Crafty Restyle Frame That Has Me Saying, "There you are sitting right there making me happy."

I gave this card to my hubby several years back.  There was something about the simplicity of the message and the characters in the image that caught both of us and caused him to keep the card.  These two little papillons are the animal version of him and I, right down to the 'expressions' on their faces. He's the sucker with the rose in his mouth and I am the wise gal next to him letting him work to get my attention. (wink) Inside it reads: "There you are, sitting right there, making me happy."  Does it have to be anymore complicated really? 

He has kept this card at his sink for years.  He says that it makes him happy to see it there.  Of course it has started to show the wear of being in a place where water is splashed around. With the Master Bathroom Makeover in progress, I wanted to get it up off the counter top and give it a more special place.  I still wanted him to be able to open it and read the message, so thought an open window box type framing might be in order. I have two boxes filled with old frames that we no longer use, so I dug around in that box and found this frame. 

New pale yellow walls, white
bead board cabinet refacing,
white shutter treatment on windows,
 updated flooring

The Master Bathroom Makeover project has involved a restyle of a contemporary bath to a more traditional country style bath with whites and pale yellows.  I am currently working on a few beachy accents, so naturally that is the direction I wanted to take this project.  I quickly painted the frame with Vaspar's Satin White spray paint.  While it was drying, I headed out the door hunting for some natural materials for my neighborhood.

If you have been following my blog, you know that I live in a coastal city in South Florida.  We have several parks, two of which are on the Intracoastal Waterway.  I combed the beach in this park for driftwood and such.  I found all sorts of items, including old palm fronds, a broken open coconut and a few pieces of driftwood.  With my loot in hand, I headed back home.

I decided to restyle the frame with these natural elements.  Using nothing more than a glue gun, I loosely covered the frame.  You can also see from the image below that I covered the surface of the glass with a piece of burlap.  I wanted the burlap to act as a backdrop or mat for the card.

I also allowed the materials to fall outside the confines on the frame.  I liked the non constructed feel of it.  I also tucked a few pieces of coconut 'hair' in crevices around the frame, covering up some of the gloppy hot glue that was needed to securely affix the frond pieces.  Now it was time for the accents.  I went into my stash of shells and corals that I have collected on weekend trips to The Keys and used a few items as accents on the corners.

Using velcro, I attached the card to the burlap surface which will allow the card to be removed at anytime.  I hung it next to his sink in our bathroom. 

If you look just above the card, I placed a little piece of driftwood and added a simple word using mismatched letters from the newspaper.  I did this project while he was away for work and surprised him on the return.  He can still have this little card as a reminder each morning and evening.  But now it has a special place.   

 -The End-

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