Americana DIY Picture Frame

Americana DIY Picture Frame

Looking for a cute Americana themed craft to display for Independence Day? This do-it-yourself picture frame is an inexpensive and very easy to make. It takes about an hour of your time from beginning to end to make this “patriotic” frame. Most of the time is spent cutting paper so a perfect project to work on while you watch a favorite TV show. Follow this step by step tutorial, and in no time you will have a wonderful Americana picture frame for display!

If you are looking for other patriotic flag crafts, check out this Easy DIY Flag Wreath (it is one of my favorite crafts on the blog!) or this simple to make Flag Wineglass DIY! (Need a 4th of July breakfast? Try this homemade Flag Waffle Recipe.

Americana DIY Picture Frame Materials:

● Scissors
● Magazines – 2 or 3 is probably plenty
● Elmer’s or Tacky Glue
● Wooden Frame
● Paint Brush (for applying glue)
● Wooden Star
● White Buttons
● Mod Podge

Notes:

● First things first, you will need to spend a little time browsing the magazines to find pages with red, white & blue on them. I tried to find a variety so that it didn’t look too flat or all the same tone of the colors. The white is the trickiest part, but do not feel like it has to be just “white” white, it can be cream or have shadows. I pulled all the pages out that I thought had good stuff on them, and then, from there, cut the specific pieces I wanted to use and sorted them into piles by color. Look for fun pictures that tie in, like the “freedom” one featured, or a flag, or the word “independence”, etc.
● You will have to gauge how much you need by how thick your frame is across the front.
● They sell several different size frames, and the one chosen for this tutorial holds a smaller photo but had more surface area to decorate.
● When you start to attach the paper, you will already need to have an idea of how you want the colors divided up. Start laying out the paper and see how thick you want each section and then place a couple pieces of paper along at least one edge to keep you on track as your gluing, otherwise, it is very easy to get gluing on one color, and then go too far past the line.
● It is like putting a puzzle together, and it may take a little playing with it to get it arranged the way you like. I chose some larger, solid pieces of paper to put down and cover the frame well, and then I did glue some of the smaller things I cut out on top of that to be sure the gaps were not showing between the paper.
● Get one section of color done at a time, and use your finger to spread the glue around the edges of the pieces of paper, so that they really stay put well and stay flat.

Americana DIY Picture Frame Directions:

● Cut red, white and blue paper strips from magazines. Cut enough to cover, with overlap, the entire form of your frame.

● Using Elmer’s glue or tacky glue, glue papers down in a red, white and blue stripe(s) working on one color at a time.

● Once the paper is all glued on, allow to dry completely.

● Glue white buttons onto your wooden star. Allow to dry completely. Alternatively, you could paint the wooden star white, or cut out a white star shape from your magazines and glue that to the wooden star.

● Once the frame collage is all dry, glue the star on the frame. Allow to dry completely. If you need to speed up the process, set the frame in a sunny window, and it will dry faster.

● Pour some Mod Podge into a dish, a little at a time, as it goes further than you would think, and brush on over the entire frame and star in a good, thick coat. It is fine if the brush stroked show, that adds to the homemade style of this craft.
● Allow the Mod Podge to dry completely.
● Note: if you do not wish to paint on Mod Podge you could use Mod Podge Spray Sealer instead. It comes in several finishes from matte to high gloss, so you can choose the finish look you would like.

This Americana Picture Frame a simple way to dress up a frame for a patriotic holiday!

● To print the Americana DIY Picture Frame instructions, click here.

● Disclosure: the links in this post may be affiliate links.

● If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!

● For more Craft posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.