I have a beautiful vintage style craft idea for you today, friends! I am showing you how to make a DIY floral frame that is as simple to make as it is lovely to behold.
Many Victorian and vintage frames are embossed with flowers. It was a common trend at that time and I love bringing it back for our time. I’m showing how to give a frame an extra special touch with air dry clay and hand-crafted flowers!
Air dry clay is the perfect material for transforming a plain frame into something truly unique. First, you can use the clay to create delicate flower details or shapes to add to your frame. You can then give it a vintage style by painting it in muted tones like pastel pinks or off whites. You could even add some glitter here or there.
When your craft is complete, you will have a one-of-a-kind vintage piece of art that will bring personality and charm to any room in your home. In the video below, I show you how to make your own DIY floral frame. I hope you love it as much as I do!
How to Make a DIY Floral Frame
What Kind of Frame Should I Use?
There is really no right or wrong kind of frame to use for this project. Just make sure that it will be strong enough to support your clay flowers. The clay isn’t super heavy when it dries. But it does have a little weight to it.
The frame I used was an old oval one that I have had for awhile. I have tried it out in a few different shades and was just never totally happy with the way it looked. So I pulled it out for this clay flower project and I am finally in love with it!
I love the oval frame because it adds variety to the many rectangular frames I have around the house. But you can use any shape and size frame that you want. I painted mine an off white color because I love neutrals for our home. But any color you love will work for this project!
Working with Air Dry Clay
I have really been loving working with air dry clay. I bought a big ole box of it about a year ago and I have used it for so many projects. It is simple to mold and sculpt. And, since it doesn’t need to be baked, I don’t have to worry about any cracking or shrinking.
You can get as simple or as fancy as you want when you are working with clay. In the video below I show you how to make your own flowers with clay. You can simply make the petals and the flower center and call it done.
Or you can add little details to make the flowers look more realistic. The more detail you use, the more real your flowers will look. For example, you can take a small knife and cut tiny lines in your petals. Or poke tiny holes in the center of the flowers to add detail there.
If you have sculpting tools, that’s great! But you can also use everyday objects from around the house. A toothpick, a straw, and an exacto knife are just a few tools that I have used that you may already have.
DIY Floral Frame Supply List
- Air dry clay (I used a Marblex clay that I find at Hobby Lobby)
- An old frame
- Molds of smallish flowers, leaves, or whatever you think is pretty
- Corn starch
- Chip brush
- Scraping tool
- Tacky glue
- Cream colored paint
DIY Floral Frame Instructions
- Start by coating the inside of the molds with cornstarch. I just do one or two at a time so I don’t have it everywhere.
- Then break off a small piece of the clay and press it firmly into the mold. Make sure you get it all the way down in. And all the way to the edges. Then use a scraping tool to scrape away any excess clay. This will also give you a smooth bottom.
- Next, remove your clay from the mold and set it aside to dry. If you want your flowers or leaves to have some shape, give them a little bend and use something to prop them up in that position while they dry.
- Now let’s make our own flowers. We are going to make several petals and put them together to make a flower. To do this, take a tiny bit of clay and roll it into a ball. Then flatten it out until it is nice and thin. Then pinch one side of your circle together to form a petal.
- Repeat the same process with more petals, pinching each petal onto the previous ones until you have a flower. Then roll a small ball (or more) to cover the center of your flower where all your petals come together. Set it aside to dry.
- Once you have all of your flowers made and dried, use the tacky glue to attach your flowers around the frame. Then let the glue dry.
- Now it’s time to paint! I just gave my whole frame (flowers and all) a coat of Country Chic Chalk Paint in Cheesecake. As you can see in the pictures, I didn’t work it down into all of the nooks and crannies so that some of the black would come through as highlights. Another option would be to paint your frame thoroughly and then go back in with antiquing wax to finish it off.
The Wrap Up
And that’s it friends! That’s how I made a beautiful vintage style floral frame using air dry clay. Now that you know the process, you can dress up tons of other items using your clay flowers. Think of it as bedazzling, but for vintage lovers!
I would love to see how you use these… in your own home. So if you post any pictures of them on social media, tag me so I can check them out! As always, I hope you love this project as much as I do. Happy crafting, friends!
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