I asked my friend Jacque to share a DIY project with you for a chicken wire frame. She's made a lot of them so I wanted her to give you all of her tips! Enjoy :)
I always love an opportunity to talk with Polka-Dotty Place
followers – so when Whitney asked me to do a DIY post on chicken-wire frames I
jumped at the chance!
Chicken-wire frames are very on trend right now (I saw one
similar to what I am making today for close to $50 at TJ Maxx!). You can use them for a variety of purposes –
but I like to think of them as a rustic bulletin board – reminders, pictures,
Christmas cards, signs – you name it!
This is something that is not hard at all to make!
Needed:
Frame
Paint (if needed)
Staple Gun with Staples
Wire Cutters
Chicken Wire
Picture Frame: I found this at a thrift shop for $5. I painted the frame gold and busted out the
canvas – (no need to scare you with THAT 1970s, woodland-scene, someone-probably-paid-a-fortune-for-it-way-back-when
ugliness!)
Chicken Wire: I bought my chicken wire
at Rural King – but have also bought it at Menards (for around $10). It comes in different lengths and sizes (of
the holes). The mesh I chose is 1inch –
and the width is 2 feet.
Staple Gun: I bought this staple gun
from Lowe’s a few years ago and love it.
You will need a lot of staples and the T50 in any brand will work just
fine.
Chicken Wire (again): Think of chicken wire like wrapping paper
– it is going to want to roll up on you while you are working with it – except
unlike wrapping paper you are dealing with metal and sharp edges. Start at the top, in the middle and plant
your first staple (make sure you are even and centered). Watch your fingers with the staple-gun. Seriously.
FYI – my frame is sitting against our garage
refrigerator
– sorry for the blah background!
After the first staple… go across the
top with a staple at each “intersection” of the wire. When you unravel the wire – the start of it
isn’t straight (as seen in the picture below) – so you will have excess
overhanging if yours is like that as well.
Wire Cutters: Now time to trim off the
excess.
On to the sides: Now you will unroll
the wire and work your way down the sides and staple. You want the wire to be taut in the middle –
so I am showing you a picture of how you can pull the wire to the sides while
stapling to make sure it is nice and tight.
We’re almost done: All of the chicken wire I have worked with has a thick wire running down the center. To get a clean look, I always cut out this wire. If you have extra time you can actually un-wind it, but I always snip it out with the wire cutters.
Ways I've used my chicken wire frames:
If your frame is not exactly the width of
your wire (which it rarely is) you will cut the wire to fit on the sides as
well.
Finish the bottom (after completing the
sides) and trim off the excess.
We’re almost done: All of the chicken wire I have worked with has a thick wire running down the center. To get a clean look, I always cut out this wire. If you have extra time you can actually un-wind it, but I always snip it out with the wire cutters.
Ta-Dah!!!
Ways I've used my chicken wire frames:
Those are adorable!!
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