All That Glitters Is Gold

Today’s Strut Your Stuff comes from a reader in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She happens to be my name twin.  And I happen to think she has great taste.  She is also extremely witty and creative.  Mackenzie is a broadcast designer at a local news station.  Which is super bomb.  She is even SO rad, she made this fresh frame.  Take it away Kenzie!

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Recently I came across the perfect frame for a space I needed to fill, and here’s the story about how (my life got twisted upside down) I painted it to reflect a recent booming trend in blog-land, gold accents and vintage white.

To start I had to pick the shape and size I wanted, we have a local wood shop here in the good ol’ 801 that sells awesome stuff like this unfinished but there are also shops online that sell these frames.

Here’s what my options were:

I ended up choosing the green one on the right (thought it came unpainted.) The one I chose fits an 11×14 photo and is made of what I assume is MDF.

It also has a little bit of a softer edge to it’s curves and edges then the other options-basically it it were a person my frame would love Nicholas Sparks novels and her dog Cinnamon.

Here’s what I used to paint it:

Surprise! Paint and brushes, I’m missing the gold that I used-but if you’re trying to find it just look for a small canister of craft paint that says gold on it, it won’t look super metallic at first glance but trust me that girl has got some SPARKLE.

And yes the white is actually called “Vintage White.” You could definitely use some fancy-pants milk paint for an even more rustic look, but I wanted a solid coverage as to not distract from the photo. Plus this was a dollar (holla for one dollah!)

Because of the area I was planning to paint gold I used this lovely angled brush to get into those lovely nooks and crannies. I believe it’s made out of some sort of synthetic fiber and although it cost more than your average foam brush I can tell you it is TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Now, I don’t have any real process photos, but this is pretty much what it looked like while I was painting. I did the gold striping first and then the white but I don’t think it matters which one you do first, either way prepare for some touch ups as you go

See how nicely that brush fits in there?

Now, because the paint isn’t the best quality and this wood sucks up paint like no other I had to do multiple coats for the white. This eventually led to some necessary sanding, now I need you to listen to me when I say that all ya’ll need to wait until it is dry before you sand. Otherwise you will gum up your sander and strip your paint which makes for sad tears.

So be patient before you sand; watch a movie, walk your dog, go through IBK’s archives (see what I did there?)

Your frame will be a smooth operator once it’s sanded and the only tears you’ll be crying are happy ones!

What? nobody else swoons for smooth finishes like I do?

My frame came with dowels and niches for hanging, but I’m sure you could drill your own if yours doesn’t come with them.

 Now find a cute picture to stick in there and there you have it! Your very own gold edged frame!

The gold adds the slightest bit of visual interest and ties into any accent colors your accessories may have, so all in all, definitely worth it.

I hope you’ll forgive the semi overexposed photography, it’s a blizzard here and my lighting was less than par. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for having me!

-Mackenzie

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Isn’t she great?!  I was so excited to have her send me her stuff.  She’s also a great photographer.  I just want to put her in my pocket.

If you have anything you’d love to show off, you can submit it to interiorsbykenz@gmail.com.  Can’t wait to hear from you!

Time for me to quickly shift gears.  Remember the DIY Action Squad?

Me, Tracie @ Middle Class Modern , Emma @ Broke Ass Home, and Stephanie @ Sandpaper & Glue are reconvening this Monday, January 21st, for a party.  At this party, we will be sharing sassy projects that you can do in 15 minutes, or for $15.  If that isn’t the best sounding party ever, I don’t know what is.  I hope to see you there DIYAS!

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