live.a.life.of.love: {DIY :: repurposing.frames :: inspiration.chalkboard.frame}

i'm a sucker for a good frame "repurposing." especially when they move from one of my closet floors to actually being used. ahem... moving forward. i have a couple "repurposing" projects to show you today.
project#1
first up is a little photo that's been hanging in my room that i just don't love anymore. i bought this at target about 5 years ago and it's nice, but i wanted to change it up. how nice of target to sell this where it's totally closed off (insert sarcasm) ...enter the handy dandy exacto knife.

anyone else remember exacto knifes from "technology" class in middle school?? i do. i was that crazy kid that wanted to cut perfect straight lines in everything. ok. back to the point here...i was determined to use that frame because it was the perfect size for this...

after cutting off the backing to the target frame and digging out the picture that was in there (wasn't as easy as i thought, but i DID IT!) ... this is the newest addition to my bedroom. i love the pop of color it brings to gray walls.

katie daisy prints make my house so beautiful!

project#2

last week i found an awesome frame at goodwill for $4.99 that i knew would be perfect for finally making a project that my friend mary austin recommended to me after i tweeted that i could hang quotes in every inch of my house. she recommended a chalkboard for changing out inspiring verses and quotes. done. well fast forward a few months and then it's "done." so here it it goes... a little DIY. are you ready for this goodness? well the AFTER is goodness, the BEFORE is straight up hideous...

here's what i needed for my inspiration chalkboard frame. spray paint color of your choice. not sure if this is even the appropriate type of spray paint, but it was the only one wal-mart had in the color i wanted, so i made it work. cost $3.77 the dry non-sanded grout i found at my local hardware store for $2.59. this stuff will last forever. the paint is from wallyworld as well $2.47... we're going for a total cost of about $14 bucks folks. that's not too shabby. chalkboard paint alone can be that much. plus making it this way you can actually make it any color you want AND make as much as you want.

here's our BEFORE frame after i took out the "lovely" picture.

throw on a few coats of turquoise goodness and booyah!
it already looks SO much better.

back inside while i let that dry, i poured about 1.5 tsp of the grout into a cup and added about 1/4 cup of black paint. i used a sponge paint brush to paint on the chalkboard paint.

time to say goodbye to this and HELLO to a brand new chalkboard.

once i finished painting 3 coats on that one i realized i had a lot of chalkboard paint left. insert stack of frames on my coat closet floor. awww... how cute was my sister and how LONG was her hair?!?. sorry sister... i'm not hanging you in my house, but thanks mom and dad for the frame!

so i threw some spray paint on that one too and painted the cardboard backing that was behind my sister's picture with the chalkboard paint. once the chalkboard paint dried on both, i "primed" them by covering the whole board in chalk then washing them off. honestly i don't think this step is necessary at all, but oh well...