Y’all know how much I love thrifting and picking, right!?! It’s always a rush when I find something a little unique, like these shadow box frames. I buy and paint LOTS of old wood frames but I’d never seen anything quite like these. They’re solid wood with that 1960s look to them. The prints are attached to a wood back. I found them marked $5.00 each on a half price day! So I only paid $5.00 for both of them.
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The Rules:
- Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
- There’s no monthly theme.
- There’s no budget to stick to.
Meet the Hosts
Amanda | Domestically Creative Kim | Made in a Day
Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled Pili | Sweet Things
Debra | Shoppe No. 5 Sue | A Purdy Little House Chelc | Inside the Fox Den
Kimm | Reinvented Ann | Duct Tape and Denim Sara | Twelve on Main
Kim | Farmhouse Made Toni | Small Home Soul Angela | Simply Beautiful by Angela
Michelle | Our Crafty Mom Marie | DIY Adulation Chelsea | Making Manzanita
Leanna | Of Faerie and Fauna Denise | My Thrifty House Lindsay | Crazy Organized
Florence | Vintage Southern Picks Shirley | Intelligent Domestications | Michelle James Designs
Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!
Shadow Box Frames
- 2 old shadow box frames from the thrift store
- chalk type paint
- paint brushes
- varnish
Here’s a better look at the back of the frames. Pretty deep for the size, right?
I used some of the last of my CeCe Caldwell’s vintage white chalk-type paint for this DIY project so NO prep work. I just cleaned the frames good before slapping on a couple of coats of paint.
CeCe’s paint wet distresses really well so I added a little detail. Here you can see the difference between the wet distressed frame in front and the one behind before I distressed it.
When that was dry I covered them both with a coat of polycrylic. (I’m not a fan of CeCe’s wax… I know people who love it, but I just can’t get the hang of it.)
Then I searched our house for a place to hang these and something to display in them.
Now Bikeman and both my sons-in-law like to go picking with us. But they search out much more “manly” antiques than we do. Estate pipes are one of the top things on their list! They like to find old, inexpensive ones that are in bad shape, clean them up, and repair them. These bring back good memories for Bikeman. His uncle always smoked a pipe. Plus, the guys get to build new memories sitting out on the patio working on their pipes!
Maybe someday I’ll share more of their “manly” antique finds with you. But today you just get to see one of the estate pipes.
BTW, my son-in-law also carved the pipe holder for Bikeman!
Here’s one of the finished shadow box frames hanging above his desk, which is tucked under our open staircase. (BTW, that wall is next on our list to be painted! Let me know your favorite white paint. It needs to be a little brighter in here.)
Now check out all the other upcycled projects for this month!
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and let me know what you think I should display in my other frame.
‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Kim says
That paint is gorgeous!! I love these, awesome job!
Toni | Small Home Soul says
Ooh, so much better than that ugly old wood. I love that the contents you display really pops and isn’t lost by the dark background. I could find so many cute trinkets to display and change out as the mood strikes.
Angela @ Simply Beautiful By Angela says
What a cool find! Those are so unique and perfect for displaying your awesome trinkets 🙂
sara syrett says
Love it!
Michelle James says
Such a beautiful shadow box!! Love the colors you used!
Michelle James says
I love these. I don’t get into shadow boxes very much because I always wonder what in the heck I will put in them. The pipe is perfect and even better that there is some history and fond memories behind it. The whole purpose of a shadow box…right? These are perfect!
Kimm at Reinvented says
Wow, so cool! I have never seen shadow box frames like that, but you can be sure my eyes will be peeled for them now! What a sweet story about the pipes, and a perfect way to display them.
Kim~madeinaday says
They so don’t look like they were from a thrift store! Love the paint job, so pretty!
Kim
Debrashoppeno5 says
I have never seen such deep frames. I love how you painted them and created a shadow box. It looks good displaying the pipe.
Shirley Wood says
Very cool thrift store find and great makeover! I love the colors and the distressed look. How awesome that your son-in-law carved the pipe rest! I can almost imagine your fellas all making those memories while refurbishing those pipes. A nice way to bond.
Chelsea @ Making Manzanita says
These are so cute!! I definitely would have snagged these up at the thrift store too. So many options with a little paint!
Naomi S. says
Isn’t it amazing what a coat of white paint will do? It totally transformed those shadow box frames! They were a great find, but I probably would have walked right past them the color they were.
Tiffany Locke says
I like that you explain how you used the paint to add detail and distress the shadow box frames. Knowing how to paint frames would be a great way to be able to showcase your art the way you want. You could also buy them custom made for the artwork so that it has the exact look you want.
Leslie says
Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams is a lovely white and goes with just about everything. If you search Greek Villa paint you’ll find the coordinating colors to go with it. Good luck!
ducttapeanddenim says
Thanks! I’ll take a look at that one.