Paintings are expensive! Not just paintings, but pictures that are little more than framed pictures are friggin expensive! Heck, a frame alone is ridiculously expensive! That was something that had shocked me when I moved out of my Moms. My bedroom there was covered in posters, and drawings and notes from my friends, and a couple of large pictures that she had bought me for various gift giving occasions. So when I moved out, I had exactly 2 pics, well, 5 if you count the three tiny ones that surrounded one. I def did not have money to purchase anything. So I had patience, and I shopped at garage sales and thrift stores. My first score was a large, 4ftx3ft, Edvard Munch repo, it was actually an ad for an exhibit of his paintings. I got it for $5 at a goodwill. Then I found a fabulous french champagne ad, and two small mermaid paintings that look wonderful in my bathroom. I found some that I hated the frame, but the pic was wonderful, and as long as the frame is wooden or metal it could be painted. Rather than spend money on a frame, and sometimes on the really cheap ones you cant get the back off the frame to get to the pic anyways, its all one piece, I would go to a craft store and buy a small bottle of paint for just a few dollars. You can do primary colors, but for about $5 you can get metallics that look like metal, they dont look like paint at all, you can also get paint that looks realistically like nice wood as long as the grain can still be made out under the original paint (though sanding is always an option). Place a strip of masking tape on the glass at the edge of the frame, so you dont get paint on the glass, and apply your first coat to the frame. Most of the time you can get away with no sanding, but if its a glossy frame, you may need to lightly sand it first to give the paint something to stick to. Voila! You can make a frame that doesnt match or is outdated look new!
Another thing you can do with a painting that you no longer like the pic, is cover the pic. You need another print small enough to fit in the frame, use hot glue to attach, then take a 6' spool of tulle in the color of your choice (which can be bought a craft stores like hobby lobby for about $3, the spool is 6' wide and anywhere from 10 to 20 feet long) and measure it out against the pic, making the piece long enough to wrap the full circumference of the picture, plus about two feet. Find the center of your piece of tulle, and twist it tightly into a rope. Place a small dab of hot glue at the bottom right corner of the picture, and place the center of the twist there, holding it for a second till the glue drys. Slowly twist the remaining tulle and hot glue it down along the edge of the painting. The glue will hold the twist and prevent it from unraveling, but be careful as you twist your rope, the glue cools, drys, and bonds almost immediatly, but you can pull the glued tulle rope up if you tug to hard. Its kind of tricky at first figuring out the fingering, but (Im right handed) if you hold the glued twist down with your left thumb and grasp the tulle tightly in your right hand, tugging it firmly, but not pulling TOO hard, and twist it tightly, you can release your left hand and use it to hold the end of the twist while you glue a line with your right hand, then switch hands again (holding the twisted end tight with your right hand now) and lay the twisted tulle along the hot glue with your left hand, pressing down slightly. It sounds complicated, but its easy to pick up and the rhythm is soothing. It also only a suggestion, you may have a much easier way :D Follow this pattern around two edges, then repeat on the other side, so you end up with both loose ends meeting at the top left corner. Tie these ends into a bow of appropriate size for your picture, and trim the ends. You end up with a really cool 3d effect! Below is a pic of one I did on top of a cream colored kitchen painting that was no longer relevant for my kitchen. I painted it with a fake metal paint, and antique bronze color, and put a canvas painting I got about 25 bucks at an auction right over top of the original pic! (I took the glass out. If its not removable, and youre serious, take it out back and break the glass out, going carefully around the edges in thigh gloves with a cloth to pull out an leftover pieces). (A flat print works as well, but a canvas painting is really cool if you can find one!).
My reworked painting! Its one of the most visually interesting items on my walls!
Close up of the tulle, thats a 6' wide piece, twisted tightly into a small roll.
My very first awesome find. I only paid $5 for this and its wood!
With a little creativity, you can have some pretty cool, one of a kind stuff just hangin around your house!
If you find you must buy a frame, like I did in this case (I found a poster I loved for $10, but it didnt come with a frame), get on ebay. I got this wooden one for $18, shipping included, which is close to what you will pay for a cheap plastic one in a store. The sconces I actually inherited from my Great Grandmother when she passed away, but I have seen similar in thrift shops and antique stores for between $5 and $20. I bought some dollar store fake flowers and vines, and a few feathers, I mean, look at them, tell me those ladies were not meant for a few feathers in their hair, and added some very me appropriate flair to my house.
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