DIY Canvas Frame and Other Artwork

Hi everyone! My apologies for holding out on my dedicated readers. I actually now have 4 posts that need to be written since I haven't been posting as often as often as I should. I got wrapped up in pythonchallenges.com ... so addicting.

Remember when I did the artwork with Jen at Brush-N-Blush? Well, I had it by itself on the wall. But, to be honest, the edges were looking a little rough and were bothering me. So, I picked up some 1 x 2 boards (not exactly 1 x 2 - more like 0.75" x 1.5").

Since I still don't have a fancy saw, I used the miter box I have with my c-clamp to cut angled pieces. I decided to have the 0.75" side be the border and the 1.5" side to sit on the canvas, so that the canvas would be in the frame (you'll see what I mean in a little).

I did the cutting very, very carefully as the boards needed to be the same size so that they would fit together well. I then used my corner edge and wood glue to glue the corners together. I also used wood putty to fill in the cracks at the corners. Since I am using a miter box, my cuts aren't as clean as you would get with a miter or table saw.

 Once that had dried solid, it was time for painting.

I ended up using my Sherwin-Williams cabinet/door paint (3 coats with ample drying time between coats).

I also used upholstery staples in the corners to give them extra stability.

Then, I slid the canvas into the frame and secured it to the wall. The canvas sat really tightly in the frame, so I didn't feel the need to add anything to secure it in the frame.

And the result? Much better.

Before:

After:

I also ended up creating some custom artwork for the powder room. I have all sorts of paint samples at this point. So, I copied one of my favorite blogs (www.younghouselove.com) and created some paint sample art.

It's really simple, but I think it's kind of fun until we can get different artwork in there.

I then decided that the bottom left corner needed something, so I added a key. I actually picked that up at Hobby Lobby last Christmas. It was on a metal ring with a few other ones. So I ended up cutting it off the ring and hanging it up here.

Funny story about cutting that. Yea, I sliced my thumb open (with my saw). Go me! I was actually trying to be careful, but ended up doing it anyway. There was blood everywhere. And, I ended up getting metal filings in there that I had to fish out to clean the wound. Which required cutting off part of my nail that I had sliced. I decided not to take a picture with it all a mess, but here it is all bandaged in antibiotic bandaids and a finger condom. Luckily, I had gotten a tentanus shot 2-3 years ago, so I think I am pretty good there. I asked my dad about it and he said he cuts himself all the time and just wraps it in duct tape. And hopefully I won't have to mention condoms on my blog again. That's kind of awkward. :)