tutorial: instagram frame

HELLO! thanks for stopping by to check out my very first tutorial! you'll have to bear with me... i still haven't found the charger cord for my camera... so all these photos were taken with my phone. (gasp) if you know me, i'm sort of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl- so when i was making this last week, i just decided it would be a good place to start doing tutorials no matter what i was using for pictures. SO... i hope you are inspired to make one of your own- it was easy-peasy, mac-n-cheesy... (that's what my kids say ;) if you do, make sure to link pics in the comment section at the end of the post! i'd love to see what you are making!

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remember seeing the post on my facebook page when i got this in the mail?

these are the instagram prints i ordered from persnicketyprints.com! you can download their app and upload your instagram pics right to the website to order. i chose the 3"x3" prints, but they come in more sizes... even little 2"x2''s! i needed a great way to be able to display them, but i wanted to change them often... so this is what i came up with-

what you'll need:

-your favorite instagram prints

-an empty picture frame

-hammer

-heavy duty staples

-craft wire

-mini clothespins 

-a cute baby helper

1. find a frame you like... it can be something you already have, or just go grab one at a thrift store and throw a coat of craft or spray paint on it- the pics will take center stage on this, so no need to be picky, or spend too much money. i found this frame on clearance at hobby lobby... was $53 (insane) and i got it for $4.50ish. (who would pay $53 for a small stinkin picture frame anyway?) lay it down on something soft so you don't scratch the frame up when you're hammering on the backside. mine's laying on a kitchen towel... my favorite martha stewart bandana ones joel bought me years ago.

 2. flip the frame over so you can work on hammering the staples into the back side.

3. you kind of have to eyeball how many rows of prints you think will fit into your frame space and from there decide on how many staples to place in the back. for mine, it would fit 3 rows, so i made sure to put enough staples in so that i could stretch the wire across each row and have enough wires to fit my pictures on. make sense? i used 6 staples total, 3 in each side. now pound away! here you can see, i hammered the staples in just enough to grasp the wood... too far and, well... you'll see later in the post. they don't have to be perfect since you wont see them anyway. i also staggered mine so that i would have wires that weren't straight across. i decided to just start on one side and weave my wire across and back- using one long wire. if you wanted to have them hanging straight across, use make sure your staples are directly across from each other and use three shorter wires. hmmm... sorry to confuse you if i did.

* if you look closely... you can see the word 'clearance' written in pen on the back of the frame. seriously ... i by pretty much buy NOTHING (except most food) unless it's clearance or from a thrift store! told'ya.

here's my Amara... had to 'help' ;)

5. now gather your supplies...

* um. see these super sale clothespins? score!

6. cut a length of wire that will be plenty long to weave back and forth across your frame, or three for straight wires. now start by 'threading' your wire through the bottom staple and twisting it on itself so it's stays put.

  

 

 7. now continue across the frame to the other side, catching the staple, then back across and so on until all the staples are used. 

-you can even see in the next photo that i didn't estimate right on the amount of wire i would need. no problem! i just cut an extra length and twisted them together where i knew a photo would hide it. progress NOT perfection, people :)

8. now flip the frame over and examine your work... then notice that you didn't know your own strength and hammered your staple through the front side, chipping the nice finish. oopsy. glad i didn't pay full price. hee.

 -however, nothing a black sharpie wont fix, right? the cuteness of the photos will mask the blemishes anyway ;)

  

9. now pic out your photos and 'begin' to arrange them to your liking. this will change several times, just so you know.

10. don't forget to use your adorable getting in the way baby helper as you're carefully clipping your photos to the wires~

11. i pounded two nails in the wall to hang the frame on... it's really light so i wasn't worried about not getting them in a stud.

-here's the final product... with a late-night-had-to-use-a-flash photo. eh.. it's cuter in person... the pics are sitting at different levels so it creates great shadows, even though you can't see them here.

- here it is again with one of my most prized possessions... the 3 boys were outside one day, and they kept coming in and asking for stuff... a saw, (i said no) a rag, paint and brushes... it was cute and i wondered what they were up to... they came in with this ADORBS sign they had made! all of them had a hand in it... they even broke the wood by jumping on it since they were sans saw. i LOVE how it turned out- i display it proudly... my sons <3 me.

- also in this pic is the light-switch cover i took some fabric and mod-podge to. love how that turned out too!

.....i hope you like my first little tutorial, phone pics and all!.....

if you leave a comment, be sure to tell me what you would like to see in the next tutorial~ thank you- peace!