I started out with a glass frog “tile” that I had made about 6 years ago when I was taking a fused glass class. He’s been hanging around all this time, and I wanted to find a way to display him. This turned out well, and it was simple and inexpensive. You will need:
- piece to be framed
- inexpensive frame (got mine on sale at Michaels but check thrift stores)
- wire (I used green to match the green detail in the glass piece but copper or gold etc would work fine)
- Super 77 Multi-Purpose Adhesive
- Gessoed Art Board (I used an 8×10 and cut it to fit the frame, your size will be dictated by the size of your piece)
- fabric napkin (any sort of fabric would work and you could even use something you already had around the house –I just had a color in mind and napkins get really cheap right after a holiday!)
My biggest concern was affixing the glass piece to the backing so that it wouldn’t fall out and break. It’s fairly heavy and I didn’t want it to break first, because I like it, and second because broken glass equals cut fingers and feet. My first thought was to glue it to the fabric, but that presented 2 problems. The first of course was that I imagined it wouldn’t hold well and over time it would pull the fabric away from the backing. And second, I was sure that anything I used to glue the glass to the fabric would be likely to show through, as you can see that much of the piece is clear. My husband is the one who came up with the solution–wire it on!
First, put the frame together if it’s one that needs to be assembled. Then cut the Art Board to fit. My husband did it for me with a jigsaw –I think he thinks I’ll cut off my fingers.
Next decide where you want your piece to be inside the frame (mine is centered). Mark the board where the wire needs to come through and drill 8 holes (2 for each corner). I thought it was best to do this BEFORE I put the fabric on the board, as I was afraid the drill would catch the fabric and tear or fray or ruin it in some way.
After the holes are drilled, take the board to a well ventilated area (I do mine outside on the patio) and spray the Super 77 (which really IS SUPER!) on both the board and the fabric and carefully spread the fabric onto the board. The only thing I want to say is that it DOES stick tight right away. I had thought you could reposition, and maybe you can, but it would be really hard. So, just be careful and get it where you want it. I’m thrilled though, as it does exactly what it says it does. It BONDS. If you look at the photo of the back of mine, it’s not very pretty, because I cut it after I glued it and it’s not really nice and straight. If that bothers you, you could measure and cut it nicely ahead of time.
I used a big needle to poke holes through the fabric so the wire could be inserted and fasten the corners in place. Then simply twist the wire neatly in the back. When the glass piece was secure on the board I put it in the frame and hot glued a section about 3 inches long in the middle of all 4 sides of the back of the frame. I made sure to get the glue on the back of the board and on the frame. This also is not pretty, but it seems very firmly in place, and I don’t think it can fall out. In addition, I think it will be fairly easy to remove at a later date.
The frame came with one of those little sawtooth hangers but I think I will get my husband to put a wire on the back to hang it. I don’t like the other kind because I don’t think they’re very stable. And I don’t want this little frog jumping off the wall!
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