How To Make A Shadow Gap Frame.
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Before I delve into the details, I’d like to acknowledge that I got this idea from the lovely, crazy clever and always inspiring Luke Arthur Wells. He currently seems to be on a DIY winning streak, and just when you think he can’t top his latest project, he does! So if you don’t already follow him, you must seek him out.
Anyway, enough gushing, let’s get to it.
I had been given a stunning vintage print from The Vintage Art Gallery, which I loved, but the frame had seen better days and I wanted to give it an update. I thought about just painting the original frame, but I like the contrast of a vintage painting with a modern frame and I realised I had some strip wood left over from a panelling project sitting in the cellar that I could use to make one from scratch.
So here’s how you can make one too.
This will work if the painting is on rigid board or a stretched canvas, but if making one for a canvas you need to make sure the depth of the strip wood is the same as the canvas depth, and you would skip adding the wood blocks to add height to the board.
1. Remove the painting from its original frame and measure the short and long sides. You will need to cut two shorter pieces and two longer pieces with mitred 45 degree ends, and the shorter (inside) side of each piece should be one centimetre (or more for a larger gap) longer than the measurement for each side. I used my mitre saw, but you can use a hand saw and mitre box too.
2. Sand the ends to get rid of any rough bits.
3. Use an instant grab adhesive like Unibond Mega Grip Plus to stick the frame pieces together, and use something square (anything - a tray, a book) to make sure the angles aren’t wonky as you go. Allow to dry.
4. Strengthen the frame by adding a piece of thin board to the back on each corner using the same adhesive. I used the board from the back of an unused picture frame sitting in a cupboard, that I cut into quarters roughly. These won’t be seen so don’t need to be particularly precise when cutting.
5. (Skip this step if your painting is on a stretched canvas). Add squares of wood to the inside or each corner on top of the larger supports, so that your art sits flush with the top surface of the frame. I actually used some old kitchen cupboard door samples, cutting the wood down and sticking two pieces together to get the height right.
6. Once all the adhesive is dry, fill any gaps in the corner joins of the frame with wood filler. Allow to dry before sanding smooth.
7. Prime all over (my go to is Zinsser 123 primer) and then paint. I did three coats of black, using a water based eggshell paint that I already had.
8. If you’re hanging your frame, you will need to add some eye screws and picture wire to the back. I was able to reuse what was on the original frame. Which seemed like a clever idea until one broke when I tried to hang it for the main image and it fell down and smashed a few favourite things on the shelf below. Doh.
9. Put some adhesive on each corner of the back of the print, and pop into your frame and you’re done!
Super happy with how it turned out, and now it has found the perfect spot in the kitchen.
