This is a Barbie art framing project for my daughters’ bathroom, but I’ve always thought that a series of framed art prints would make a great dessert table backdrop. (I’d do two rows of three frames.) This project is easy and inexpensive — you actually could spend even less on this Barbie art project than we did!

First, I’m excited to be back after two weeks away. I didn’t mean to be gone except for a few days for an outpatient procedure. But… I wound up having some complications, running to the ER twice, and spending the night in the hospital. Loads of fun. All’s well now, and I’m glad to have that little adventure behind me. We even had to reschedule the gardening party again, which I was so bummed out about. Please cross your fingers that it doesn’t rain on our new party date! Anyway, it’s a relief to be back at work. Today, I’m sharing a project that the girls and I worked on before all the mess happened.

Barbie Art for Your Walls or Dessert Table Backdrop

So, here’s how the idea all started. I was shopping in one of my favorite antique stores when I saw a series of framed Barbie art prints — stunning illustrations of Barbies in ball gowns.

Since Baby A loves drawing fashion, I thought these would be perfect for the the girls’ bathroom. And framed for $12 each? They were a steal. The frames were obviously cheap and from Dollar Tree, but I didn’t mind investing in a better frame.

So I find some $10 frames — and for seven prints, $70 was as much as I was willing to spend. I’d have to add my own picture wire, but I was sure I could figure that out.

Here’s the Drama Part

But, when we started to remove the art prints from the cheap-o frames, I realized they weren’t art prints. They were hacked up pages from a 2013 Barbie calendar. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I was buying something antique for $12 each, but I thought they were prints, given that I was buying them in an antique store. Silly me.

I quickly found the calendar on Amazon for $24. And that’s when I got ticked off. I’m all for making a reasonable profit, but let’s do the math here. The $24 calendar includes 16 images. That’s $1.50 per image. Plus a $1 frame. So the base materials cost of each “framed art print” was $2.50. I guess I should add in the “maker’s” time, but the framing job was so poor that I won’t.

• Sales price: $12
• Materials price: $2.50
• Difference: $9.50, divided by materials price of $2.50 = 380% markup. Seriously?

I’ve been antiquing since I was a teenager, and I know full well there are no returns at antique stores. But this was ridiculous. I called the store owner, and she agreed to give me a store credit. I would rather have had my money back, but I was glad to be rid of the junk, and appreciated the compromise. Buying my own calendar and frames, I spent $94, instead of using the misrepresented prints and replacing those frames ($154). Harangue over. Onto the project!

Framing Barbie Art Supplies

• Prints or calendar images
• Frames
• Ruler and/or measuring tape
• Pencil
• Paper trimmer
• Paper-safe tape (archival — acid-free — would be best, but I used painter’s tape)
• Picture nails
• Hammer
• Picture wire (if needed)
• Wire cutter (if needed)

Framing Barbie Art Instructions

1 – Carefully tear out the images from the calendar. Trim the ragged end.

2 – Lay the image behind the mat so you can see how to position and trim the image to fit. A snug fit helps prevent slippage.

3 – Secure the image to the mat with your tape.

4 – Replace the back of the frame.

5 – My frame had two hooks on the back, which meant I needed to use picture frame wire, which I’d never done before. You can find picture wire at WalMart. Unroll the wire and stretch it to about an inch beyond either side of your frame. Snip the wire with your wire cutters.

6 – Bend the wire over the corner of the hangers and give it one or two twists. Pull the wire up, as if it was hanging on the nail, to test if the wire is the right length. You don’t want to the wire to show above the top edge of the frame.

7 – Once you know the wire is the right length, finish twisting your wire.

8 – Now it’s time to hang your frames. You’ll probably want to center the frames wherever is appropriate for your space, so measure the horizontal distance and then mark the mid-point with an X.

9 – If you are stacking frames, like I did, decide how much space you want between frames. I decided on 1.5 inches. Mark that with a line. Hold up your frame and stretch out the picture wire to see where your nail needs to go for the top of the frame to hit the line. Mark that spot with a circle. Erase your check and your line, and position your nail in the circle.

That’s it! As usual, it seems more complicated to write out all the steps than to actually do the project. If the frame you chose doesn’t require picture wire, you can skip half this tutorial. Otherwise, just know this is totally do-able.