Picture Window

Andrew and I picked up an old barn window at an antique store the other weekend with the idea to turn it into a picture frame and it actually worked! This is a big deal, because our DIYs don't normally end in successes. Or, they just don't happen at all. Also, it has been 2 1/2 years since our wedding, and this is the first time I've hung wedding photos on the wall. A big deal all around.

I had some trouble finding tutorials that didn't involve taping the photos to the front of the glass, so I used clear contact paper to stick the photos onto the back of the glass. Does that make sense? I put together a short tutorial below, if it doesn't. (You can kind of see the contact paper in the photo above, but in real life, the camera flash isn't reflecting off of the frame so it's hardly noticeable.)

You'll need:

Window frame
clear contact paper (you can buy contact paper rolls on the shelving aisle of Wal-Mart)
razor knife or scissors
eyehooks (2)
metal cord

Step 1: Roll contact paper length of one piece of glass. 

Step 2: Using a razor knife or scissors, cut contact paper to fit the glass.

Step 3: Center photo in the middle of the glass. Peel back off contact paper and press, sticky side down, smoothing it over the photo. (It's OK if there are some small air bubbles - you can't see them.)

Step 4: Drill two lateral holes on either side of the center of the window frame and screw in eyehooks by hand.

Step 5: Knot metal wire onto one eyehook. (Andrew used a fisherman's noose, but alas I also can't find this when I Google it. He said it's the same knot used to tie fishing lures.) Stretch wire across the back center of the window frame and knot onto the other eyehook.

You're done! Now hang the window frame. (If your frame is really heavy, you may need some more support. I'll update the blogosphere if ours falls off the wall, but it seems pretty secure.) In keeping with the theme of bare downstairs walls, we hung ours at the top of the stairs, in between the master and guest bedrooms. I think it turned out really well!

Because it's really hard to do anything in our house without dog interference, here are a few outtakes from the window frame glamour shots. (P.S. - is "glamour" a word? Spell check says no.)

Sawyer butt.

Sawyer head.