I (heart) Bug Bytes {frame}

Hello again, this is Lori from ScrappinMyStressAway!  I made a super cute, super easy frame for my husband for Valentine's Day.

I started out with a $1 wood frame from Michaels, some Martha Stewart flowers, a Valentine paper, some paint, mod podge and some Gypsy magic!

The first thing I did was to turn over my paper and trace the frame on the back side then cut it out.

Next, I painted the edges of the frame red, including inside the heart cut out.

I used Glossy mod podge (because that is what I had at home) to glue the paper on the frame.

I used a thin-ish layer of mod podge.  I probably should have let all the paint dry first....oh well.

I smoothed the paper on the frame.  The paper I used was pretty thick and was not wanting to stick down at first (I had to show it who was the boss)!

For the top layer, I used Sparkle Mod Podge.  You don't NEED sparkle, but I like sparkle!  If you don't have sparkle mod podge and want some sparkle, you can add glitter to your regular mod podge.

You can see the paper bubbling away from the frame in the heart and the wrinkle.  Be careful not to tear your paper!  No worries, I am going to cover up the wrinkles.  I just put a little mod podge under the bubble and stuck it back down.

I grabbed my stash of ribbons and buttons that matched my paper.

Then I grabbed my Gypsy and found some cute images from the Sweethearts cart.  I finally bought this one after a year of wanting it!!  So glad I did!

I wanted to make a rectangle representing the frame, but did not want to cut it out so I opened Layer 2 by tapping the + key.

I grabbed a rectangle from George and Basic Shapes.

In order to get it sized properly for my project, I unlinked the chain between the Width and Height, called the Aspect Ratio Link.  It is yellow when it is linked, and white (like above) when unlinked.

I also tapped the Real Dial Size which turns it yellow.  I know from past projects that the size of the rectangle from George is not an exact size.  You can tell this when the blue box is bigger than your image on the mat. 

***Don't forget to turn the Real Dial Size back off when you are on to the next project!!  Yes, I learned that the hard way more than once.... 

I changed the Width to 3.50.....

and the height to 6.00 to represent the frame to the right of the heart cut out.

I went back to Layer 1.  You can see the rectangle in grey.  I sized the word LOVE to 3.45w x 1.98h to fit the space. 

The key looked a little small for the lock, so I rotated it to -40 and moved it on top of the lock.  Then I enlarged it until I was happy with it!

The key is now 1.72w x 1.89h.  The lock is 1.16w x 1.47h.

I moved the key and lock back where I planned on placing them on the frame to look one last time.  Satisfied, I set Gypsy aside for a bit to check my frame.

The mod podge is dry, so I started placing flowers around the heart.  I bought the last package of flowers and new I wouldn't have enough, so I filled in the spaces with buttons and ribbons.

Once I was happy, I glued them down with glue dots.

I found a beautiful pink shimmer paper from this stack.

I scrunched the cuts to the top left quarter of my mat in order to use less paper.

I cut them out.

I needed to ink the edges but wasn't sure which color to use.  I took my scap paper and my top 4 ink choices and inked each corner with a different color.   And the winner is..............my super old Ancient Page Stampin' Up cranberry ink pad!!

I used my fantastix to ink the edges.

Pretty, I even like the design on the scrap paper!!

This part took the longest!  Finding a photo of my husband and I.  I am usually taking the photos!  This was taken at the Phoenix Zoo in a horse drawn carriage looking at Christmas lights.  Don't you love our sweatshirts?!?  Anyway, the memory of that trip was great!

I tied a bow with lace to hide most of the big wrinkle.  I tied the key to the lock with a thin ribbon and tied it into the bow.  I used a mini glue dot to secure the pieces to the frame.

I ended up putting the word LOVE at an angle and added these cute heart shaped buttons below it.

Here is the finished frame once again.  This is much prettier than most of my "boyed down" projects, it was fun to make too!!

Thank you Pam for showcasing my work on your awesome blog!!