DIY Boho Wooden Frame

This was my first time ever making my own picture frame! Usually I just make a trip to the thrift store and use one I can find for a couple bucks there. I was going for a very particular look with this one, however, and I needed it to be big! So a week later I had my picture frame.

You guys, no shame if this takes you a week to make, but honestly it should be done so much quicker than that. I got so tripped up on making sure the math was correct and trying to get the glue to stick that I ended up having to re-glue this frame THREE times! So ridiculous I know! The first time I didn’t push the pieces of wood tight enough together. I tried using tape to anchor the pieces which did not hold it nearly tight enough. What ended up working was getting the heaviest books in my house, which happened to be year books, and staking them on each side of the frame and using them to push the two wood pieces together.

Wood glue has to dry for 24 hours! Wait the full 24 hours, don’t get impatient and only wait half the time and then have the frame fall apart on you…that may or may not have also happened to me…

You also don’t have to glue it. I was thinking that glue would give me a more seamless finish but nails is probably the better choice because they are a lot easier to work with. No dry time, no pushing heavy books together, and much smaller room for error. You would just need to make sure that the nails are long enough to go all the way through the width of the top piece of wood into the second piece.

Here’s what you need:

• Wood 1 1/2 inches wide and enough length to make desired frame size
• Wood stain or paint (I used Special Walnut 224 wood stain)
• Wood Glue or nails
• Saw to cut the wood. Home Depot or Lowe’s will cut the wood for you for free with purchase of the wood.
• Sand paper

STEP ONE: First measure you wood.

If you are doing like me where the top piece of wood goes all the way to the end and the side piece nestle in between the top and bottom, here’s the math you will use

Top- length of the top wood piece + width of the wood + width of the wood piece – 1 inch. Ex. 18 + 1 1/2 + 1 1/2 – 1 = 20 inches

Side- length of wood – 1 ex. 24 – 1 = 23

I’m subtracting the inch so there is room on my frame for the picture to rest on when it’s time to attach my picture to my frame.

STEP TWO: Cut your wood

I used an electric saw but a hand saw would work just fine. If you get your wood at Home Depot or Lowe’s, definitely have them cut it to size. It will save you a lot of time.

STEP THREE: Sand your wood

I would recommend sanding the sides of your wood that will attach to the other pieces of wood really well. Try to make it as flat as possible so that the pieces match up with little to no gaps showing through. You want them to be flush together.

STEP FOUR: Stain or paint your wood

I chose to stain mine because I was going for a boho look to match the vibe in my house. Painting would also look really good and help hide the nails, if you choose to go that route. I applied my wood stain using a paper towel that way I could just throw it out after. You could also use a towel or paint brush. Let the wood dry completely before Step Five.

STEP FIVE: Attach your wood together

Like I said earlier, I used wood glue. I applied a very generous amount of glue to the parts of the wood I was attaching then I used heavy books to push the sides together for 24 hours. If you are using nails then there will be no dry time or no need to push the wood together.

THAT’S IT!! This is the simplest wood frame that I could come up with, perfect for your first project!

I’d love to see how your projects turn out! Follow me on Instagram @frommytulips and tag me in your projects!

Love,

Tay