DIY Wood Frame Tutorial

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DIY Wood Frame- How To Create an Affordable Wood Frame with a Farmhouse Vibe on a Budget

Farmhouse wood frames are all the rage right now, and I absolutely love the look and style of them.  These wood frames are super easy to DIY.  The possibilities of color, size, or design are truly endless.  Plus, vinyl looks great on them!  Today, I’m going to show you exactly step by step how to DIY your own wood frame. Let’s dive into the DIY wood frame tutorial.

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DIY Wood Frame Video

 

Supplies:

1x4x10 plank or 1x12x6 plank of common board

For the DIY farmhouse frame tutorial you can get the common board whatever width you would like.  If you get the skinnier width you will have to glue the pieces together to create the size background you want.  If you get the wider one (1x12x6) you can just cut it to the square size you need.

1x2x8 plank of furring strips (you might need more depending on how large the frame is you are making)

Wood Stain (my favorite colors are espresso and golden oak)

Paint  (Grab whatever color you want the outside or background of your frame to be… I primarily use white but making them colorful is also super fun, and even chalkboard paint works!)

Brad Nailer (You can do this project with a hammer and nails but the brad nailer makes your life SOOOO MUCH EASIER!)

Sander

Wood Glue (optional)

Circular Saw

 

Cameo 3 Bundles by Expressions Vinyl

DIY Farmhouse Frame Tutorial

Step 1:

Head over to your favorite hardware store and grab a plank (or several depending on how many frames you will be making) of common board and a plank of furring strips.  You can get whatever width that you would like of the common board and have them cut it down to size for you.  (some places charge and some will do it free)  I made a combination of skinny boards that I glued together and wider ones that were already the size I wanted.  I wait to cut the furring strips till my common board is sanded and ready to go.

 

Step 2:

Once you have the background boards all at the sizes that you want (depending on how big of a frame you are making) sand sand sand.  Sanding is a crucial step.  If you don’t sand the wood frame your vinyl or stencil will not stick to the wood.  Also if you decide to use paint, it can possibly bleed.  So sand sand sand!

Step 3:

Now comes some of the fun creative part.  You get to make the choice of what the background of your frames are going to look like.  You can either paint or stain the background of the frame.  Here is a look at the two different styles.  You could even paint the wood in different designs.  I have even made some with stripes and polka dots. 

One thing you want to think about on this stage of the wood frame making process is what is going to go on the final product.  Are you going to use it as a picture frame, a vinyl sign, paint, etc.  It will really help you make a good decision on which way to go now.

Step 4: 

Once the back grounds are stained or painted you will now cut the furring strips to fit the size and length of the board. This is where that circular saw come in handy. (also if you are gluing smaller boards together you will do that first before you measure out the furring strips…. make sure to let the wood glue dry before you move on to assembling it in the next step)  The two sides will be cut first and they will measure the exact length of the board.  The tops and bottoms will be cut second and they will need to be the length of the board PLUS both of the furring strips in order to create a nice framed farmhouse edge.

Step 5: 

Back to the fun creative stuff!  You can now decide to either paint or stain the furring strips that will outline the backgrounds for your frames.  If you are doing a ton at a time make sure to keep each of the sets paired up so that everything fits exactly to size.  I like to number the boards and then number the strips to be able to match them all back up.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Step 6: 

Now to attach the furring strips to the common board.  This is easiest when you use a brad nailer but can also be done with a hammer and nails.  Attach the two shorter sides first and the two longer sides second.  You will place 3 nails on each side.  (one on each end and one in the middle)  Make sure on the longer sides the two end nails are going into each of the connecting furring strips.

 

Step 7: 

Add a hanger to the back side of the wood frame.  Keep in mind these are slightly heavy so you will probably want to use two screws and wire across the back.  On the front you can grab a vinyl design, picture, clothespin as a clip to make a picture holder, or anything else you can imagine!  Take a step back and admire the awesome job you did creating your own farmhouse wood frame!

 

So, no excuses now on why you haven’t joined the farmhouse revolution!  Get out those power tools and using this tutorial create your own DIY wood frame!  It’s fun to think about all the different things you could do with the background of the boards.   

Have you made your own frames?  We would love to see them!  Show them off in the comments or over in our FB group and make sure to pin the graphics or share with a friend for easy reference in the future!

 

Thanks and Happy Crafting and Chaos!!

20 Comments

  1. […] out our full tutorial on how to create the farmhouse frame here.  They really aren’t too difficult, are super cheap to make, and look great for […]

  2. […] art.  It looks so good on a farmhouse frame (learn how to make one of your own in this post here)  Our favorite stencil to use is this Oramask.  It always leaves clean crisp lines… […]

  3. kim on April 19, 2019 at 11:22 am

    Great tutorial!!!

    • User Avatar MyDesigns on April 21, 2019 at 3:43 pm

      Thank You!

  4. […] an item for the holiday.  I can see it on a sign (learn how to make one like picture below here) or a mug.  This mug is one of my […]

  5. […] this being adorable on a farmhouse frame as pictured (check out how to make those types of frames here) or even in one solid color on a reverse canvas.   If you are making the sign my favorite […]

  6. […]  Check out exactly how to make the farmhouse frame pictured below here. Also if you love farmhouse decor then this super easy DIY will be perfect for […]

  7. DIY Busy Board - My Designs In the Chaos on May 25, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    […] I also framed out my board to help make it look a little more finished and like a piece of decor.   We have a full blog post on how to frame boards here. […]

  8. jaclyn on August 19, 2019 at 12:19 pm

    Hi! Thanks for the tutorial, it was awesome! I saw at the end of the video you have very large signs you’ve made. What material did you use for the board (not the frame pieces) itself? I’m having trouble finding something that is thick enough for the nails to go through, but not be incredibly heavy! I’m looking to do roughly 24×36.

    thanks so much!

    • User Avatar MyDesigns on August 19, 2019 at 7:33 pm

      I used common board for all the elements of the framed pieces. I love working with that material for signs 🙂

  9. Kayliegh Bowles on October 8, 2019 at 12:54 am

    Do you seal the stain and chalk paint??

    • User Avatar MyDesigns on October 8, 2019 at 2:00 pm

      I typically don’t seal the stain on the frames and it is totally up to you if you want to seal the paint. I find it holds up pretty well with out it 🙂

  10. Lisa Alley on December 7, 2019 at 6:52 am

    Great Tutorial, in simple language anyone can understand, Haha I hate blue prints and trying to follow along with then gets frustrating. Thank you so much and I also love your exercise SVG files funny ?

    • User Avatar MyDesigns on December 7, 2019 at 10:43 am

      I’m so glad that it was helpful! 🙂

  11. Christy on October 29, 2020 at 6:12 am

    Can you give the measurements of the boards for the background and frame?

    • User Avatar jespsantiago on October 30, 2020 at 12:28 am

      Hi! You can make it any size to fit what you’re working on. 🙂 This is part of the beauty in making it yourself.

  12. Brenda Weidman on August 31, 2021 at 10:02 pm

    Thank you so much that will help I have been working on Farmhouse decor for my new place.

  13. Jacqueline Hale on November 15, 2021 at 8:02 am

    Thank you for an awesome tutorial!

    • User Avatar MyDesigns on November 15, 2021 at 11:01 am

      You are very welcome!

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