DIY botanical picture frames

Post in collaboration with Gorilla Glue 

I've wanted to try making my own picture frames for a while, it just seemed logical to make some frames for the posters that I've not had time to frame. I researched making traditional frames but to be honest they're pretty boring and I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel here! I decided to make magnetic frames instead, you can easily open them to switch your prints in and out in seconds which suits me waaaay better. 

Not only are they great for hanging art, posters or calendars but you can also make your own framed botanical artwork for them. (Since I'm slowly trying to turn my house into a mini rainforest why not display my plant collection on the walls as well as on my shelves?)

I've teamed up with Gorilla to show you how to make this framed botanical wall display, read on to see how.

You'll need:

Pine stripwood (mine was 6mm x 15mm x 2400mm)

Gorilla Super Glue Precise Gel

Neodymium magnets

Hacksaw

Gorilla Mounting Tape

Measuring tape/ruler

Acetate or clear plastic sheets

Foliage or dried flowers

Step 1.

Decide what size frame you want to make. I decided to work with A4 and I wanted it to be landscape format so my frames needed to be 30cm long. Mark the length you want onto the pine stripwood.

Step 2.

Use a hacksaw to cut the wood to size. Repeat step 1 and 2 until you have 4 pieces of wood that measure the same length.

Step 3.

Next, add the magnets to the frames. I'm using Neodymium magnets also known as 'super magnets' because they are incredibly strong for their size. As I'm using strong magnets I have to use an equally strong glue (or they'll just be pulled from the frames!) I've chosen to use Gorilla Super Glue Precise Gel for this, it's thicker than normal glue so you have a lot more control especially when working with fiddly little magnets like this.

Place some glue onto the magnets and place one at each end of the wooden frames.

Press the magnet down onto the frame, hold for 10-45 seconds.

Note: test the magnets are facing the right way before you glue them onto the second piece of wood by pressing them together (you need south on one side and north on the other, otherwise the frames will repel and not attract!)

Once the glue had dried you can see that the magnets hold the wood together nicely! Repeat for the remaining 2 strips of wood.

Step 4.

Next, we're going to glue some string to one set of the frames so they can be hung. Take the Gorilla Super glue Precise Gel and using the precision tip run a line of glue at each end of the wood on one piece.

Step 5.

Cut a piece of string and place each end into the glue, leave to dry and then trim off any excess string.

Step 6.

Trim the leaves from some of your favourite plants. You can also use dried flowers for this project which would look really pretty!

Step 7.

Take 2 sheets of thin plastic sheeting used in model making. (I'm using A4 sizes here.)

Take some Gorilla Mounting Tape (this is a really strong double sided tape that you can use indoors or outdoors.)

Trim off small pieces of tape and place them onto the back of your foliage.

Place the foliage onto the plastic sheet. Once secure place the second sheet on top sandwiching the foliage in the middle. The tape will stop them from slipping down in the frame over time.

Step 8.

Mount the botanical display in your hanging picture frames. The benefit of magnetic frames is that you can quickly adjust the framing and move things around to suit.

If you make larger or heavier displays just increase the number of magnets on the frames!

I'm so pleased with how these turned out. I think they'd also make a great display frame for some of my polariod photographs! 

If you don't fancy making some foliage artwork these frames will still be perfect for hanging up your posters or prints!