A Quickie Frame

I love quick projects that I can actually get done after the kids go to sleep, but don't require me to stay up way too late! So tonight I made myself a frame for our family photos from the slats that were originally supposed to support my bed. Might as well use them for something, right? So I now have three free photo frames. Well, technically I paid for these materials at some point, but today they were all free!

I really want some big white frames from Ikea, but I don't feel like driving an hour and spending like $20x3, plus all 10 (I think?) 5x7 frames I need. {I am hoping those will be a late birthday present from my parents when they visit in a couple weeks.} Anyway, in another timely blog post, I saw younghouselove post about some easy frames they made for a recent pinterest project. I didn't really need to see how to make frames, but the timing was great to spark the idea and head to the garage.

I started with an old black 11x14 (I think?) frame and stole the glass and the paper matte. Using the glass, I measured how long each side needed to be. I didn't take any pictures of this step, but hopefully I can explain it clearly...I planned to use the table saw to make notches on the inside of the frame for the glass to set in, like in "real" frames, so when I measured the length, I slid the glass about 1/4 inch onto the board. Maybe it will make better sense when you see what I did to make the notches. Here is a close up of the board pretending to go through the saw: 

See the notch cut out? That's how far in I had the glass setting when I measured how long the inside length needed to be. Here's another shot just for fun:

When I measured the inside length, I marked a small line where the corner of my 45 degree angle cut needed to be. I marked it 1/4inch shorter than the glass on both the top and the bottom, to account for the 1/4inch notch that would also be on the top and bottom boards. Then I clamped the two side boards together to ensure that they would be exactly the same size and got to work on my miter saw. 

Clamp:

I did the same steps with the two top and bottom boards. Then I busted out the Kreg Jig and drilled a hole in each end of the two side boards. It doesn't matter where you drill the pocket hole, as long as you have one hole in each corner. I just found it to be easiest to only drill on two pieces instead of four. 

Got a picture of the hole for you this time! It looks exactly like the photo from the bed post, only it's mine.

Next I put some wood glue along each corner and assembled the frame. After I applied the glue, I screwed in all four pocket screws to hold it extra tight. This wood is super soft pine, so I could have also used my staple gun just as easily. I am just excited about my Kreg right now and want to use it for everything! Even just wood glue alone would probably be enough to hold it together if you were able to clamp it tight while it was drying. 

Here she is after the first coat of white spray paint:

Check back tomorrow (hopefully) for an update on the finished product hanging on my wall!