Do you love this as much as I do??
It makes me happy just to look at it.  I really wanted to wait until I had this hanging in the kids’ new playroom, but I just couldn’t!  I’ve had the window painted for a couple of weeks, but when I “framed” the pictures yesterday, I couldn’t wait to show you how it turned out.  (Whoever “you” are, thanks for looking at my random thoughts!) 🙂
In case you really like this, I wanted to give you a little tutorial–if you have any other questions, let me know.  I was inspired by Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy (as I am many times)….she did this with an old french door–so cute!
First things first, I picked out my paper….remember?  Lindsey did this with great fabric, so whatever works for you would be fine.
I got this window on one of my recent flea market raids for $9…..so wish I had bought the other one for my upcoming office….gotta find another.
It was pretty distressed (yes, please ignore the distracting elliptical machine in the background), which I love, and even though it pained me to paint over that white, I wanted some color for the kids’ room.  There will be white beadboard and white cabinetry that Matt’s building (more on that later).  Looking at Lindsey’s door, I loved the colors and the technique she used to “distress” her door. 
Kind of love how my new aqua dresser is in the background–kind of the color of the kids’ walls.
I went with Valspar’s Sunnydale, and used the wall color (Valspar’s Crystal Aqua) and some brown acrylic paint to “distress” it.  No sanding required, by the way.  Just wiped it down with a cloth and started painting.
Just painted two coats of Sunnydale, allowing to dry completely between each one.  Then took a 1 1/2 in paint brush and got just a dab of the turquoise paint and painted in random places–trying to “streak” more than paint.  After that dried, I used the same brush, only damp this time, to “distress” it with some brown acrylic paint (had that laying around).  This time I would apply heavier in some areas and follow by wiping with a damp cloth.  Super quick, but it feels custom.  I love all these colors together! 
For the pictures–I just used some cardboard boxes we had laying around–because believe me when I say we have an abundance.  I used a CutterBee (you can grab one of those or an xacto in your craft store/section) to cut the cardboard to fit the window pane.
I used my trusty Dotto (Ek Success Dotto Dots Adhesive 49 Feet Dispenser Removable, Purple) to glue the paper to the cardboard and to attach the picture to the “matte.”  It holds the pictures/paper really well, but is flexible enough if I want to change the pictures or paper.
Which brings me to the actual framing–I was unneccesarily nervous about this.  I was trying to come up with a way to tack the cardboard matte into the back of the wood, worrying about chipping or even breaking the glass.  That’s me–overthink instead of trial and error.  It finally occurred to me to quit thinking and start playing around with it.  That’s when I realized all I had to do was cut the cardboard a little wider than the glass pane, and it would squeeze in just right.  No nailing, stapeling, glueing. 
Yeah, that was tough.  Definitely worth a couple of hours of brain power.
🙂
Really love the color it will bring to their happy little room.
Really love the finished product.
Promise you a glare-free shot when it’s hanging in the room.
😉