Thursday, November 29, 2018

DIY Card Holder from Thrift Frame

It’s almost December! Thanksgiving is over and everyone can finally acceptably decorate for Christmas. Christmas is my absolute favorite. It is a time of family traditions, childhood memories, family, friends, sharing, kindness, and love. One of the most precious things I receive during the holidays are cards. There is something so special about getting a letter in the mail and opening it up to see familiar faces with glowing smiles and growing families. The exciting news of marriages, babies, and new homes is always a welcomed bonus in these notes of holiday best.

My mother always pulled out the tape and attached them to her kitchen cabinets, so as a child I always would say to myself “Oh hi, [family/friend name]” and it I always felt closer to them somehow just with that simple reminder that they are always there. But since our kitchen remodel…Willie would kill me if stuck cards to our freshly painted cabinets…so I needed a new option to hang the incoming holiday cards. I thought where is the best place to show off the cards? Bingo…the fireplace mantle. And once the tree is up it will be a fabulous gathering spot for our Christmas morning. And this one will be super special as it will be Finley’s first Christmas.

So as always I set out on a mission looking for a large frame that I could either affix wire or ribbon to in order to hang the cards. After a couple of failed attempts at my normal go-to spots, I finally found a large enough frame. The picture was $25 from my favorite thrift store. It was slightly painful to undo this custom framing job (as I’m sure someone spent a fortune to do), but once I got it home I removed the paper backing and the multiple layers of matting to reveal a beautiful larger frame canvas. Originally I was going to leave the frame the original metal color but after some thinking I thought it would match better with all the shabby chic white in my living room if I painted. So with some leftover Fusion Mineral Paint (color –Champlain) from My Coffee Table Makeover, I did a super distressed paint job. Once it dry I did a fast light sanding to reveal some more of the metallic color underneath.

I highly debated about using a pretty ribbon as the method to hang the cards, but ultimately decided on using leftover chicken wire from my vegetable garden rehab. Mainly, well…duh, it was free. But also the ability to hang the cards in multiple ways. The ribbon would have been restrictive in the numerous card sizes/orientations we receive.

I absolutely love the ways this turned out! I cannot wait for all my holiday cards to start pouring in so I enjoy looking at all the special people in my life daily. Come on Christmas! Happy Thrift Thursday!

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