Upcycled Frame

Upcycling is very popular at the moment and is something that is close to my heart as both my mum and grandmother were advocates of the 'make do and mend' movement.  This is a simple little project I did recently to give new life to an old photo frame.  I was sent a lovely photo of my youngest grandson sitting on the feet of the 'Angel of the North' in Gateshead, so I wanted to include elements from both nature and industry, just as the angel does.  I started by painting the frame with a coat of black gesso and letting it dry.  I then used 3 colours of gilding wax over the raised pattern on the frame to highlight them.  I die cut some cogs, foliage and words from black card then coloured them with gilding waxes and polished with a soft cloth.  I gave all the embellishments a coat of mixed media gel to strengthen them then attached them all to the frame with strong glue.  I really enjoyed this quick and easy project and I have a lot more frames to upcycle!