pin'spiration: phabulous photo phrame

I've been holding on to this gaudy 3'x2'7" wood and plaster frame for ages now, convinced it would one day emerge from the thrifting mud a beautiful crafty lotus. Last week, when I received my Instagram prints from PostalPix, an idea struck me. An idea so grand, I hopped right on it. Those must-make-it-now projects are so few and so fleeting that on the same day I gushed about my gorgeous 4x4's, I made a b-line to Home Depot and Joann's for the needed supplies.


And here we have a new contender for my most favorite thing in the house.


Huzzah for having some family pictures on the wall! My pin'spiration came from seeing this Instagram display and this photo frame clothesline display. Add a can of Krylon and we've got some magic.


A mega bonus to this clothesline frame is how easy the pictures are to change out. In the spirit of Valentine's day, I added some vintage flash cards with a holiday vibe to them. They just happened to be the same size as the prints which worked out like a dream. The thought of changing out the pictures and flashcards with the coordinating seasons and holidays makes me giddy.


Now for the nitty gritty DIY deets.


For the clotheslines, I wanted to make them rather hidden and not glaringly obvious so that the photos were more of the focus. I contemplated yarn or fishing wire, but thought both would look tacky and cheap. Instead I went with 28 gauge Darice brand silver wire I found in the jewelry section at Joann's. I think it looks smashing. I had thought about painting the wire as well but again, I didn't want them to be obvious and I imagined the paint would start to come of the wire over time because of the clothespins.

My frame lacked any way to hang it on a nail so I picked up two ring hooks that I screwed into the frame back. I went with one in each upper corner and I just made sure to level the nails on the wall. With two ring hooks as opposed to one, I never have to worry about the frame not being level once I hang it.

To hang the frame on the wood paneling, I went with two 20 lbs. Ook hooks. This frame is maybe 10 lbs. if not less but I like to overestimate with these hangers just in case. These are by far my favorite nails for both paneling and plaster. I've yet to have an issue!


For my mini matching clothespins (also bought at Joann's - found in the wood items section), I put all the pins on a piece of cardboard and just spray painted them along with the frame, allowing one side to dry before I flipped and painted the other.


Juni thought these were just too cute and she politely asked if she could have some to keep for her toys.


Thank goodness I birthed a child who loves to get in on the DIY action. She took to "helping" me measure. Girl knows how to earn her keep 'round here.


To attach the clotheslines to the frame, I put in a screw on the right and left side on the backside of the frame to wrap each end of the line around.


To figure out where to place each line, I first measured the inside portion of the frame: 23" from top to bottom. I then measured an inch down and place my first two screws. I then placed a screw every 5.5" after that for a total of 4 lines.


I wrapped the wire tightly around one screw, pulled it taught to the adjacent screw, wrapped that end, then cut. Super simple.

The inside of the frame measures 29" across so that was room for 6 nicely spaced 4x4 prints per line.

And that, kids, is how you turn a frumpy thrift store frame into a plucky picture display!