Frugal Craft That's Also Chic: Altered Box

This frame is made using a sheet from the luxury stack and some rose stickers, and then outlined with puff paint or glitter glue. To make it simpler and less messy, you can just cut fancy edging with decorative scissors, from glitter paper or other fancy papers, and stick on with glue.

This frame is made using fabric and padding, with sewing trims. It is not necessary to spend money on projects like this. Even if you do not sew, and have no trims or fabrics, you can often find things on discarded clothing or other things around the house.

The empty box, shown below, had a "window." You can make this frame from any box, however, and just trace a shape in the middle for the window.

There is also a stitched version of it, that is much easier, which I may show at a later time. I made this from an empty tea-light box, which had a little window in it.

I would really recommend trying the paper version if you want quick results.

The first thing you will need to do is cut off the front and back, which will be your two main pieces of the frame. Trim off all the little tabs. Cut out a piece that will work for the stand. You can see all those bits in the upper right corner, and the flat pieces below them. I want to also remind you that fabric scissors are usually never used on anything else, least of all paper, because it dulls them, so I show the fabric scissors on the left, and the paper-scissors on the right. You don't have to have special fabric scissors, you just have to choose which ones you want and not use them on paper, if you want to keep them sharp.

For a fabric project, trace the front and back cardboard on to a piece of felt, as you see on the left. Do not leave any margins or extra allowance, but cut to fit. Then trace on your fabric, but when you cut it out, leave about a half inch extra to wrap around the cardboard. When tracing the window area, cut into the corners, as I have shown, in the pink fabric. Here, I used a scrap of glittery fabric. Trace your box pieces on the wrong side of the fabric, with pencil, leaving the shiny side for the outside.

Scribble white glue all over one side of the cardboard pieces.

Lay the felt, which is your padding, on top of the glue and press it down to stick.

Turn it over and put the padded side on the wrong side of the fabric and pull the excess around, using clothes pegs to anchor it while it dries.

This project does have a drying period, so if you want quicker results and less frustration, just use a piece of luxury paper and some scrapbook embellishments.
Glue the seam allowance down and clip clothespins on it until it dries. You can set it in front of a heater for faster drying time, or put it outside in the sun.

Glue another piece on the backs of these padded pieces.


Glue three sides only. The un-glued side will be the place where you insert your picture. It is very important to make only a thin strip of glue. Now put both the front and back together, with padded sides facing you, and anchor with clothespins til dry.

Cut a piece of cardstock, trimming it to fit inside the open end, add stickers or a verse, and slip into the frame. Decorate the edges of the frame with trims from your sewing supplies, old buttons, and craft materials. Remember, when you press the top piece onto the bottom piece, that you may have to anchor it all down with clothespins until it dries. The clothespins will leave some marks but they will smooth out after awhile.

It is possible to earn a little money making things like this. I know a lady who had a tea party at her house, and she had a little shelf where she kept a few things like this, which she made to sell.

Scrap crafts and altered boxes make you look at ordinary things a little differently!