From Art Frame to Ispirational Cork Board (DIY)

I recently helped my super crafty friend Noelle to rearrange her craft space.  Above her work table she has this huge amazing framed cork board, where she pins crafts she's finished and other inspirational bits and pieces.  I love it!  

Unfortunately in our craft room at home (a rather large one) most walls are slanted and those available have already been covered with wall to wall shelving (yes admit I'm a fabric addict and craft supply junkie.) So finding a space to hang a large size framed cork board isn't going to happen.  That being said, I accidentally  came up with a solution. 

You see I've been searching for the perfect frame to frame wonderful handmade art piece I bought from an artist up in the Appalachian mountains.  Eddie Spagetti.  His work is amazing.  The particular art piece I bought he had it framed with frames he made out of re-purposed wood.  Gorgeous.  At the time though I didn't have enough mula to purchase both his art piece and frame.  Bummer!  I didn't think I would have much trouble finding a frame that fit.  Wrong!

Anyway, back to the framed cork board for my craft room.  I happen to have a smaller long framed piece of artwork I purchased at my local Goodwill store in hopes that it would work on Eddie Spagetti's art piece.  (No, I didn't have the measurements with me at the time.)  Needless to say, it did not.  Then I thought to myself, well hey, why not use it to make a mini framed cork board (10 1/2" x 22") that will fit in my limited space under a window.  Perfect.

You will need:

♥ and old frame with backing.

♥ Thin cork sheet or tiles.  I used 6 x 6 cork boards I had around the house. (Use and re-use, right?)  But the ideal thing would be to use cork board sheets, so you can cut it to the exact size you need.   

How to make it:

To make it, I began by carefully removing the glass and original print.  I then put back the backing plus and extra piece of cardboard of the same size, to make the backing stronger.  I then flipped the frame back to the front and began to slowly glue each cork tile.  I also cut other pieces to fit.  I then let it dry for about 24 hours.  

I added a linen flower (I made previously) to hide the little bits of cork I had to connect in that corner.  Remember I used the cork tiles I had on hand?  I like the way it looked at the end, connecting lines and all. 

And it fit perfect between my window and sewing table.

A little side note:  DO NOT DROP IT!  Yea, I did that when I was showing it to my friend Noelle who happened to be here the day I made it.  Yup, dropped it and the frame broke!  So there you had both of us gluing it back together. I wanted to cry, laugh, a bit of both.  I didn't.  What you see up there is after we glued it together.  Not bad.  It adds to it's distressed charm. Right? Right.

Happy Crafting!