Happy Monday, sweet friends! I’m hopping on today to show you a quick and easy way to frame a personal photo! And it doesn’t matter what style you like, be it contemporary, modern, vintage or eclectic, you can customize any personal photo and turn it into a piece of art! Come check it out!
Yesterday was our beautiful daughter-in-law’s birthday and I wanted to get her something special. Something I knew she’d love! I didn’t want to get her clothes, or jewelry, but decided to get her something for their new home. Her previous job was headquartered in Paris, France and she went several times each year and had become quite the Francophile. Here is a picture of her on one of her last trips to Paris.
My husband and I went to Paris, just once, back in 2018 and I took TONS of pictures of the beautiful chandeliers. I framed a few of them and hung them in our bathroom downstairs where our son and DIL stay when they visit. Our DIL commented how much she loved them and I kept that in the back of my mind. So, when her birthday rolled around, I knew a framed chandelier print would be the perfect gift! I looked through my stash of antique frames and chose one of my favorites!
Being vintage, the frame had a few boo-boos in a few places. See the whitish spots? . (And on a side note, see how there are little tiny hearts all the way around the frame? Just something more to love and all those details! Sigh!)
I whipped out my trusty Rub-N-Buff in gold leaf and painted over the white spots. It dries very quickly and covered up the white spots like a charm.
There were a few places on the frame missing the detail, but I covered those up with a bit of gold leaf too. Honestly, I think it adds to its charm!
I measured the inside of the frame from the back to see what size glass I would need. (And also to figure out which size print to order.) The size of glass was an odd size ,roughly 14″ x 16″ only slightly smaller. I knew it would take a custom piece of glass for the frame. Based on that measurement, I ordered an 11″ x 14″ glossy poster size print from CVS Pharmacy. It was ready about an hour after I ordered it online! How’s that for service? So, I picked it up and took it all to my local Hobby Lobby! @hobbylobby #hobbylobby
The kind lady behind the framing counter at Hobby Lobby was SOOOOO helpful! She helped me pick out the perfect shade of off-white for the matte to compliment the white in the print. She also recommended dry mounting the picture so it wouldn’t wrinkle over time. (That’s about $10 more.) I explained to her that I wanted the picture back ASAP in time for my DIL’s birthday in a few days. So, we chose an in-stock matte and regular glare-proof glass. (Note: If you choose a custom matte or museum quality glass it can take weeks.) I left the frame and the print at the store expecting to hear back in a few days. But guess what? They finished it that same day because they knew I was in a hurry. Isn’t that customer service above and beyond? THANK YOU HOBBY LOBBY!! And isn’t it beautiful? I LOVE the way it all turned out! This chandelier is from Napoleon’s apartment at The Louvre. It was spectacular in person to say the least! The very least!
When I went to pick up the picture, they matted and framed it beautifully and put a wire hanger on the back. Then they wrapped it in protective plastic. When I got it home, I wrapped it all up and put a bow on it!
I could hardly wait to give our sweet daughter-in-law her gift on her actual birthday, so we let her open it the night before at dinner. She was totally surprised and told us how much she loved it! That makes me SO happy to give someone special to me a gift that I think they’ll love. I remember when I was younger and at a loss for what to give someone as a gift, my Mother always said to give them something you would love yourself. So, it’s always stuck with me and it’s true! Also, when I give a gift like this, I like to write a note on the back with a date and the occasion so they will remember.
This can easily be done with any personal photo! (Not a copyright photo.) Simply go to CVS.com and click on the photo department. You can download any picture from your computer in any size and finish. I chose a glossy finish because it was able to be ready in just one hour, where as a matte finish must be special ordered. Also, CVS usually runs a special so be sure to look for a coupon code for discounts. The size I ordered was 11″ x 14″ so it was considered a poster size. But it was still ready in an hour! The photo department had it neatly rolled up in a tube so it didn’t get bent.
Hobby Lobby has hundreds of frames to choose from and are so nice to work with. You can even take your own vintage frame, like I did, and they will assemble it all for you for a reasonable amount. And it’s usually a pretty quick turn around.
Well, thanks for stopping by today and checking out my latest project! I hope to share with you a new recipe this week too, so stay tuned! Hope you have a fabulous day and thank you as always for stopping by my little corner of the blog universe! Love and hugs, Dell
P.S. The feature photo shown above is one from our guest bathroom, just to show the same print framed differently.
