Etsy Dallas on The Broadcast: DIY Repurposing Picture Frames

Karen from Pinwheel Fair and Kathy from Kathleen Care Jewelry joined the hosts of The Broadcast to show off beautiful ways to recycle your old picture frames. 

Karen makes all kinds of gorgeous chalkboards, pushpins, and pillows in her Etsy shop. We are so happy she shared some of her talent and creative skills with us on the show today and gave us all the details for her Framed Magnet Board. 

Framed Magnet Board:

Supplies:
- Frame

- Sheet metal & tin snips (Home Depot or Loews)

- Ruler & sharpie

- Spray Paint

- Decorative paper or fabric

- Mod Podge & sponge brush

- Foam core

- Duck tape

- Utility knife & cutting mat

- Magnets

1. Remove glass, frame backing and spray paint the frame the color of choice - for best adhesion, lightly sand and prime first.

2. Measure inside of frame from the back - this will be your sheet metal dimensions. If your frame has a glass insert, simply use it as

an easy template to draw onto your sheet metal. Be careful - the sides will be SHARP!

3. "Paint" a thin layer of Mod Podge on to your sheet metal insert and smooth out your decorative paper/fabric carefully removing any air bubbles.  (Don't worry about the overage yet...)

4. Let dry overnight.

5. Cut off paper or fabric edges using your utility knife & a cutting mat to protect work surfaces. 

6. Carefully place your steel insert back into your frame.

7. Cut layers of foam core board to fit, until the frame back is level to the frame.

8. Seal all edges with your duck tape to complete!

Kathy from Kathleen Care Jewelry designs and hand crafts beautiful jewelry. How lovely it would be to make one or two of her display boards to organize all of your jewelry. Here's all the details Kathy shared with us:

Jewelry Display Board: 

Supplies:
- Fabric
- Frame
- Spray Paint
- Cotton batting
- Straight Pins
- Pearl Pins

- Duct or heavy duty tape 

- Double sided tape or glue dots

1. Pick a frame large enough to display your jewelry, hair bows, etc, and make sure the fabric you use extends at least 2 inches on each side.
2. Remove glass, frame backing and spray paint the frame the color of choice
3. Adhere cotton batting to the card board back of your frame. I use either glue dots or double sided tape, cutting off any excess batting.
4. Tautly pull the fabric over your frame backing and secure with either duct tape or framing tape (some people even like to use a heavy duty stapler)
5. Put newly covered frame cardboard back in the frame without the glass.
Done!

See Karen and Kathy in action on The Broadcast!

Studio Snapshots: Kathleen Care Jewelry

Ever wonder where all the lovely things you see on Etsy are made? It’s time to take a behind-the-scenes look at the workspace of Etsy Dallas teammate Kathleen Care of Kathleen Care Jewelry.

Kathleen created has converted a corner of her bedroom into her own studio space. It’s about 5’ x 4’ and a step up from the early days. “I started my business working on my couch with four plastic storage bins filled with gemstones, metal wire and chain,” Kathleen said. “My husband felt sorry for me (or maybe he was annoyed) and bought me a proper desk.” She has since added a second desk. 

In her current space, Kathleen uses two different size torches (fire), Dremel tools for sanding, buffing, polishing, etching, texturing, etc. She has a solid wood desk, a plywood desk and a granite surface. “Each of my surfaces work differently with the metal and gives me the ability to do a range of texturing on the jewelry,” she said. 

Save the date: Etsy Craft Party 2014

We are happy to announce our location for the annual Etsy Craft Party is City Craft. The theme this year is all about taking your photographs to new artistic levels. It's BYOP (bring your own photos) but we will have extra photographs for your use, if you don't have prints on hand.

You don't want to miss this little shindig. It's 7 to 9 p.m. on June 6. You can RSVP now for Etsy Craft Party 2014: Recapture. Enjoy an evening of food, drinks and crafty fun. We can't wait to see what you create.