Parisian Picture Frame

A trip to Paris last November had me searching each arrondissement for a vintage map, but my search came up empty. A few months later, my boyfriend surprised me with one for our anniversary. It was in need of a frame - one to compliment the map and add more character.

This weekend, I finally got around to making the frame. I picked up some reclaimed wood (and some window sashes)...

...and laid out the wood in a pattern for the frame. I marked spots on each piece of wood so they would match-up later.

I set the plate joiner to 0 (the size of the biscuits.) This is used  to bond two pieces of wood together.

Match up the pencil marks with the red mark on the front of the joiner.

 

The joiner will plunge a blade in the side of the wood. This will create an opening for the biscuit. With a little wood glue and some clamps, the wood will have a strong bond. 

Once all the pieces are bonded together, cut them at a 45 degree angle with a miter saw. The frame will start coming together. You can use the biscuits in the cut angles as well to fuse the frame.

I used Minwax Polycrylic finish to varnish the frame. The polycrylic made the frame darker and brought out the deep browns and reds in the wood. I lost a lot of the soft colors I had before, which I was hoping to keep.

I went to Lowe's and had a piece of glass cut to size. I also cut a matting board from Michael's to finish off the frame. And after all that work....

C'est très jolie! Oh how I wish I was back in Paris!


Kristin