DIY Slat Board Farmhouse Wood Frame - Lovebugs and Postcards

This DIY Slate Board Farmhouse Wood Frame is a great gift idea, especially for Father’s Day and/or Mother’s Day. It is also nice to make if you want to have a rustic or farmhouse look around any picture.

I used a 1 x 2 x 8-ft Furring Strip or the border, and just a piece of wood (from an old broken desk) that I cut for the back. This is what I screwed the frame into. The six slat boards I actually got at Walmart for like $2 – so overall this whole project was around $5-$6 with the printing of the photo.

I made this specifically to size of the boards I bought at Walmart – but it wouldn’t be hard to make your own slat boards. So you can customize this to any size you want. To make the boarder, you will measure and cut two boards for the length, and two boards for the width.

Once they are cut, you are going to sand them so the edges are smooth, as well as the face of the boards. I love my Black+Decker Orbit Sander. If you are cutting your own slat boards, and backboard – do this as well and sand them. Again, the size will depend on the size of the picture you want. I went into photoshop and edited my photo into sections so it would fit perfectly. I realize that it not an option for everyone. You can even plan it around a normal size like 8×10 or whatever – just know ahead of time.

With the board cut, you will stain the wood of the frame. I used a dark brown (no red tones). I used a rag to apply it and let it set for a few minutes before I took another rag and wiped it off. I did two coats and loved the color.

To attach the dried boards to the backboard, you will need a drill bit, screws, and a screwdriver. I just used my small impact drill and switched between the drill bit and the screwdriver bit. This is the drill that I have and it is perfect for all my projects!

You will want to predrill a hole through the boarder (furring strip board) and the backboard. Then you will take a screw and carefully secure the boards together. Be careful so you don’t split the boards.

Once you have your frame built, you are going to have to format your picture for the slats. Like I said before, if you chose a normal size like 8×10, then you could cut your 8×10 board into 2 inch slats and have 5 of them across. I printed mine out at home on regular cardstock as I didn’t want the picture to be glossy.

This is all up to you how you want it to look. I used my paper cutter and cut the pictures, and then I used Mod Podge JUST on the one side between the photo and the board so that it doesn’t ruin the picture. I tried this and it made the ink run a little on my photo so I had to do another one.

Once your photos are all attached securely to the slats (be sure to get the corners) you will want to let them dry for a bit – maybe 15 minutes minimum. I then used glue dots to attach my slats to the board. After a week one fell off – but I pushed it back on and it seems to be staying. I will probably get some double sided tape and use that to re secure them.