Getting a Frame for Almost Free - Taiwan Memories

When I was sorting through my picture frames and pulling some out for the indoor yard sale, Princess Two came out with a silk pictures she got in Taiwan that she wanted to frame. It was the only keepsake or trinket she got in Taiwan as she didn't know she was coming home so she kept telling herself that she didn't want to have to move lots of things and she would get all the tourist type stuff when she was about to go home. 

I showed her the frames that were about the size of the picture and she had a few options but I told her we could paint any of the frames that she liked and we could also get a mat for the frame so if she wanted to pick a bigger frame, she could.

About a week before that, we had gone to the state dance competition for Princess four and I stopped at Michaels crafts to try and find some of that yarn for the scarves we are knitting up for the fund raiser for Thailand. Of course, they had no yarn but they had a sign that they were taking 90% of the lowest clearance price. I spent less that $50 and got hundreds of dollars worth of items. I bought lots of mats and scrapbooking stuff and a few boxes of wedding and shower invitations I thought may come in handy for the girls. 

I got a black mat that was clearance priced at $3.99, I paid 40 cents. So this week, I went to pick up a few cars (which I will probably post about later) but while in the city picking up the cars, I saw an Ace Hardware store that was closing for good and it had a sign 25% to 70% off everything. 

I went in figuring I would get things I buy regularly at my Ace hardware. I bought black spray paint for almost half off the original price. Cheaper than even the discount stores. I bought bulbs for my little yard lights. I had three go out this winter. They were almost half off as well. My sprinklers are always an adventure in the spring and they were all almost half off as well so I purchased several of the adjustable one's that could replace any of the one's that may break when the system goes on for the first time. I am not sure why, but every spring I lose a few when I turn them on. Maybe the plastic gasket dries up or something. It is usually the Orbit type with the white plastic ring so that is probably it. 

My favorite buy was the mismatched gallons of paint. They were all $3.50. I bought three gallons and will take them in down in my town and have them tinted to the color my niece wants. One was primer and paint in one. I also got quarts for $1.50 and pints for $.75. The guy at the register was in awe of my purchase. I did have some of the paint tinted there as I knew a few colors my niece wanted for her room. 

Sorry about the tangent but I was telling that story to show that if you keep your eyes open, sometimes you can get things cheaper before you need them if they are items you regularly use. I also purchased some things at both stores to sell and some for others. I find that if I am willing to keep my eyes open for things others need, they will do the same for me. Pay it forward type of thing.

I used a razor blade to scrape some purple paint off the glass of the frame. I bought it years ago for Princess one's room and ended up not using it. I am not sure how they got so much paint on the glass but I scraped it off and then washed it. I couldn't get the glass out without pulling out the back supports so I used newspaper to slide in under the frame and above the glass. It is nice to be able to create something beautiful out of something not so beautiful with a little work.


I put out some newspaper outside on the cement and tried out this new Rustoleum all angle spray paint with an easy trigger nozzle. Oh, how HAPPY I am with their new trigger can!!!! If you haven't tried it yet, you are in for a treat! 

No more finger painting your finger tips when you hold down the top nozzles. No more cramping fingers when you are painting a large project. It is seriously one of the best inventions. You can spray it at any angle. It has a very consistent flow pattern. I didn't get any large globs of paint spray like you sometimes do with regular paint. I didn't have any drips. 

I didn't sand the other paint first. I didn't prime the other paint first. It just covered it wonderfully. Sometimes you have to do many coats to get a good coverage. NOPE, I did two light coats and that is only because I noticed some of the tape I used was covering the frame. I pulled it off and painted that area again and just went over the rest again to make sure but I didn't notice anything showing through. That is not the case usually on other projects using different paint. I really LOVE Rustoleum paint. I have never had a bad experience with it.

I put a photo of the receipt from Ace so you could see the great prices. I picked up a new paint brush. I have used the same "favorite" brush for years now. I really needed a new one but they are so expensive that I put it off. I splurged and got one since they were half off. 

Most of the paint was for my sister except the spray paint. The fact that I am already using it says something. I think if you searched "spray paint" on my blog, you would come up with lots of projects. I use it all the time. 

I let it dry and brought it in and washed the glass up again. It was a bit of a humid day and it was colder than I like for painting but it left the frame a bit sticky. I suggest waiting for a dry day or sometimes you can go to a warehouse and paint as I did with Princess one's wedding doors.

I have also used an auto body paint shop for larger items so I wouldn't have to deal with any over spray. I used my garage a few times but don't like the smell it leaves. My favorite, is to spray it on newspaper on the grass so that if there is over spray, I can mow it with the next mowing of the lawn but of course, today, the grass is wet still so I did it on the cement with paper. 

I used the flower picture that was in the frame for the backing of the silk picture. I just turned it backwards so that none of the print would show through. I could have cut something else but who will see the back and it was already the right size. 

I am excited for Princess two to see it. I think she will be happy with the result. I thought about making the frame a different color but when I discussed it with Princess two, she didn't sound convinced that she wanted to introduce another color. It is beautiful as it is and the entire thing probably cost me under $1 as I didn't use much of the paint, the frame was something I was getting rid of and the mat was cheap. 

Yea for clearance sales and recycling things!