About
Distressed Frame Tutorial from diedododa
- Len favorited Distressed Frame 12 Feb 22:01
- Shop Showcase published her project Distressed Frame 07 Oct 10:17
You Will Need
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Step 1
Here are a couple of discarded frames I found…mostly discarded because the glass and back of the frame were missing. Obviously depending on what’s to go in a frame I actually think that glass is a bit overrated a lot of times and a backing is easy to make from strong cardboard - so yay, here we go!
First and very important step: give your item a good clean and make sure it is dry and free from grease….it’s amazing how much of the latter can accumulate on frames over the years! Sugar soap or a 50/50 water vinegar solution all work well to do the job. -
Step 2
For the first coat I picked 3 very similar colours in shades of light turquoise and or greeny blues. This is just the first coat and the colour(s) used here will only peek through in places. I like using colours in similar shades for the contrast because sublet differences in shade make it come alive without being too full on.
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Step 3
Get painting! Use the different tones randomly, don’t blend them and just make sure you cover the whole frame well….don’t worry about it being streaky or a bit uneven at this stage (it might even work in your favour. DO pay attention to not letting paint pool in the corners though! Some chalk paints can be notoriously thick and seem to have a tendency to do that. I always water mine down to a nice flowing consistency.
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Step 12
Waxing the piece: always use a disposable or designated separate plate for the wax and keep a lint free cloth handy to wipe off excess wax.The wax I use is a soft clear furniture wax. For this frame I like to use a small wax brush (this is actually a stencil brush which I decided worked better as a wax brush for small pieces), as it allows me to get into all the corners and detailed bits very easily. You can just as easily apply wax with a lint free cloth though - it just takes a little more attention to detail getting into all the corners.
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Step 13
Start with “loading” your wax brush with about a hazelnut size dollop of wax and move it all along the frame in circular motions. Wax goes a pretty long way and you generally don’t need too much. You’ll notice the waxed ares turning back to a nice dark grey. Work in small areas and make sure to gently wipe off any excess wax.