I've Been Framed.

ETA: we don’t get many trolls around here, but when we do, we refer them to our comment policy. Please check it out below.

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We realized a few days ago that we completely forgot to post about this frame we found in a thrift store several months ago:

It’s from the same shop where we found our lighting fixture. If we’d had more time to look around, we’re pretty sure we would have walked away with much more. That place was a vintage goldmine. It seems fitting that we walked away with a gold frame. It’s 24″ tall x 35″ wide, and we paid $15 for it.

If you look closely, you can tell that this sucker is plastic. Flip it over and you’ll see a barcode and a sticker:

I didn’t know they made plastic frames in Italy, but that just made it seem so much more fancy. Right away we knew we wanted to paint it a fun color and turn it into a mirror for the half-bath we’ll renovate eventually.

We picked up a can of Valspar’s avocado spray paint in satin finish.

We were really intrigued by the can. We’re loving all the new spraypaint cans that companies are coming out with — they have triggers or super-wide buttons so you don’t get finger fatigue after every coat. Our verdict so far? Rustoleum’s trigger can is our fave because we like the way it’s held and because there isn’t much overspray. Valspar’s is OK. We like the twist cap and the big push button, but there’s so. much. overspray. It seemed like half the can ended up on our grass. We didn’t love it. And we downright hated the color:

As soon as the first coat was down, this is how we felt:

We were thinking the green would be fun and cheerful and cute. Instead, it looked bland and blah and boring. It’s less avocado and more pea soup. It’s just not us. At all.

I hopped in the car, made a beeline for the hardware store and returned with this:

White. Gloss. Made for plastic.

We felt so much better after the first coat of white.

Oh, and while we’re reviewing spraypaint cans here, check out the overspray from our can of Krylon Fusion:

We didn’t love the can itself (finger fatigue happens), but we loved the results. The paint dries fast and looks fab.

The back of the frame sits really close to the wall so you can’t see behind it when it’s hanging, but we gave the flipside one coat of white just in case:

And here’s how it looks now:

While Bradley worked on another frame project, he called up a local glass cutting company. I mean, literally. Here he is on the phone while sanding a frame:

He doesn’t get any I find his multitasking fascinating:

He ordered 4 pieces of glass and 1 mirror, all custom-cut. Once the mirror arrives, we’ll be ready to hang this beauty.

Cost breakdown:
- 24″ x 35″ frame = $15
- White spray paint = $6
- Custom cut mirror = $15

Total cost = $36

We’re big fans of DIY when it comes to frames and mirrors. They’re way overpriced in stores. For price comparison, check out this very basic 30″x25″ framed mirror from Home Depot. It’s similar in dimensions but it’s boh-ring, and it costs a whopping $264. Our total cost of 4 cuts of clear glass and 1 mirror was $37.37. Boom.

If you’re ordering custom glass, we have a few tips to share:

• Go local. Just look under “glass” in a phone book or Google. You can save on shipping and your order is less likely to arrive broken.
• Get clean cuts. That means the glass company scores and cuts the glass, but they don’t polish the edge. Companies charge more for polished edges and bevels — but neither really matters since you won’t actually see the glass edge in the frame.
• Paper your mirror. We talked about this in our last post about DIY mirrors. To keep your mirror protected, paper the flipside after you frame it.

More updates coming up. Stay tuned, peeps!