How fun is this letter frame? My daughter found it at the thrift store. There were 3 of them, J, F, and W. She bought the “J” frame as a gift for her friend Jordan, and the “F” for our last name, Formaro. Jordan’s birthday was last month and we made this stenciled frame for her. She’s also the one I made the Spiderman Cake for. A couple of years ago I made my daughter some tie dye wall letters, so Kristen wanted to use that idea for Jordan’s frame. it was the perfect wall art idea for her friend!
Here’s the before and after.
She chose a tie dye shirt she had in her closet and we went to work. First we removed the glass and then she sanded the frame a bit to rough it up and remove the shiny finish. Next she gave it a coat of purple paint.
After the paint dried, we laid the shirt over the top, positioned the center swirl over the hook of the “J” and traced around the letter with a pen.
I cut out the letter from the shirt and laid it over the top of the frame. Then I cut openings where the pictures go.
Then I needed to refine it a bit more. So I just used a pen over the top of the shirt and using the frame underneath as a guide, I traced the outline of the frame, leaving a small overlap allowance.
I removed the fabric and painted on some decoupage mixture (white craft glue and water) then place the fabric on top of the frame. I smoothed the fabric with my fingers then painted on a layer of decoupage over the top of the fabric as well.
After allowing the fabric to dry, you stretch the ends of the overhanging fabric out and use a sharp craft knife or box cutter to trim off the excess.
As you can see, t-shirt material does not trim cooperatively. It came out quite jagged and I spent a considerable amount of time cussing refining the edges.
What ended up working in the end was the sand the edges of the fabric, which meant I of course sanded off some of the purple paint as well. So once I was done sanding I touched up the paint and added a coat of Americana’s Triple Thick Gloss Glaze since Kristen wanted it to have a shiny finish.
We let it dry overnight and it’s all ready for gift giving! :) Happy birthday Jordan!
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Sara says
If you coat the fabric with decoupage glue first it will prevent the fabric from fraying and let you cut smoother lines. I use this technique for anything I decoupage with fabric and it really helps!
Amanda Formaro says
Yes! Great tip, I actually always do this now. I didn’t know that back when i made this then Amy from Mod Podge Rocks told me about it :) Thanks!
Amanda says
Haha Wendy! Maybe so, but then it wouldn't be as fun LOL
Wendy Piersall says
I wonder if paper printed as tie dye would make you cuss a lot less. :)
Michele says
that turned out so well! i love gifts that are this personalized! great idea and good job!
Katie's Nesting Spot says
I love those letters, I've never seen ones with spaces for pictures. What a fantastic gift you daughter made.
Jami says
Love it! Very cool!
smiles!
Megan says
Love the the tie dye! What a great thrift store find!!
Michelle says
What a clever idea! I bet Jordan loves it.
Daily Freebies says
That's awesome! Looks very unique! Great job!
Allison Shops says
Cute – love the bright colors.
I wanted to let you know about Atticmag's new linky party – Giveaway Friday! It's a convenient place for bloggers to link their giveaways each week. We've kicked it off with a fantastic giveaway of our own. Five lucky winners will win material to do a backsplash in their homes. Hope to see you there!
Allison
Atticmag
Amanda says
Thanks ladies!
Miri – Usually 2/3 glue 1/3 water, but just add water until it's a good painting consistency :) Thanks for the compliments!!
Miri says
This is terrific! Cute and personal! Thanks for the recipe for decoupage mixture…I'm overseas and I just can't buy a ready mixture.
How much water to glue-would half and half be about right?
KKL Primitives says
How neat!! My grand daughter would love that!
I wanted to stop by to say hello and to also thank you for featuring my glitter pears on 'Craft Gossip' – what a nice surprise!!!
~Neenee~
The Krazy Kraft Lady
Quilting in My Pyjamas says
This looks so cool, and is such an original idea.
I thought I was the only person in Blogland that cussed and confessed. (I'm doubly glad I stopped by)
malia says
Hi Amanda, Really good original idea! I bet she'll love it!
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
That letter is awesome!! My daughters would love that!! Thanks for sharing! Great idea to use the tshirt!
Ann Sheafer says
Very very cute. Think I'll make one of these for my daughter's room.