I’ve been collecting a few different pictures together. Most of my pictures live on my phone, so I got together some old ones, along with a few prints that I’ve bought recently because I want to create a photo wall in my study. Initially, I’d wanted quite modern black frames, but photo frames are expensive when you need to get a lot. So, inspired by Kirstie Allsopp’s ‘Fill your home for Free’ programme, I headed to a local charity shop and got a few mismatched frames. They were £1 each and because they don’t match, it means I can add to them in the future.

It turns out that lots of people who donate to charity shops don’t clean their donations! So the first thing I had to do was clean and polish the frames. I’d taken the pictures I wanted to frame with me to the charity shop so I knew that they would fit, though some needed mounts to make the most of the pictures. I wanted to have a go at making my own, instead of searching for ones that fit and are the right colour. I grabbed my cutting mat, my craft knife, my watercolour book and my trusty old ruler that I’ve had since secondary school!

I drew around the pictures that I needed mounts for to create a template then measured the space that I needed to cover. Using my craft knife, I cut along the lines. Like most things, my cutting wasn’t perfectly straight, but straight enough to sit inside the frame. I used watercolour paper because it’s thicker than paper, but it has a nicer texture than card.

I like how the picture looks with the mount, but I think I might change the colour or add some washi tape to make it stand out a bit. All that’s left now is to figure out how to display them on the wall, what pattern to go for. I’ve got some embroidery hoops that I want to add to the mix as well, so I’m going to be searching Pinterest for a few ideas! If you’ve got any tips, let me know!