Hidden Compartment Frame

I recently participated in a blog swap. You know, where you send a gift and you get a gift. I was so excited when I found out I got to create a handmade gift for Nicole Leigh at Farm Girl Chaos. I skimmed over her blog to see what she was like and immediately fell in love with her way of living. I love the rustic, vintage, farm feel! I also read a post where she complained of this:

Having previously lived with one of those, I new I wanted to create something to help her cover that thing up more permanently, but let her have easy access to it.

I went and got two frames. One 10X13 and the other 11X14. The flatter the frame the better.

Stack them up on top of each other.

Get two hinges and slide them underneath the top frame. Line them up on the frame so the top frame is not hanging off the opposite edge.

Then remove the top frame and screw them down.

Now remove the glass to the big frame and fold back the glass holders.

Stack the frames back up and set them upside down on the table.

Open the larger frame and fold the hinges down onto the smaller frame and screw into place.

Now you can close the frame and turn back over. You will see that the screws came through the frame. It's okay, we'll get to that.

I made a photo and printed it in sepia-ish tones and then matted it with scrapbook paper. I added two elements, jute, and ribbon to give it that extra umph.

Tie two bows with jute and glue them over the screws on the front that were poking up.

Take your needle nose pliers and pull out the glass holders on the larger frame that you folded out of place earlier.

Since my frame is going to be used on metal I covered the back with magnetic strips. If you are hanging yours on the wall cover it with felt, to hide those screws poking out!

Add a little magnetic strip on the corner and then on the back of the smaller frame to help keep it closed.

You're done! Hang it up on your fridge, your wall, or your circuit breaker box!

Grab your dry erase marker and write yourself a note.

Open your frame and in the inside of it you can hide your dry erase marker or your eraser! This allows for easy access if you are flipping circuit breakers or it's the perfect spot to hide a treat or two from your sneaky kids!

I hope YOU LOVE it Nicole Leigh! And if you make a version I would LOVE to see it as well! Post it in my comments or up in my flickr group!