Easy Rosemaling Frame

Earlier this week I told you about my new found appreciation for rosemaling, a style of hand-painting that originated in Norway.  After being inspired by traditional rosemaling designs, I wanted to try it for myself.  Since I haven’t had any instruction in actual rosemaling, I ended up cheating by using rub-on transfer designs instead of paint and paintbrushes.  Read on to see how I made my own rosemaling frame.

I found these rub-on graphics in the Target $1 area at least a year ago.  You probably won’t be able to find the same transfers again, but you can create your own with a color printer.  You would just need to get your hands on some rub-on transfer paper.

To make your own Rosemaling Frame, you will need:

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rub-on decals or rub-on transfer paper

$1 craft frame

scissors

tweezers (optional)

I cut out individual transfer designs with my precision scissors and positioned them on a cheapo raw wood craft frame.  I used the small dowel meant to serve as the frame’s stand to burnish the designs onto the wood.  It looked pretty “bad 90s farmhouse” here, but I promise that it got better.

I kept adding more designs, trying to keep things basically symmetrical as I went.  I used my tweezers to put the designs in place after I found that touching the designs with my bare hands made them transfer onto my fingers.

After a lot of cutting, placing, and burnishing, I had a colorful Norwegian rosemaling-inspired frame.  Not all of the designs transferred perfectly, but I don’t think that the imperfections take away from the charm of the frame.

The frame actually looks quite nice empty.  The open heart cut-out lets the rosemaling design shine.

Just for fun, I framed one of the cards from my Recollections calendar in the heart opening, turning it into a pretty Valentine’s Day decoration.

Have I convinced you that rosemaling would make for a good trend yet?  Can you see yourself using it in your own home?

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Thanks,  Jessica