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Rustic Frames are So Easy and Cheap to Make! Learn How!

Hi Friends!  I’m so excited for this post today because I love how this project came out!!  I have been super busy lately with redecorating my house into a farmhouse feel.  There will be lots of posts to come about the fun easy projects I have been working on.  For today, this DIY rustic frames tutorial is an easy project that cost me nothing to make since I had everything on hand.  The only thing you probably would need to buy is some burlap if you don’t have that.

rustic frames

 

This is what my family room wall looked like before (minus one picture I already took down) – it was pretty similar but I wanted to update the black frames and the writing on the wall to rustic frames.  The bottom verse had been picked off years ago by one of my kiddos!diy picture frame

So after some simple cuts, wood glue, my Cricut, and my staple gun it now looks like this!rustic frames

Much better, right???  I love how it came out and how cheap and easy it was to do!  Let’s get started…

Materials for DIY Rustic Picture Frame

    • Wood – I used old fence posts that I got free from someone who was redoing their fence.  Check on Facebook sites or Craigslist – there is always people getting rid of wood.  I also had some random thinner pieces of wood I used for the cross wood.
    • Burlap – I had some left over
    • Elmer’s Wood Glue
    • Staple Gun and 1/2 inch staples
    • Cricut and vinyl for lettering (check out my Ultimate Cricut Idea Resource Guide here!

 


free svg cut file

First thing I did was mount my 8x10s on cream cardstock with my tape glider and then trim the edges.diy farmhouse picture frames

I put three boards together to see how much room I wanted for the picture and burlap.  I ended up making my burlap pieces 10 3/4 inches side by 12 1/2 inches tall.  The easiest way to cut burlap straight is to pull one strand all the way through.  This will leave a straight line where you can then trim the edge and then pull the rest of the strands off on the edge.

how to cut burlap

Grab one end of a strand that goes all the way through and pull it all the way out. The material will bunch but flatten it out and keep pulling. It’s easier to cut at top so you’re not pulling more than 18-24 inches or so.

how to cut burlap

It leaves a straight line. Cut 1/2 inch or so from the line depending on how much fray you want.

how to cut burlap

Pull the extra strands off.

how to cut burlap

There you have it, nice even fray!

diy burlap frame tutorial

 

I then laid the burlap on top of 3 pieces of wood together and laid the thinner cross pieces down to where I wanted them.  I decided to leave 3/4 inch between the top and bottom edges to the thinner cross pieces.  So, I ended up cutting my fence wood 18 3/8 inches long with my miter saw.  I spaced the wood pieces a bit apart so that my width across was 11 3/8 inches.  I cut the thin pieces of wood  12 inches long.  Then I laid it all down again and put a long piece of wood at bottom to line everything up while I glued and stapled it together.<script type="text/javascript"> amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "leapoffait09c-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_title = "My Amazon Picks"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "6b40430ebdfe3f02a5a715b340f0a8eb"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B01GSOMVRG,B00JZ1VFD6,B00MXBEIJI,B0045PXPH6"; </script> <script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script>

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I applied a long line of Elmer’s wood glue to the back of the thin cross board, stuck it down, and then started stapling with my staple gun.  Since I wanted it to look rustic, I didn’t care what angles they were, I just stapled wherever I felt like it!  Then I just used a sharpie and colored the top of the staples black.diy farmhouse fence picture tutorial

I used the wood glue again to glue down the burlap.  I let that dry a bit and then used my tape glider again to attach the picture to the burlap.  That was it!!  Quick, easy, and cheap!!

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For the wording, I cut out vinyl with my Cricut and then applied it to my wall.  You can always order vinyl decals on etsy or amazon if  you don’t have a cutting machine.

I made three rustic frames and since my daughter’s pic was horizontal I made hers a little differently.  I used 4 pieces of fence and cut them 15 1/2 inches long and cut the thinner cross board 15 inches long.<script type="text/javascript"> amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "leapoffait09c-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_title = "My Amazon Picks"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "6b40430ebdfe3f02a5a715b340f0a8eb"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B01GSOMVRG,B00JZ1VFD6,B00MXBEIJI,B0045PXPH6"; </script> <script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script>

I love how the rustic frames add that extra farmhouse feel to my family room!  I made this large rustic fence frame for a cute Christmas decoration and applied heat transfer vinyl on it!  Click here for the tutorial on this DIY Christmas sign!DIY farmhouse Christmas decor

To learn how to easily convert candles to a farmhouse look with burlap click here!  If you’d like to see how I converted the rest of my family room to farmhouse style by adding super easy and cheap shiplap, click here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!  If you’d like to save this idea for later, you can Pin it now!

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rustic frames diy

rustic frames

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