This Ingenious Hack Will Level Up Your Thrifted Frames (It’s Basically Free!)
If you’ve used peel-and-stick wallpaper to decorate a room in your home, then you were probably left with a bunch of scraps that were just too beautiful to throw away. Luckily, there’s a project where those wallpaper bits are going to come in handy. One Instagram user shared how they use peel-and-stick wallpaper to upcycle thrifted frames, and it’s utterly ingenious.
“My plain picture frames were just not doing it for me, so I gave my gallery wall a makeover with these easy DIY ideas that take under 30 minutes to do!” Tina Le Mac wrote in the caption of a viral post, continuing, “Add a pattern! You can use wallpaper, fabric, or scrapbook paper.”
To make it work, the wallpaper scrap just has to be a bit bigger than the mat board (or frame, if you want to wrap the wood rather than the mat) so you can wrap and stick the edges down. Flatten the wallpaper with a bone folder or old credit card, then use a craft knife to X out the center to fold those inner wallpaper pieces to the inside.
This DIY would be especially cool if you hang your finished wallpapered frame on a wall with the same wallpaper pattern — very maximalist and whimsical!
Using fabric and paper to cover mat boards has become a popular way to add interest to gallery walls and art, but the peel-and-stick wallpaper is an even easier way to upcycle because it’s thicker, structured, and has the glue built in.
Le Mac also suggests using paint markers and doubling up on your mats to add even more color and variety to “boring” frames. And, of course, you can mix and match her tips to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces to hang on the wall.
You weren’t using up storage space with those wallpaper scraps — you were saving them for this very moment! Your thrifted frames and art just got so much cooler.
Further Reading
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said
