We are the Robinsons!: snowflake frame tutorial

When do you take your Christmas decorations down? Right away? Or do you let them linger?

We usually take ours down right around New Year's. Many a New Year's Eve has been spent putting away Christmas decorations while watching television to ring in the new year.

January is too early for Valentine's decorations, so a little snowflake decor is in order. Let's make a little something.

You will need:

snowflake ornament
5" x 7" frame (or one that fits your snowflake)
scrapbook paper
ivory, black, and white paint
brown antiquing gel or some sort of stain
paint brushes
sandpaper
glitter (I used Martha Stewart ~ white)
spray adhesive
strong glue

I got the frames on clearance a while ago at Target. I got the snowflake ornaments on clearance also just before Christmas this year.

Take the glass and other cardboard/paper out of the frame. Find another use for the glass ~ we will not be using it today. Paint the frame ivory. Good coverage is not crucial because we are just establishing a base coat and something to peek through when the frame is scruffed up later.

Next, paint the black. This is where you will want good coverage.

When the black is dry, use the sandpaper or sanding block to scruff up the frame where natural wear might occur. Do as much or as little as you like. If you are fancy, use a tack cloth to wipe away the grit. I'm not so fancy, I just use a damp paper towel.

Apply the brown antiquing gel or stain with a brush, then wipe off with a cloth. Use as much or as little as you like. The gel doesn't show up as much on the black as it might on a lighter project, but it does leave a nice sheen.

These are the ornaments I found on clearance. One is plastic and the other is some sort of ceramic. I found them at Joann's and Hobby Lobby.

I spray painted them white. I like how the coverage was minimal on the one on the right.

Um, what the what?

I bought this spray adhesive some time ago in anticipation of needing it for some craft or another. I've never used it until now and what do I find when I pull off the cap? No nozzle!!

When Greg got home I showed this craft travesty to him and he replaced it with a nozzle from a can of WD40. I'll keep that guy!

Now back to crafting. Spray the snowflakes with the glue then apply the glitter liberally over a paper plate. Pour the excess glitter back into the container to use another time. I let this dry overnight.

Next comes choosing a paper for the background. When I was shopping, I bought several because I wasn't too sure which would work best once the snowflake was painted and glammed up with glitter.

Love, love, love this paper. But it's too busy for the snowflake and overall too much the same color as the snowflake. It just gets lost.

This one is better. It has a smaller, less crowded pattern and the overall color is darker. This one might have been fine.

But I also bought this one. Perfect. Even less busy and darker. This one will allow the snowflake to pop. That diva is really the star of the show, you gotta let her shine.

Cut the paper to fit the cardboard backing that came with the frame (5" x 7").

I attached the paper to the cardboard with double-sided tape. Then pop in the frame. I planned on using E6000 to glue the snowflake to the paper ~ but alas it was dried up. I'm really having glue issues with this project.

I ended up using hot glue. It worked just fine.