miy fathers day frame project, miycreations, MIY

Miycreations Project article and photographs
by Madeleine M Langlois

Father's Day Project: Fame Frame For Dad

Sleek Granite-Style Frames

Transform plain wooden (or plastic) frames into eye-catching upscale decorative
showpieces to honor dad. The frames are embellished with clay ornaments personalized by
your children. The sleek granite like frames make wonderful gifts for displaying your child’s
art or with pictures taken with dad. This project is also great to recycle and revamp older
picture frames with you are no longer using!

Hands-on time: Under two hours.
Total time: Plus drying time for the paints and clay.
Skill: Easy, children over 6 can easily do this project with supervision
Project cost: Under $20.00 for the supplies.

Materials & Tools
• 3 flat-faced unpainted wooden picture frames, assorted sizes new or revamp old ones
• Sanding block and tack cloth
• No bake clay, white
• A rolling pin or clay roller and dull knife and clay tools
• Golf ball or other object to make impressions into the clay
• and textured effect paint medium (available at arts and craft supply stores)
(it is then mixed with the colour of your choice)
• Acrylic paint colour (we used a Graphite colour)
• Paint brushes
• Plastic container to mix the acrylic paint colour with the sand texture medium
• High Gloss or Shimmer acrylic top coat varnish
• Clear silicone glue
• A drawing of dad made by your child or photos with dad sharing a special moment

(Materials for this project are available at arts, crafts and hardware stores.)

Sand textured effect paint medium are available by various Brand name companies. They
are a fabulous way to jazz up plain item with texture. Sand textures can be applied to
assorted surfaces such as wood, metal, cardboard and ceramic. It creates a unique custom
picture frame gifts for father’s day by combining Sand fusion textured and toped of with
shimmering glossy effect topcoat. The frames are then embellished with clay accents
made with golf dimple impressions to personalize the frame for dad. The completed frames
are wonderful for displaying your child’s art as well as pictures taken with dad. For added
impact, group several frames in assorted sizes and styles.

To prepare the wooden picture frames, take the frames apart, sand the entire surface and
then use a tack cloth to wipe off the dust. Clean the glass pane inserts and set them aside.

On a flat work surface, apply base coat of acrylic paint, let it dry for 30 – 40 minutes. Make
a mixture of 50 percent sand textured medium and acrylic paint in your choice of colour.
You can also use less or more, its as you like. Apply the now coloured sand paint medium
over the base coat of the frames. Let dry overnight prior to applying the top coat.

Apply a coat of acrylic varnish in high gloss or with shimmer effect, and let it dry,
approximately two hours.

With clean hands, knead clay until it is soft and smooth. Flatten the clay with a rolling pin
onto a clean surface (a plastic placemat works well). Cut clay into strips to the size needed
using a dull knife. Have your child make a golf ball dimple impression by pressing the ball
over the clay strips. Mould clay into other shapes to correspond with dad’s hobbies (e.g.,
mini golf balls) and add texture with clay tools. Set aside to dry for 10 to 12 hours.

Paint the clay accents as desired, or leave them natural. Apply clear silicone adhesive to
the back of the clay pieces, and then gently press into place around the frame border. Let
cure for 6 hours.

Put the clean glass panes back into the frames, and add your child’s drawing or pictures
with dad.

Variations: These sleek granite-style frames are also just the thing for graduation pictures.

The same sand textured techniques as above can be used on pencil containers, wooden
office boxes and cardholders for the home or office.