DIY Weathered Wood Frame Tutorial

Completed DIY Weathered Frame

So one of my new obsessions is making sea glass art.  It's really fun and a great way to showcase some spectacular pieces of sea glass that may be unsuitable for jewelry.

  I have been including a simple white or black frame with my sea glass art but after visiting our local consignment shop (where everything was distressed), I thought why not give my frames more of a driftwood vibe to them.

There are a lot of tutorials out there on how to do this.  This is my version and is pretty simple and best of all?...I didn't have to but any additional supplies! 
Ok, let's get cracking!

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I love this shark!

So let's start with the unfinished wood.  For this demonstration I picked up two unfinished wood pieces from AC Moore for $1 each.

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Depending on the wood you choose you will get a different outcome, so experiment!

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First step is to paint your items you want weathered white and let dry completely before continuing on to the next step.

When dry, sand with the mouse sander or sand paper.  It's ok if some bare wood is showing.

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Next up, staining your wood black (or brown) and then repeat what we did above.  Let it completely dry and sand with the mouse sander.  Again, if bare wood is showing it's no big deal (gives it some character). :)

You can sand as much or as little as you like.  More sanding will take off more of the black stain and lighten up your project.

I then highlight the bare wood with Gilder's paste.  For the frame I used Inca gold.  This step is totally optional and really subtle.  I happen to use Gilder's paste to highlight metal in my jewelry creations but it also is good on wood so why not?  I used Iris blue on the shark and he has a blue tone to him now that I really like. 

So there you have it, pretty easy right?

I have also done this method with a frame that was already finished black, painted it white and sanded it.  Came out great but slightly different than the above method.  I'm going to start trying it with different colored paints and see how that turns out.  I would love to see any that you do.

Look how scary I am?!

Black frame painted white, then sanded

Til next time!

Kelly

http://www.BlackDogJewelry.net

http://www.facebook.com/BlackDogJewelry