Turning Dollar Store Picture Frames Gorgeous!!

This is an easy way to upscale dollar store picture frames! We bought are frames at The Daiso Japan for $1 each. You can find the same ones in the US for 12 for $20 at:

http://www.daisojapan.com/c-361-photo-frames.aspx

or similar ones for a $1 at:

https://www.dollartree.com/frames/545/index.cat

This craft all started with an Alice in Wonderland themed party. My wife and I threw a huge Alice in Wonderland party for our daughter and her friends and I'm telling you, this Alice theme is so much fun to play with. We found all kinds of Alice art we wanted to frame for the party....all we needed were the frames!

Step 1: Buy the Frame and Prime Them

The frames were only $1 and we found that mirror for $2.

First you'll need to prime them. Any plastic primer will do. Just buy it and follow the directions. We used a local Japanese brand plastic primer. For the mirror, just tape the glass so primer doesn't get on it and prime away.

Step 2: Paint Away

We used matte black milk paint. The frames needed two coats of paint. Let the first coat dry, before applying the next.

Step 3: Sponge Painting

Sponge paint to accent the frame. We used DecoArt metallic gold paint and a kitchen sponge for this.

Cut the sponge into pinch size sizes. This makes it a lot easier to paint. Barely touch the frame with the sponge and add your accent color slowly.

Step 4: Showcasing Your New Frames

We wanted to showcase our Alice art in an awesome way so we looked for a larger frame. We found this monster frame on sale at a picture frame store, because the side was cracked "YES!" This was one of those collage frames that hold a bunch of different pictures behind cardboard...is that what they're called? We said bye-bye to the cardboard.

Step 5: Preparing the Large Frame

After some super glue and sanding, we used DecoArt metallic silver paint and sponge painted the same way as we did the small black frames.

We cut a piece of cardboard and painted it black to put in the white large picture frame.

Step 6: Hanging the Small Frames in the Large Frame

These dollar store frames are a really light weight plastic, so we used heavy-duty double sided tape to hold them on the cardboard. Check out the art!