Picture Frames

So, I've never been one for do-it-yourself projects, but now that I've been a housewife for 5 years, I am just starting to get the desire to venture into that.

Since I'm new to it, I am starting with small stuff! (It will be a while before I can compete with you Keri!) ;)

So, back in AZ when we had friends visiting, we had "Old Time" photos taken. We have 3 8x10's that I wanted to hang. We did buy one picture frame at the studio that was the perfect look, but since I wanted all three pictures hanging on the same wall, I had to recreate that first (way-overpriced) frame. Here is a picture of that frame:

Here's a tip. Walmart is THE best place for picture frames, hands down. Even my mom, who doesn't go to Walmart for anything, goes there for picture frames. They really do have a good selection at a great price. (No, I'm not getting paid for this advertisement.) ;)

Here's the frame (I got two of them, actually) I picked up from there for $3.

I obviously couldn't have that nice finish on it, so I took the frames into the garage, grabbed a big wrench and started beating on the wood. Just be careful if you do this, because I caught the edge of the wood on one of them and split it. OOPS! After that, I just took sandpaper and sanded until I liked the way it looked. I was going to do a baking soda/water mixture (one part each) and put it on the wood, then leave it out in the sun. This weathers the wood too, but I was happy with how the sandpaper did, so I left it like that.

I know it's super simple, but I'm pretty proud of myself and it only cost $6 for both of them, when I think we paid $20 for the original one! Here's the finished product, up close.
And here is my newly decorated wall! :)