F – DIY Frame with Old Magazine Pages

Of lately I have come to adore paper crafts. They are beautiful, vibrant colors, flexible because you can use them just about anywhere, and most importantly cheap. With just a few things you can whip up the most elegant, beautiful art pieces.

At the end of this post, I am going to show you some of the more beautiful paper craft pieces I have come across.

This particular frame was made for my daughter’s school’s Craft Bandwagon. While all the other crafts have been returned, this is one of the few crafts that will remain in the school forever.

Things I used:

1. An old cake board

2. old magazines

3. a bamboo skewer (or anything else that is thin and long for rolling

4. a glue stick

5. PVC glue

6. Chart paper

7. Clear plastic cover from an old frame

8. ribbons and duct tape

9. clear varnish and a flat brush

First I covered the cake board with a chart paper to make it look neater.

On this cake board I placed a photograph in the center and measured all around it. This is the area where the paper rolls are going to be.

Keep it aside (well away from the reach of younger kids who have the uncanny skill to undo everything you have done)

First take a look at this image.

First cut out colorful pages from old magazines. If the paper is glossy, the look will be better. But this is not necessary.

Fold the paper in half lengthwise.

Cut the paper along the fold.

Now place a bamboo skewer at the lower left corner, in a slanted manner. Like in the picture.

Start rolling the paper at this corner.

Remember to pull out the bamboo stick every two or three turns.

Apply glue to the upper and right borders of the paper. The reason for applying so much glue, is that if you have to cut the rolls, they won’t unravel.

Make as many rolls as you can. I made about 80 rolls in all. I didn’t need all of them.

Now segregate them according to color, so you have a better idea about which will go where. You can mix and match too. I think that will look awesome as well.

Apply PVC glue to the area where you are going to place them. Do not be stingy.

Place all the paper rolls in position.

Allow it to dry for an hour or two.

Now apply varnish to the whole frame. This gives a neat and glossy finish and protects your frame from dust. It also makes the frame easy to clean.

Attach the ribbon to the back with duct tape, so you can hang it anywhere.

Attach your photograph in the center and cover with the plastic frame cover. I attached two more rolls on top of the cover to hold it in place. But only in such manner that I could remove the cover if I want to change the picture.

There’s my happy kid with her craft project 🙂

Here are some more design ideas.

Bobby Pins

These look like real good fun! All you need are bobby pins, a good quality glue and colorful magazine papers.

Newspaper Frame

Similar to my picture frame, only more concise and with a better finish.

Magazine Vase

Again from the same site as above. I love the look of this vase. I can’t get over how beautiful paper crafts look.

Watch out for my paper bead jewelry on Friday, 11th April 2014.

Till then…

Happy DIYing!