop in batches and removed the broken glass.
2. Removed the words "mom", "dad", "+" and "me" which had been badly stuck onto the frames.
3. Used a combination of cream cleaners to clean the frames and with the aid of a scouring sponge to remove any remnants of glue.
4. Wiped down the frames with Tim Holtz alcohol solution.
5. Using felt applicators and Tim Holtz alcohol inks to colour frames and create pattern. With each frame I got a different end result from the combination of ink colours I used and how I applied them to the frames.
6. Using some OHP sheets (the old versions which can't go through a printer but instead have to be hand written in with permanent pens) I cut them down to size to act as the glass to the photo frames.

I used up a lot of my alcohol inks which are not cheap but I did decorate 20 frames. And I had bought these inks a long time ago so it was good to finally use them. The few photos I need I will print at home, anf the OHP “glass” was from a pile that dad had got from his work when they were all going to be thrown away/ So all in all it’s a perfect "free" Christmas present.

One frame had some ink colour "splodges" which I could not remove. So instead I got some butterfly stickers and stuck to the frame to cover them up. Though defiantly not to everyone's liking it’s a perfect candidate to give to Nan.

I gave the shop owner some back once they had been "transformed" for him to sell as I did not need them all. He has already sold two!

And as for Christmas presents I am just left with finding photos, printing them off and fitting into frames and voila.

(Photos to follow)

Photos Developed

It was the first time I have got photos developed since doing the Big Picture Class "Finding your Way". This class helped me to understand that I am a single page 6x4" photo. However sometimes there is an event where lots of photos are taken and a series of photos is needed to tell the story.

Where as before I a would print all my photos at 6x4 then try to cut them down and fit onto a single page - normally making me not feel happy with the finished result. This time I thought of the stories I may want to tell. Printed off single 6x4 photos where the whole story could be told and then using adobe photocopy elements package merged two photos onto a single 6x4 photo size to cater for those events/stories where more than one photo needed to be used. This way I could either use photos that size or cut them down so they were smaller. Plus it also meant I could get more photos printed for less money!

When I got the photos back from the developers I was really pleased with the results. Now I just need to scrapbook some of them!