Disposable plate to picture frame

   

   Turn a disposable plate into a picture frame.

Full instructions including FREE digital images that you can print and use for personal and commercial use.

Step 1

The great thing about these picture frames is they are so light you can hang them on the wall with Butack, fantastic if you are renting and not able to drill holes in the wall.

I used square disposable plates, but round or oval plates will work just as well. Firstly clean the plates with soap and water if they have been used.

I used two plates per frame to create a solid base to work on, as they were a bit flimsy. If you use more than one plate per frame, glue them together before you begin.

Step 2

Give the outer edge of the plate that will form the frame a light sand with a fine grade sand paper. This will help the paint to adhere to the shiny plastic. Then paint the outer rim of the plate with acrylic paint in the color of your choice. I chose brown as it goes well with an old wooden screen in my dining room.

Step 3

You will need to give the plate two or three coats of paint depending on the color of your plate and the color and quality of your paint.

Tip: you can wrap your paint brush up in a plastic bag between coats of paint. This will save you having to wash the brush out each time.

Step 4

Repeat the process if you are going to create more than one frame. I did three frames as I think they will look nice grouped together on my wall. You dont need to worry about crating a neat inside edge on the plates, as these edges will be covered up when you glue your picture onto them.

 Step 5

Click on these three images above and download the files. Once you have downloaded them you can re-size to fit the plates you are using. Then you can print the images out using high quality settings on photo quality paper. I used quite a thick semi gloss paper to print my images on.

Tip: its best to do a test print first on normal copy paper using a draft ink setting to make sure the images will print the correct size for your plates.

Step 6

Use craft glue to glue each of the pictures to the center of each of the plates, like in the photo below.

Step 7

I wanted to finish the edges of the image by adding some twine. All I did was cut the twine to the correct length and glued it to the plate with craft glue. Then repeated the process for each edge of the image.

Do the two opposite edges first

Then do the two remaining edges

Step 8

I then added studs (like the ones you find on jeans) in the four corners to cover up where the twine joins. You could also use buttons or anything else you think will look good.

Close up view of stud

Here's the end result below hung on my dining room wall, next to my oriental wooden screen. The possibilities are endless, you can use different shaped plates, paint colors, and images. You could even cover the plates with fabric instead of painting them.

I would love to post any photos of your creations on my blog, just contact me here and we can work out the details.

You can see more free craft tutorials here - Free craft tutorials

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