DIY Giant Photo Frame

  Hey there! It’s Natalie, from The Creative Mom. I’m so excited to show you this giant photo frame I made for my husband for Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is coming up in just a few days, and if you’re anything like me (or my husband), you haven’t even thought about what you’re going to get for your sweetheart this year. Chances are you’ll pick up some half dead flowers at the grocery store, or a cheesy box of chocolates… but why not make this year extra special and MAKE your sweetheart something they’ll always cherish and remember? This giant photo frame is the PERFECT project. It honestly took me one afternoon (including dry time). So you can whip it up for your Valentine in no time. And I guarantee this will earn you WAY more points than those flowers or chocolate ever would!

Supplies:

1- 4′ x 8′ sheet 1/4″ sanded plywood
2- 6 foot 1″ x 2″ boards
Jig Saw
Kreg Jig and 1 ” pocket hole screws
Staple Gun
Stain and Paint
Picture Hanging Wire
22″ x 34″ photo
Poster board or large scrap piece of paper
Measuring tape
Sandpaper- 100 grit
Pencil
Hearing and Eye Protection

Instructions:

These instructions will make a 3’x4′ frame, with enough plywood leftover to make another frame, so you can make one for your mom too!

Start with your sheet of plywood. You will need one sheet that’s 3′ x 4′. The Home Depot people will cut down a full sheet of plywood if you need.

With a pencil, measure halfway down your length of plywood, and halfway across the width of your plywood. Then draw a line all the way across and down, to section your plywood into quarters. (You’ll want to do this on the BACK of your plywood).

 Once you’ve got your plywood sectioned into quarters, take a piece of posterboard, or a large sheet of paper, and cut the shape of your frame (or rather a quarter of the shape of your frame. The posterboard should measure 18″ x 24″. You will trace this shape onto all 4 quadrants of your plywood. 

 After you’ve got the shape of your frame all traced, you’ll cut the whole thing out with a jig saw. Do your best to cut straight lines, but don’t let this part intimidate you… You can always sand out the imperfections later on.

 Once you’re done cutting, sand those edges till they’re all smooth. You can also use an electric sander to make things go more quickly.

 Then go ahead and stain your entire frame. I also used a wipe-on poly to give it a nice finish after my stain dried.

 Now we’re going to assemble our inside frame. You’ll need a 1×4 cut into 2- 36 inch lengths, and 2- 17 inch lengths.

 Using a Kreg Jig, drill pocket holes in the boards.

 Then assemble the frame using 1″ pocket hole screws. Then you’ll sand the frame until it’s nice and smooth. Then paint it or stain it however you’d like. I painted mine white, so it would stand out against the dark stain of the frame behind it.

 While your frames dry, get your photo ready. You’ll want your photo to be 22″ x 34″, and you don’t want it to be flimsy. I had mine printed as a “blueprint” at an office supply store. Then I used spray adhesive to stick it to some foam-core board.  

 Now that you’ve got all of your frame pieces and your photo ready, we can assemble this baby! Stack your frames on top of each other, with your photo in between. Make sure you measure, so you get your top frame centered.

 Then using a staple gun, staple the frames together from behind. (You’ll have to measure, so you make sure you’re stapling in the right place- trust me!) You could also use wood glue and glue the frames together, but I knew I’d want to change out my photo, so I opted for staples, which can easily be removed, and wouldn’t split the wood like screws might.

 Then you’ll want to attach some picture hanging wire. I attached it with my staple gun.

 Then hang that baby on the wall and surprise your sweetheart with a gift that’s not only really thoughtful and sweet, but also a pretty easy build that you can be proud to display.

 I hung mine in my entryway (does that farmhouse bench) look familiar? It’s another SUPER easy build that cost less than $20 in supplies and is the perfect project if you want to start building your own furniture!