How to Upcycle Vintage Frames

I found this little set of plastic vintage deer trophies at Savers last year. They’re one of my favorite finds ever. Then I found a pair of old frames at a thrift store for a dollar for BOTH. They were the exact same size, but different styles. A little upcycling and combining of two vintage finds–and voila! This project proves that a fresh coat of paint can spruce up even the saddest old thing.

For this project, you’re going to need some beat-up old frames with interesting details, acrylic paint in the (bright!) color of your choice, paint brushes, and possibly hardware for hanging. One of my frames had lost it’s hanging apparatus somewhere along the way. The other one had two much. I cut what was there in half and they shared. I just put thumbtacks into the wood and wrapped the wire around them.

If you have a 9-year-old helper who loves to paint, all the better! Ruby and I each took a frame and went to town. Use long even strokes to apply thin coats of paint. By the time you get one whole coat on, the paint will be dry enough for a second coat. At least it was for ours.

Three coats later, I was pretty happy with the results. I was worried that the thicker acrylic would masked some of the cool design in the wood, but it didn’t. Over all, I really like the way they turned out. I recommend using very thin layers to try to keep the paint from building up too much in the details of the wood. I have the frames and the deer hanging in my entry. Friendly little hello on the way in! I may go back and put on a coat of Modge Podge for shine, but right now I’m digging the matte finish. It was unintentional, but I love how the color of the frames picked up the green in the picture below them.