I made this frame before I got hold of some of that Metal Tape! I wanted to see if I could recreate a faux metal frame without the use of the tape and here is what I came up with!

The base of the frame is a sheet of mount board which I cut into a frame using the large red rectangle frame by Sizzix. Next I used strong white glue and stuck down string all around the outside edge and inner edges of the frame itself to create a ridge.

Once the glue was dry, I applied glue all over the string and the frame and stuck on a sheet of crumpled cheap thin tin foil. Making sure I pressed the tin foil into all the corners to create a channel ridge within the frame itself and set it aside to dry.

When it was dry I used glossy accents by ranger to glue shrink plastic bellies and itty beads to create a mixed media frame. Because of the raised area of the frame it meant that the shrink plastic embellishments and the beads where held in place in the channel.

Finally I added a stamped image inside the frame to finish it.

These would make ideal gifts for your stamping friends or family. Instead of a stamped image inside the frame you could add a photograph of a loved one!

For more detailed instructions please read my directions below!

    Supplies Used

  • Sizzix Die Cutting Machine
  • Large Red Rectangle Frame Sizzix Die
  • Mount Board or heavy card board
  • White Glue (ie PVA or Mod Podge)
  • Paint Brush for applying glue
  • String
  • Scissors
  • Cheap Tinfoil
  • Glossy Accents (Ranger) (available from Innovative Stamp Creations)
  • Tiny Gold Beads (available from Innovative Stamp Creations)
  • Black and White Shrink Plastic
  • Sand Paper
  • Black Stazon Inkpad
  • Platinum Planet Brilliance Inkpad
  • Scissors
  • Rainbow Dye Inkpad (Vivid Indian Summer)
  • Clear Versamark Inkpad
  • Cosmetic Sponges
  • Heat Gun
  • Chartreuse Blue Artists Ink (Winstor and Newton)
  • Acetate
  • Silver Krylon Leafing Pen
  • Gold Class A Peels Stickers – No Limits, rectangle panel and brads
  • Black Card Stock
  • Hanger for frame
  • Butterfly Wings Rubber Stamp By Era Graphics
  • Small And Large Leaf Rubber Stamp By Era Graphics

Directions For Creating The Metal Frame

1. Using the Sizzix Machine and Rectangle Frame Die cut out 1 frames from the sheet of mount board, set aside the inner frame part as you dont need this.

2. Take the string, measure and cut 4 large pieces of string which will fit along the outside edge of the frame. Repeat this step to cut out 4 smaller sections for the inner part of the frame.

3. Use white glue to stick the string to your frame. Allow glue to dry.

4. Take a large sheet of tinfoil and crumple it up into a ball. Open it up again carefully.

5. Glue the tinfoil on the frame over the top of the string – take care you dont tear the foil as you do this. Press the foil carefully to make sure it sticks inside all the corners and also inside the recessed channel in the middle of the string. Allow glue to dry.

While your glue is drying you can make your embellishments to go inside the frame!

Creating The Shrink Plastic Embellishments

Black Shrink Plastic Leaves

a. Sand the black shrink plastic on one side.

b. Stamp 2 small leaves and 2 large leaves onto the sanded side of the black shrink plastic with Platinum Planet Brilliance Inkpad.

c. Let ink dry.

d. Cut out leaf shapes with scissors.

e. Heat the shrink plastic with heat tool until it shrinks.

f. Gently twist the leaf shapes to desired shape.

Colourful Shrink Plastic Leaves

a. Sand the white shrink plastic on one side.

b. Stamp 2 small leaves onto the sanded side with Black Stazon inkpad. Let dry.

c. Apply colour from rainbow inkpad to the leaf shapes using a cosmetic sponge. Let dry.

d. Cut out leaf shapes with scissors.

e. Heat leaves to shrink, gently twist them into shape to finish.

Chartreuse Intaglio Leaf Fragments

a. Take the white shrink plastic and tear it into small abstract shapes.

b. Take the small leaf stamp and ink it up with clear versamark inkpad and set aside.

c. Heat the shrink plastic to shrink it, once it has melted quickly press the inked leaf stamp onto the shrink plastic and hold it down.

d. Remove stamp to reveal a recess intaglio image in the shrink plastic.

e. Repeat steps a-d to create many more shrink plastic embellishments, then proceed to the next step to add colour!

f. In a plastic pot carefully drop in 2 drops of artists inks – I used Winston and Newton inks – if you dont have these you can substitute with alternative inks by other companies. Next drop a couple of drops of glossy accents into the ink and mix to a gooey consistency using a paint brush.

g. Paint all of the shrink plastic fragments using the mixture, take extra special care to make sure the ink gets in all the nooks and crannys.

h. Set aside to dry and use later on your frame project.

Finishing The Metal Frame

1. Take the glossy accents and run a layer of the glue inside the entire ridge.

2. Place shrink plastic embellishments into the ridge – positioning as shown in the photograph.

3. Place your frame inside a cardboard box first to catch all the stray gold beads, and pour them into the ridges of the frame, making sure they stick to the exposed areas. Tap off excess beads into the box. Let your frame dry.

Creating Insert Art For Frame

a. Stamp butterfly wings with black stazon inkpad onto acetate. Let dry.

b. Cut out the wings with scissors.

c. On the reverse of the acetate wings paint the plastic with silver krylon inkpad. Let dry.

d. Glue the wings onto a sheet of black card stock using glossy accents. Let dry.

e. Affix gold peel off stickers to the butterfly wings as shown in the picture.

f. Glue card to the underside of the metal frame using glue, let dry.

g. Affix a hanger to the reverse of your frame.