As the weather gets colder, I seem to get craftier. Nice evening walks in the fresh summer air have been replaced with cozy evenings in front of the fire. And when I finally finish the “to-dos” of the day, I love to unwind on winter evenings with a craft project to keep my hands busy.

(Those of us in the north have to keep our hands busy through the winter, or they start going numb with the cold!)

My latest project came to mind while I was cleaning my office recently. Like everyone else who works from home, I sometimes have difficulty finding the top of my desk by the end of a busy week! So as I sorted through the various papers that had piled up, I came across a little stack of test prints I’d run for the digital prints I sell in my shop. I don’t have room on my walls to display EVERY design I make, but a few of the pretty hymn prints were begging to go on display somewhere in my home!

It just so happened that I’d also been paging through a magazine earlier in the week and a small wall art hanging had caught my eye.  I’d liked the simplicity of having a hanging frame that only ran across the top and bottom of a photograph.  It provided a creative alternative to a traditional picture frame–a unique way to display a favorite photo or print. 

So I set to work planning out my picture frame craft.  With the exception of the flat wood slats, I already had everything I needed on hand. So after grabbing the slats from Amazon, and waiting a couple days for their delivery, I was ready to go.

You guys, this little DIY wall art project was so ridiculously easy!  Waiting for the stain to dry took far longer than any of the actual craft work. True to my nature-loving self, I made my hanging frames a little rustic by adding some twine and a little sprig of greenery tucked in at the top.   I love how they complimented the colors in my floral prints!

If you’d like to make a pretty wall hanging like this for yourself, read on for the simple instructions and photos to guide you.  And I’d be tickled pink if you take a peek in my shop to find a lovely little print to use in your frame!

Supplies Needed:

• *wood slats, approx. 1″ wide.   (If necessary, you can trim their length.  I recommend a length of about 1″ longer than the edge of the photo/print that will be in the frame.)
• wood stain and rag  OR  acrylic paint and brush
• magnets or magnet roll
• super glue (I LOVE this squeezable kind for craft projects)
• small, triangle picture hangers
• twine
• small sprig of greenery
• photo or art print

**Note About the Slats:  After hanging them up for awhile, I had problems with the bottom part of the wood frame falling off.  My core issue was the wood slats I used.  There weren’t perfectly flat, and as a result, not all of my magnets actually connected.  In hindsight, I wish I’d found a better quality wood slat. (Maybe something like this) that was perfectly flat on both sides.  If yours are good and flat, I don’t think you will have any issues.

Here was my fix:  I ended up just removing the magnets and using craft glue to attach my prints to the pieces of the frame.  Still looks just as pretty and the prints stay in place. The downside its that I won’t be able to switch out pictures in the future (at least not without damaging them slightly where I pull the glued part off the frame). Of course, that’s the fun of digital prints:  They’re cheap to buy, and easy to replace by just re-printing when you need a new one!

How to Make:

1. Stain

Stain your wood slats using an old rag. (Or you could paint with acrylic paint as a nice alternative).

2. Attach Magnets

After stain has dried, attach your magnets to the back side of all four slats.  Line up your magnets and make sure they are facing the right direction to “attract” each other and not to repel.

3. Attach Triangle Hangers

Glue two small triangle hangers on the back side of your wood slats, one on each end.  I used super glue on the flat part of the hangers. Align your hanger so that the only the flat edge is on the back, and the triangle part rests just on top of your wood slat.

*Note:  If there’s a raised section of your hanger (like mine had), make sure this is not facing backward!  (I made this mistake and you’ll see it in the picture below.  But if it sticks out too far, it can keep your magnets from connecting. Fortunately, I realized my mistake before I actually glued my hangers on, but then I forgot to take a picture for you! Hopefully this little explanation will suffice.)  Any raised portion of the hanger should rest along the top of your wood slat.

4. Knot Your Twine/Add Greenery

Unroll your twine and cut a piece about 36″ long.  (This is a generous amount, but it’s easier to work with too much than too little!) Fold the twine in half.  Then make a knot near the top of the twine, leaving a small loop for hanging.  *Before tightening your knot, add your little sprig of greenery into the knot.  (If you want, you could also secure the greenery with a little touch of super glue, but I simply knotted around mine, and it’s stayed just fine.)

5. Attach Twine to Hangers

Next, you need to take the two ends of your twine and attach to the two little triangle hangers on your wood slat.  I looped the twine through the hanger and then tied simple knots on each end.  But this was the fussiest part of the whole craft, because you need to tie your knots with an even amount of twine on either side, or your wood slat will hang crooked.  I found it helpful to actually hang the twine on the wall for this part.  After I got the knot tied on one side, I looped the twine through the hanger on the other side, and adjusted until my wood slat was hanging even before tying the knot.

6. Trim the Twine and Hang!

All that’s left to do is to trim the ends of your twine.  I cut mine leaving about a half inch.