In partnership with Fujifilm and Instax South Africa
Sometimes the universe goes ka-ching and the stars align and things happen. Case in point. While making a few wire picture frames to add to our gallery wall, we got an email from Fujifilm and Instax South Africa. They wanted to find out if we’d like to play around with the new Instax Share SP-3 SQ. Of course, we said YES!!! It prints Polaroid styled photos that remind me of the piccies my Mom took of us as kids and they look so cool in those frames. It’s like they were meant for each other.

I don’t know about you, but I love the old world charm of a Polaroid and the frames let them shine without being overbearing. But before I share the wire picture frame tutorial with you, let me quickly tell you a little more about the Instax Share SP-3 SQ.
What’s the Instax Share SP-3 SQ?
Such a big name for a teeny tiny little printer that fits in the palm of your hand ;-) It looks like a space ship with these lights on the front that shows battery life and how many prints you can still make. There are two buttons on the side; one to turn the printer on and the other to reprint a photo. You can print any images from your phone’s gallery or social media channels, like Instagram or Facebook wirelessly to the printer.

The setup was pretty straight forward too. Just download and install the app on your mobile, switch the printer on, connect with wi-fi and you’re good to go. The app has a whole bunch of fun templates and filters you can play with to edit your image, before sending it off to be printed. It takes maybe 10 seconds to print the image and the photo takes about 5 minutes to develop. Just like the good old days. The hubby and I were like little kids watching those pictures appear :D

And the print quality is gorgeous. 318 dots per inch. I can just imagine how much fun it would be to have one of these printers at a wedding or birthday bash. The photos would make such lovely mementos of the day. For the wire picture frames, I choose three images and applied the sepia filter before printing them.

Pretty cool right?? Now any time I want to change the images I can just remove them and stick a new one in the frame. And since we really enjoyed playing around with that little printer, with the big-name ;-) we have a whole bunch of images to choose from too.
Right, before I show you how to make these, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
Okay, enough of my waffling, I promised you a tutorial to make wire picture frames to show off your photos and art.
What you need to make wire picture frames
- Jewelry wire, 12 gauge, and 18 or 20 gauge. You can read more about gauges here.
- Wire cutters and needle nose pliers
- Pictures, photos, drawings, cute quotes etc.
- Something to use as a template for creating the basic frame
For these frames, I used a CD case. It was the right size, but a piece of wood, cardboard box or old wooden frame will work too.

How to make wire picture frames
These little frames are almost as easy as the “Easiest Frames Ever”. Almost ;-) The trick is getting the basic frame squarish, which is where the block of wood or CD case comes in so handy. Measure around whatever you’ll be using as a template, add 2” and cut a piece of the 12 gauge wire according to the measurements.

Mark the top middle point of your template. The CD case I used already had a small marking so I just used that. Starting at the top, wind the wire around the template overlapping the wire at the top middle point.

Cut a piece of the thinner wire and bend it in half to make a small loop. Wind the extra bits of wire on either side of the loop tightly around the overlap to close the frame.

Time to get creative with those frames
Once the basic wire frame has been formed, you can get creative on how to embellish it. Confession time. There’s this little bitch Miss Perfect inside my head that always tries to interfere and wants to do things just right. If you have one of those voices in your head too, tell them to hush up ;-)
It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of creating.
And when you create something with wire it’s always easier if you let your hands do the talking instead of your head. To make the embellishments, cut a few strands of the thinner wire and bend, twist, scrunch or squiggle interesting shapes and forms. Don’t overthink things, just do it ;-)

When you’re happy with your squiggles and squaggles (that’s a word right?), attach them inside the wire picture frames with a bit of the thinner wire to finish them off. Hang and enjoy.
The photos are stuck inside the frames with masking tape so they’re easy to change around. If masking tape isn’t your thing you can use some twine and pegs like we did with this yardstick photo display. Or you can make those squiggles and squaggles ;-) bigger and slip the photo in between the wire.

The frames hardly weigh a thing, so you can hang them on a mobile and add the photos on with a peg or bulldog clips.

Don’t you just love that cute little hedgehog?

The frames add a lovely, free-spirited vibe to our gallery wall, which I’m really happy about. They’re pretty versatile too. You can add quotes or post-it reminders or use them to showcase the kid’s latest work of art. We hung our creative wire picture frames alongside a tin can handbag filled with faux succulents.

I’d love to know what you think of the wire picture frames. Is it something you would put on your gallery wall?

If you like the idea, don’t forget to pin it for later.

Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you ;-)
And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY
Until next time, hope you have a beautiful crafty week.

30 comments
Love these frames, they are so unique.
Thanks so much, Anita, and they’re loads of fun to make up too.
Such a cool idea, Michelle! I love the frames you created and the filter you used for the photos is so gorgeous! Gotta check it out :)
? Thanks so much, Jelica and yes that sepia filter is lovely. So impressed with the quality of the photos. I had this idea in my head that such an itty bitty little printer wouldn’t be able to print high quality, but I was so wrong
You have got to be one of the most creative people! This, along with all your projects, are AMAZING!
? Thank you so much Deborah ?
The frame is so clever. Once again you have hit it out of the ballpark.
Hello Debra, I’ve missed you ?
I don’t want to affix the pictures to the wall using masking tape as it shows. Do you have any suggestions that don’t show a piece of tape?
Hey there Lisa, you can add a peg instead of the masking tape similar to what we did with this one https://acraftymix.com/blog/diy-yardstick-photo-display/
How about using the wire design to hold the picture.
Spot on Barb ? you can play around with the wire squiggles and form them in such a way that they’ll hold a photo or a lovely quote or the kids latest work of art.
You’re so creative Michelle. I wish I I could pull something like this off. You’re very talented. Love this so much.
You can do it Monique. I promise, just believe in yourself and let your hands take over ?
Michelle you are going to kill the framing business with all your amazing DIY creations. And those little pictures are absolutely adorable. Congrats on your AMARA nomination. I hope they let me vote more than once!
? Awwww Mary, thank you but there’s always a place for the real thing
Sounds like you’ve been having way to much fun taking photos and making way cool frames to hold the photos. Very clever idea, and you get to play with wire! ?
Is that your hedge hog? I use to have one named Lucy.
Ahhhh you know me Linda. I love playing with wire ? WRT to the little hedgehog, how I wish we did have one as a pet. Friends of ours have some and they are soooooooo adorable
Michelle,
What a unique and interesting idea!! I LOVE it!! Thanks so much for visiting and for your kind words on the passing of my dear nephew….
Hugs,
Deb
Oh Debbie, you and your family are always in my thoughts. My heart is so sore for you all right now. We’ll be thinking of you my friend ?
I love everything about this entire article. The beautiful succulent, the photos, and of course, the wire frames! I can’t wait to try and make one. Everything you make always inspires me! I just love it!
? Thank you so much Carolann, that means alot to me.
Your story-telling style and tutorials are awesome! So easy to follow and these wire frames are very unusual. I can see myself and my grandchildren trying to make some. Maybe as a present for there mom.
They would make lovely pressies Brenda and children are far more free with their thinking and creativity. I’m not sure how old your grandkids are but if they’re little ones please mind the wire bits and their eyes.
I love this!!! It’s such a pretty way to frame something and it looks easy to do too. Can I use normal wire or must it be jewelry wire?
Thank you Sandra and yes normal wire will work too ❣
These are such a cool idea, I love them. So creative!
I actually prefer my frames without glass in them unless they are non reflective glass. These frames will be perfect for some vintage postcards I have.
Yeah, I’m not a big fan of the reflective glass in frames either Claire. You always struggle to see what’s been framed. Glad you like the wire versions and I bet you’ll come up with an amazing twist for yours ?
This is so cool, I love to display photos in a fun way other than in the traditional frame setting. I also love those, but sometimes, some photos just need that little extra, like these gorgeous & fun frames! And the Instax is so much fun! My girls have the mini Instax and love it!
I so agree with you Katrin. Traditional frames have their place but there are so many interesting and creative ways to display photos and these wire frames were fun to make too.
I bet your girls love their mini Instax. I was so surprised with the quality of the printed photos. Who would have imagined that such a tiny little thing could do that ?