Dollar Store Shadow Box Frame Re-do

I'm not a snob but, I don't usually shop at the dollar store. The last couple of weeks I've been doing my mom's shopping and she wanted some dollar store items. I have to say I found some good buys like these shadow box pictures $3 each for the small ones and $6 for the large one.

 I don't like the artwork but knew I could transform them into something completely different.

So I went to work taking them apart. Starting by carefully removing the staples from the back using a staple remover and a pair of needle nose pliers.

Then using a craft knife I carefully separated the backing from the frame and removed the picture hangers with a mini Philips head screw driver.

This was easy but a little time consuming.

Now to remove the decal from the inside of the glass. It easily scrapes of with a blade.

Seriously - This step took 30 seconds.

Once I cleaned it with some glass cleaner it was ready for it's new look.

The smaller frames where even easier to remove the backs - less staples.

 

I decided I was not real crazy about the stripes on the small frames. So I taped off the glass front and back.

And spray painted them with flat black spray paint.

I'm liking the solid black frames.

I decided to create a triptych out of the three smaller ones.

These pictures will end up on my gallery wall in the family room.

This is one of the pictures I have there already.

It's my favorite, a watercolor by a local artist by the name of Joseph Alleman. I purchased it a few years ago at the Salt lake City Arts Festival. And this is where I got my inspiration.

I know, I know - Great picture right?

OK, back to my project.

I'm using some birch branches and a little birdy (purchased at Micheal's).

I layed out the branches how I wanted them.

Then layed the frames over them to get an idea how they will look when finished.

Starting from one end I placed the frame face down and cut the branches to fit within the frame.

Once I had what I wanted I hot glued them in place. Be careful not to get glue on the glass, it's not impossible to remove but a little tricky. I used a piece of paper towel with Windex on it and a pair of tweezers to reach between the branches.

Looks good so far.

Continuing onto the next frame I aligned the branches with the first frame.

See where I am going with this?

Gluing the branches with hot glue allowed me to adjust the depth of the branches so they are not laying against the glass.

First placing a blob of glue where I want the branches and letting it cool and dry then laying the branches on top of the cooled glue before gluing in place.

I continued to fill all three frames.

Once they where all filled I picked of all the spider webs (strings) from the hot glue.

Then I decided where I wanted my little birdy.

I cut the wire attached to him (I've named him Gary) and hot glued him in place.

Almost done.

Added the picture hangers.

You could add the cardboard backing covered with fabric or paper -

 I chose to leave the backs open.

And here they are part of my gallery wall I am working on.

Now what to do with the larger frame?

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Holly