Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Few Of My Favorite Things: Chippy Distressed Frames

I absolutely love distressed, chippy paint frames.  I think that frames are just as important as the painting/ picture it is framing.  I particularly fall head over heels for frames that are made out of reclaimed wood from old window frames, door frames, or molding.   The result is there is not only a story for the picture, but also a story and a historical context for the frame.  I have found these frames at estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, antique stores, and specialty vintage stores. 



This is a picture my friend's mom sent her of a gorgeous tatting that was done by my friend's grandmother (didja follow that?).  The colors in this picture were so amazing that I just had to frame it.  The frame is made of reclaimed wood from a door frame of an old house that was torn down in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. 





This pink frame is made from reclaimed wood from the same Georgetown home of the frame above.  I love the crackles of the paint.  I have not yet decided on what should go into this frame, so I used black and white decorative paper for now.   This frame is so distressed that it will actually give you splinters if you are not careful.


This frame, which was featured in one of my previous blog posts,  is one of my favorites.  I am not sure if I love the painting or the frame more.  The distressed paint gives it such an amazing texture!







This turquoise/ teal frame is also made of reclaimed wood from a window frame of an old home, and as a bonus it came with a picture in it.  Not only do I love the frame, but I also love the picture of these women on the beach, sitting on an overturned lifeguard boat and posing in their bathing suits with swim caps and high stockings.  When I look at this picture, I can FEEL how much fun they had this day!  


 


This small frame is made of reclaimed wood from a home in "Old Town" Alexandria, VA, and also is filled with decorative blue and white paper until I find the perfect picture/painting.  Honestly, it might stay like this, because the color and details of the frame are so eye-catching that it will likely overshadow anything I put in it. 



This is me when I was little with my great grandmother (or Nana Nana) on the porch of her apartment in Newark, NJ.  This frame has wooden embellishments that are worn down with the natural wood shining through.   This special woman deserves a special frame.



This frame contains a picture of me and my friend and sits on top of one of my bookcases in my reading room.   Besides the awesome pale green color of this frame, I love how you can see the grains of the wood and all of the wood's imperfections. 



This picture of me and my cousin Kortney is in a distressed white frame that has a design carved into the wood.  I love it (and I love her too!!). 



This frame is made from reclaimed wood from a barn that was torn down south of Denver, Colorado. The picture is of me and my brother during my college graduation in 2003.  He looks so young here! (And he'll probably kill me for talking about him on my blog ...)
 



This distressed frame holds a postcard of a Van Gogh painting that I purchased in an art museum.  Besides the distressing, I also love the flower wood embellishment on top. 


And last, but certainly not least, is this frame.  This frame holds a special place in my heart because my father and I made it together.  I found this painting next to a dumpster, and I knew with the right frame it would be a keeper.  My father and I found old molding and sawed, glued, hammered, and cursed our way through until it fit the canvas perfectly.  Then I painted it a base coat of green that matches some of the green in the painting, and painted white over it.  I then distressed it until some of the green showed through.  After a few blisters, the result was this frame and a special memory of me and my dad.

(Disclaimer: This painting is only temporarily on the floor while I move some items around).

And those are a few of my favorite things.   


This was shared with:

Common Ground's Vintage Inspired Friday (and she is having a great giveaway too!)

3 comments:

  1. Hi Melissa, LOVE these reclaimed wood frames! Just gorgeous, thanks so much for linking up and mentioning the give away!!! xo Debra

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  2. Oh ya I never pass up a great framed. I love the ones with raised flowers and patterns the best and then of course we always paint them

    Carol

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  3. Love all your frames. Especially like Nana Nana.
    Happy to be a new follower from Vintage Inspiration Friday.
    Laura
    http://imsovintage.blogspot.com/

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