Floating Photo Frame DIY

Saturday, July 22, 2017

When we moved into our current apartment, I knew it was incredibly temporary,  but it just didn't feel like a home without decorating the way I wanted.
For the first time ever in our marriage, we walked in to a completely blank slate and it was SO refreshing!
White walls in every room made the possibilities endless.
I basically went through everything I had and got rid of a crazy amount of stuff because it was never really my style to begin with, it just worked in our previous places.
I've always loved light and bright when it comes to decor so i knew I wanted a lot of white.
 I also absolutely love displaying our family's memories so I wanted something that held a lot of photos without looking cluttered. 
I had two blank walls that needed some love but none of my old stuff was working.
I shared what I did with one of the walls here, but was torn for a while with the other wall.
I kept resorting to a gallery wall since I wanted a way to display a bunch of photos but ultimately decided against it because I really didn't want it to look cluttered.
Everything I was finding at my usual stores just wasn't cutting it so I decided to make something myself!


I am in love with the way these frames turned out.
They are exactly what I was envisioning.
Ultimately I wanted this DIY to be cheap!
While I am planning on bringing them with us wherever it is we go, I just knew there was a way to make them without breaking the bank. 
I went to Lowes and Hobby Lobby and weighed out all my options several different times and finally figured out how to make all three for around $10.
YUP! You heard that right ;)
So here's what you need and how to do it...
Sorry guys, I totally spaced step by step directions.


What you'll need:
-Wood!  I can't remember the exact name of the wood I used but it was very similar to this one. I believe the ones I got were just under $2 though. I had them cut the pieces into 32 inch pieces and and 12 inch pieces. I needed 6 of each to make three frames. 
-Paint. Use whatever color you want but I just used white acrylic from Hobby Lobby
-Wood Glue. 
-Twine
-Black and white photos. Of course you can do color... but black and white looks much more uniform!
-Hot Glue
-Something to hang it. You can get the cool things like the sawtooth hangers to nail in or a wire but since we're renting I just attached command strips on the back.


How to make them:
1) Cut your pieces into the dimensions I stated above. You may need to sand the edges a little bit.
2) Assemble two 32 inch pieces and two 12 inch pieces to make a frame shape. Then add a little wood glue and apply pressure. This is where I went the cheapest route. Most frames have a 45 degree angle but I didn't have a saw to do that or correct tools to attach the pieces. If you do, then go ahead and go that route!
3) Once the wood glue has dried your frames are done! Haha so easy. I then painted my frames and let them dry but spray paint would've also been super easy.
4) Wrap twine a few times around the top. I wrapped it around the top pieces of the frame twice then strung it down and did the same to the bottom. I then Just took a smaller piece and wrapped it twice around the other side of the middle piece of twine that's used to hang the photos. I used hot glue to make the twine stay in place. I also cut out the backside of the twine since I used command strips and the twine made the back side too bulky.
5) Attach your photos using good ol tape! I got mine printed in 5X5 at Costco and arranged them to my liking before placing the tape. It has held great and will make changing them out super easy!


That's all!
You guys, these frames were so so easy to make and are one of my favorite decorations.
Not only do each of the sweet memories bring a little tear to my eye each time I look, but I love how clean it looks in our hallway. 
I also think it would look great with four or even five frames in a bigger space!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little DIY!
What are you currently working on in your home?

All my love,
Aleigh Joy 

7 comments

  1. I love the look of your blog, looks amazing ��! #Keepgoinggirl x

    ReplyDelete
  2. These turned out great ! Super cute and a great gift idea too :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. These look great- you did an awesome job.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I absolutely love this! So bright in your space and love the sweet pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  5. These look amazing. I may have to attempt making these.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh I love these so much! What an adorable way to showcase the ones you love!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love love love love this idea! I am not really into black and white photos but I think for this project it is so clean and classic! Great job.

    ReplyDelete