DIY Floating Picture Frames

Riddle me this: what do you get when you have a massive pile of scrap wood in your shop and also have a large collection of photos from a recent trip? Well, if you’re me, you get picture frames out of the deal! Upon returning from my recent vacation to the southwest, I realized that I had an abundance of photos with no frames. I also realized upon seeing my shop again for the first time in over a week that my scrap pile had exploded. So, I decided to make something positive out of my hoarding habit. I grabbed someDAP Rapid Fuse, scraps, plexiglass, and made some floating frames for around $10 each! 

If you have been following me on social media, you’ll know that post-graduation I took an awesome week-long hiking trip. Well, I took some seriously cool photos from my adventures in the southwest and knew they had to be on display. I mean check these puppies out…

Antelope Canyon, AZ

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But, in true Sam style, rather than go out and buy some frames, I wanted to create something earthy and special to display them in. So, I grabbed some walnut cutoffs from my scrap pile, collected some 8×10 plexiglass sheets, and asked my good ol’ friend Rapid Fuse to lend a hand. Now I have awesome floating frames that took about an hour of work… and best part, these custom frames didn’t make the vacation-formed hole in my pocket even bigger!

Here’s how I did it!

* This post is sponsored by DAP Products Inc. and contains affiliate links. For my full disclosure policy, please click here.

What You’ll Need*:

* Materials listed are what you will need to make 2 frames.

Tools
Drill/Driver
Miter Saw
Sanding Block
Drill Bit
(size depends on type of screws used)

Materials
(4) 8 x 10″ Plexiglass Sheets (2 per frame)
(4) 1 x 2 x 9 ¾” Boards
DAP Rapid Fuse Adhesive
(4) ½” Screws
(2) Picture Hanging Hooks
Polyurethane (optional)
(2) 5 x 7″ Photographs

The Steps:

1. Cut four 9 ¾”  long pieces of wood. These will be your frame pieces. I cut mine from 1 x 2 walnut scraps.

2. Sand down your pieces.

3. Use a polyurethane or stain to give your wood pieces some life.

4. Unpeel one side of a sheet of plexiglass and use an adhesive to apply it to the center of the first wood piece. I placed mine about ½” up from the bottom of the frame piece. Apply pressure or clamp together for 3-5 minutes.

5. Attach the bottom part of the plexiglass to the second frame piece with adhesive. Make sure it’s centered! Apply pressure or clamp the piece for 3-5 minutes.

6. Once the first piece is dry and adhered, peel the plastic backing off.

7. Next, line up the second plexiglass piece on top of the one that is glued to the frame. With the plastic still on (to avoid chipping), use a small drill bit to drill a pilot hole for your screws.

8. Once the holes are drilled, add the screws. These screws will be used to open and close your frame and are not structural. Make sure to remove all excess plastic when you are done.

9. Last step in the building process is to add the picture hooks.

10. Remove your frame from the workspace and use a cloth to remove any dust from the plexiglass.

11. Next, remove the screws and add your photos.

12. Close the screws.

13. Hang your frames and show off your adventures!

A simple, easy, and affordable way to showcase your favorite photos!

Fancy AF (but also, not really).

What do you think? Do your scraps need a home that isn’t the trash bin? Will you be trying this out soon? If so, please share your project with me! I love to see what you are making!

In the meantime, I wish you all happy adventures — go out there and make some memories!

* This post is sponsored by DAP Products Inc. All vacation expenses, scrap pile hoarding addictions, and project ideas are my own. For my full disclosure policy regarding sponsorships, please click  here.