When I found out I was pregnant and knew we would have to plan a nursery, I wanted something very unique but not expensive. That pretty much sums up the style of our home - lots of unique and eclectic things that go together but are not matchy matchy or expensive. We decided on a rustic/country/woodland concept, but not overly themed with wallpaper borders and characters or figurines everywhere. Just simple, like us.
Aside from the main furniture set - crib and dresser - I wanted everything else to be handmade, crafty, thrifty or family heirloom. First on my list was a vintage window picture frame. I saw an idea at a craft fair where someone had put pictures in each window pane. They wanted $150 for this piece of art. I found an old window in a second-hand shop in Georgia while visiting my parents last spring (before I was pregnant). I paid $10 for it. It looked rough but I knew I could do something cool with it eventually.
I started with deciding what kind of pictures I would want in the window if it were to go in the nursery. Woodland animals. Baby woodland animals. Perfect. First I looked for prints on the web that I could buy. Way too expensive. So I surfed Google for high resolution images I could save and print myself. 6 prints @ $3.99/pic = $25 (with tax).
I dug the window out of my craft room closet, cleaned the cobwebbs off and washed the decades of dirt and dust from the chipped painted frame. Once it was clean and dry, I fastened some picture fram hangers to the back of it to support the weight. **Place the window on a towel or something cushiony to absorb the hammering or the glass could break. Hammer gently!**
I cut the printed pictures to size for each window pane and taped them on. Then we picked a spot in the nursery for the window frame to hang. Using a level, I made two marks on the wall and tapped in the small pin nails to hold the hangers. Voila!
The total cost of this project was about $35, compared to $150 for a similar one at the craft fair. DIY pays off!
