Contact Paper DIY : Picture Frames : Sara from Arvonia

Hello there! I'm Sara from Arvonia, and I am so happy that Lindsay and Kam

invited me to participate in this fun challenge! Contact paper is one
of my favorite crafting tools, so I'm pretty excited about the whole
week. On to the crafting!

Making faux picture frames from contact paper is an easy (and

landlord-approved!) way to spruce up those old walls. The above photo
was taken when I first did this project a couple of years ago after I
moved into my boyfriend's apartment (read: typical bachelor pad), and
I absolutely loved the results. So here it is for you,
step-by-step!

First, you'll need just a few supplies:

• Contact paper. I did mine with the woodgrain paper, but you could
  do this in any pattern you like!
• Frame templates (unless you want to draw them freehand). I went
  to DeviantArt's stock photo files and downloaded a
  bunch of images of frames I liked, then printed them in various
  sizes.
• Permanent marker or pen
• Scissors or a craft knife

Next, cut out your frames. Oh, and a side note -- I wouldn't pick
frames with a ton of crazy detail, unless you really like spending
long afternoons with a craft knife.

After they're all cut out, it's good to arrange them all to see what
you're working with. If you want to use all of the frames for your
project, that's great! I wanted to pare mine down a bit, but how many
frames you do is totally up to you.

Ah, much better! This is the point I really like to play around with
spacing and the layout of the frames. That way, I don't have to spend
time cutting out a lot of unnecessary frames later on.

Trace your templates onto the back of your contact paper. Keep an eye
on the direction of your pattern (like with the woodgrain, is it going
up and down or from side to side?), if you want to keep it consistent
with all of your frames. Cut out your frames.

Almost done! I told you this was easy, didn't I? :)

I arranged my frames one last time on my work space (Notice how I like
to work on the floor? Typical.) and taped them down, so I could see
just how they looked before I started adhering them to my wall. If you
want to make any rearrangements, I would recommend it during this
step, since it's a little trickier once they're stuck.

One by one, stick them up on your wall. They're not permanent, so you
can still move them around a bit if you need to make any minor
adjustments. Now step back and enjoy your handiwork! I'd love to see a
whole wall full of frames ... now if I could just find that kind of
time!

Thanks, everyone! If you decide to take on this project, come visit me
at my blog
and share. I want to see your work!