Peepholes SHOULD be decorated!

There area great many things we learned from the TV show FRIENDS, like what it means to be "On a break" or that Lobsters mate for life or that Adam's apples are not named after each individual man. The thing I like to take away from it (at least for the purposes of this post) is that apartment peepholes SHOULD be decorated! For those of you who do not know FRIENDS is one of my all time favorite TV shows (followed  closely by LOST and That Girl) and my sister and I watch the show over and over and quote it to each other ALL the time! When I moved into my first apartment, I decided that I needed a yellow peephole frame for the back of my door like the one Monica and Rachel have in their apartment.

I went to the Internet first, and it didn't take long to find someone who sold a replica.  I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the near $50 price tag! I decided then and there to make myself one for less that a quarter of the price. So I did, and it has happily adorned the inner face of the doors of each apartment I have lived in over the last 7 1/2 years. My sister, has been quite jealous!

 

The end of July marks my sister's birthday and she and her family had just moved into a new apartment in Arizona. I figured now was a great time to have her very own peephole frame! So off I set to see if I could duplicate my fabulous creation.

 

I headed to Michael's craft store for supplies. I grabbed a 2 pound package of an air-dry clay. This is the one I used this time.

 



The first time around I used a cellulose clay. Any air dry clay will do just fine, but after doing this one, I think I prefer the cellulose clay simply because it dries much lighter than other clays. But again any air dry clay will work just fine. I got a bottle of the perfect "Monica's peephole frame yellow" (Martha Stewart multi surface paint in Pollen with Satin finish- I am obsessed with these paints!) a package of paint brushes and I was out the door before I was tempted to spend more money on random crafty things. Haha!

My first step was to divide the clay info 4 sections. 2 long sections and 2 shorter ones. You can make this frame in any dimensions that you like to fit your needs.  My frame was about 7 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches.

Once I had more 4 sections, I googled images of the FRIENDS' yellow peephole frame, and using some clay tools that I had, (available for purchase for a few bucks at any craft supply store or you can just use toothpicks or other household items) started carving out the design of the frame.  You can add drops of water onto your clay to help smooth things out as you go.

After I was satisfied with my work and made sure that all 4 pieces fit together, (put your 2 shorter pieces as the top and bottom and your 2 longer pieces for the sides) I let it dry in the open air for a couple of days.

I then hot glued the pieces together at the joints, doing my best to smooth out  any excess glue to make it as invisible as possible.

 

Once the hot glue had dried I got to the painting. Pretty self explanatory there.

 



I hung my peephole frame using command adhesive strips, which make for a strong hold as well as easy removal for an apartment setting.  I wasn't sure which method my sister would prefer for hanging, so I simply sent it to her as-is. It turned out so great!

She just received it in the mail this week (I am WAY behind on birthdays this year ,sigh!) and she LOVED it! I have so much fun making this craft! Its fairly simple and doesn't take a whole lot of time. For the FRIENDS fan in your life, however, it is a simply AMAZING gift! Happy crafting everyone!