Tissue Paper Picture Frame

Do you need a quick and easy gift idea, or maybe just a little something to dress up a bare wall or empty space on your desk?  How about this sweet little wood frame, customized with printed tissue paper?

Who wouldn’t love to get a sweet little gift like this?  (Just don’t tell them it only cost you $1 to make…)  Yep, $1!  You can make this with supplies you hopefully already have on hand, and Michael’s sells these little unfinished wood frames for a dollar.

To decorate the frame, all you need is some pretty printed tissue paper and a little modge podge.  (and fabric scraps if you want to add  flower accents.)

What?  All you have is white tissue paper?

Guess what?  That’s all I had too!  I found some pretty digital patterns online and just ran the tissue paper through my printer.  (I pinned a bunch of free papers to my Pinterest Board, you can find the one I used here.)

Here is how I made the frame…

Materials needed for the DIY Picture frame:

• Small wood frame
• tissue paper
• Modge podge
• nail file block
• scissors

Instructions:
Cut a piece of tissue paper to fit the size of your frame.  (I chose to go with tissue paper on this project because I wanted the wrinkly- shabby chic look on my frame.)

I did not have too much trouble running the tissue through my Canon mx340 printer, but if you’re having issues, try taping it to a piece of regular paper or cardstock first.

I opened the digital paper in my photo editing software, resized it to 8.5 x 11 and sent it to the printer for normal printing.  (I also added a “linen look” texture to the paper for a bit more “shabby chic-ness.”)

Then I put the tissue in the paper feeder and pressed start.  I was worried about running the tissue paper through the printer, but it came through without any issues…  (This printer is one tough cookie, it even takes credit cards.)

Just a few ink smudges on the sides…

Coat your frame with modge podge.

Carefully smooth out any air bubbles and gently cut an x through the middle of the fame.

Add a little more glue to the inside of the frame (But not the side where the picture goes.)  Gently pull the loose edges of tissue through the center of the frame and press into the glue.  After it has dried, you can carefully trim the excess tissue paper.

Let the frame dry for an hour or so, then use your soft nail file or very soft sandpaper to sand the edges of the frame and remove excess tissue paper.

Coat with one more layer of modge podge.  Once it’s dry, you can accessorize the frame however you like…  (Wooden letters, fabric flowers or even plastic toys!)

Have fun making your frames…

I have several photos from this day that I absolutely love.  I am going to make a set of three frames to hang vertically on a wall.  I think I will print out 3 similar but different graphic patterns in the same color.  They would be perfect in our guest room or even the playroom!

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About the Author

Jamie Sanders is a wife and mom of 2, located in the heart of Texas. She founded Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom in 2011 as a place to share creative ideas and family friendly recipes. Her work has been featured on Martha Stewart, Woman’s World, HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, CNET, Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, Oprah Daily, and Redbook, plus many other publications. To date, she had given away just under a million free pdf sewing patterns.

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