You Will Need

• bought photo frame
• ornament that you want to frame
• 3mm foam board
• strong duct tape
• suitable strong glue gun (glue gun, silicone or epoxy glue)
• craft knife and cutting mat
• metal ruler
• pliers
• scissors
• pencil

 

To Make

1 Choose a photo frame that the ornament will fit inside comfortably. Measure the height, width and depth of the ornament and work out how deep the box must be. Write all the measurements down; ours is 100mm deep. Now remove the back of the frame.

2 Measure the inside of the frame for the size of the base panel. Measure for the side panels, allowing for the thickness of the foam board (3mm). Take 6mm away from one of the two pairs of side panels over the width. We took 6mm from the two shorter side panels, so ours are 100 x 194mm. The two longer side panels are 100 x 250mm.

3 Mark out the panels on your foam board and draw the lines. Our base panel measures 200 x 250mm.

NOTE Foam board will work only for ornaments that are not too heavy. For heavier items you should use wood.

4 Cut the panels using your cutting mat, craft knife and metal ruler, and take care that your knife doesn’t slip.

TIP Don’t press too hard, as the foam board may dent. Rather go over the lines twice with your
craft knife.

5 Place the panels on a clean work surface and make sure they are all the correct size before you start attaching the side panels to the base panel.

6 Cut duct tape to the length of a long side panel. Stick half of the tape to the back of the base panel. Position the side panel on top of the base panel. Rub the other half of the tape onto the side panel with your ruler. Rub to remove creases.

7 Stick the other long side panel in place in the same way and then affix the two short ones in between. Now stick the side panels to each other to form a box. Ensure that everything is at right angles.

8 Your box is now ready and you can insert your ornament. You can simply stand it in the box, or have it ‘float’ like ours, but then you will need strong glue or a piece of wire to fasten it in place to the base panel.

9 Remove the hooks from the frame with pliers. Decide if you want to use the glass. If the glass is not attached to the frame, affix it with a glue gun or silicone glue. Wipe away any excess glue before it dries.

10 Use a suitable strong glue (for foam board, glass and/or wood) and apply it all around the inside edge of the frame. Don’t use too much as it will seep out.

11 Carefully place the box inside the frame and press to secure. Leave it to dry and then seal it with silicone glue or by adding more duct tape around the edges.

12 Once you are sure the box frame is sturdy, hang it up. Screw-in hooks with a wire that can be hung over a nail work well.

Text and images: Ideas