Mini Picture Frame (DIY)

The teeniest - tiniest little picture frames ever!

I want to share with you a DIY project that involves:

1. Recycling my gigantic pile of fashion magazines

2. Using a handful of the buttons removed from the clothing I’ve cut it up

This idea came to me when I was about six or seven after finding a hole-punch in my parents’ desk.   My parents are kind of hippies.  We didn't have a TV, so I was forced to come up with other ways to amuse myself.  I have them to thank for my creativity and frugal-ness, and they have me to thank for ruining all of their stuff.   Being the ambitious and creative child that I was, I set to work filling envelopes with confetti (probably made from other items in the desk – like important papers or bills) to toss in the air and surprise people with.  This game was fun until I realized that after the surprise, I was left to pick up the hundreds of paper disks, so I moved on to making tiny doll house picture frames instead.

For this project, you will need:

-a hole-punch

-magazines or junk mail

-small buttons

-clear tape

-glue

-Perler beads (optional)

To begin, I like to make a stencil by punching a hole in a scrap of paper. As you search for potential photos, you can hold the stencil over an image to check it out.

 Its time to choose your photos!

A few good places to check are: the section with comments about last month’s issue (there are usually miniature snap shots of the articles), advertisements with small pictures of the product – often featuring a tiny little person on the box or label, the subscription postcards with images of magazine covers, and the ‘where to shop’ section in the back with mini photos from the articles next to the store names.  Images of people smiling work best, and try to get the entire head rather than just a face. 

Weekly coupon mailers also have great pictures to play with.  Look for pets and babies (my baby photo is from the Huggies box on a coupon) and the best find – two teeny little faces together that fit in a hole punch!

After finding an image you like don’t punch it out yet, just cut around it and set aside for later.  

When you’re happy with your collection, seal each image with a piece of clear tape.  

Because magazine pages are so thin, the pinched disk might have fuzzy edges if you leave the tape out.  

It will also add the shine of glass in a picture frame.

Now you may punch them out!  My hole-punch had a paper catcher on the bottom, but I removed it to get a better look at my image before committing to the punch.  I had to hold my thumb over the opening to keep the little picture from flying away and disappearing forever in my couch.

Carefully glue your photos to the center of the button frame.  You may want to use tweezers. 

 If your frames will be displayed on a wall, tape them in place.

For frames that rest on a table, flip them over and glue a Perler bead to the center. 

The picture will rest on the flat side of the bead and angle slightly (like normal picture frames).

 If you happen to have flat silver sequins around, punch one and place the disk in a button for a tiny compact mirror, or punch pretty paper and place the pieces in several matching buttons for a set of mini coasters!  The possibilities are endless!