Hi, crafty friend! Today I'm sharing how you can turn any Dollar Store frame into a festive home decor piece. With a few transfers, some moulds and a cluster of bucks! 

I picked up this arched 5x7 frame from my local dollar store. It's a plastic frame with a glass insert with so much potential! As always, you can find all of the supplies used for this project listed below. Now, let's get into the tutorial.

Start by tracing out the insert inside the frame onto some thick white cardstock and cut this out. Then apply the wreath with the Merry Christmas from the Classic Christmas transfers to the white cardstock. To help me get it placed just right, I held the frame with no glass over the white cardstock and placed the wreath in the center a little closer to the top of the frame than the bottom. Remove the frame to lay the wreath completely flat against the cardstock and then use your transfer tool to apply the transfer to the cardstock.

Cut out the red and cream bow and layer it over the bottom of the wreath, transferring it to the cardstock just like you did the wreath and the sentiment. The transfers are done and now you can add it to your frame and set these aside for a bit.

I used one of the bows from the Timeless Ties Mould and one of the cardinals from the Cardinal Cheer Mould to decorate the frame with. I used white resin, but the Redesign Casting Material will also work for this project. If you used resin, prime your mould--you can skip this if you used the Casting Material. 

I used The Classics set from Art Philosophy, using these colors: red, orange, green, grey, brown and black. I painted the bow with the green and the cardinal red. Then added some black to a bit of the green paint in a mixing dish and added the gingham lines to the bow. Make sure your first layer is fully dry before adding the lines--you also want the darker green paint to be nice and thick, so try mixing it and letting it sit for a few minutes before using it. 

The cardinal got black on the eye and around the eye. The beak is a mix of orange and red and the feathers on the wing and tail got a darker dose of red (red with a tiny bit of black), then a little bit of brown to make it that dusky red color. This will make your cardinal look more realistic. The legs got painted with the grey. Then add a tiny white dot to the eye for a highlight! 

Once your moulds are dry, highlight the texture even more by applying Finnabiar's Old White Wax to the highlights of the mould with your finger. Dab your finger in the wax, then dab the excess off on your work surface. 

Glue your bow to the top of the frame with Finn's Heavy Body Gel. Add a berry cluster and evergreen sprig from Prima Marketing's Twinkle & Treats collection to the bottom right of the frame, again with the Heavy Body Gel. Add two of the poinsettias over the stems of the sprigs you just put on with gel. Then glue the cardinal to the frame with more gel. Dab a bit of Finn's Heavy White Gesso onto the greenery and flowers to make them look a little snowy. 

You might find it handy to use some clamps to hold the moulds firmly to the frame for 5-10 minutes. Once really pressed on, you can remove the clamps and let the gel finish curing. Once the gel is fully dry, your frame is ready for displaying or gifting!

Hope you loved this fun little DIY and that it inspires you to alter your Dollar Store finds into something beautiful and festive. Until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

Shop the Supplies:

Scrapbook.com, A Cherry On Top, Sizzix, Prima Marketing, Spellbinders, Etsy & Amazon

I am an affiliate with multiple companies. When you shop the links below, I receive a small commission from the affiliate, at no additional cost to you. This helps me balance the costs of the time and love I put into my projects and blog so I can continue to share my ideas with you for FREE. If you shop the links, thank you! I greatly appreciate it.

Below are products that I used for this project.