When I found an adorable Barbie poster for my daughter's bedroom, I thought it would be easy to find the perfect poster frame for it. Once I started looking, however, I could not find one to suit my requirements. First of all, it had to be cute and colorful. A basic black poster frame just would not be satisfactory. Second, it had to be safe for young children. If the frame were to fall, it could not be heavy or breakable. Third, the poster frame needed to be inexpensive.

With no luck in finding a suitable poster frame, I decided to look into making one myself. Off to the craft store I went, where I soon noticed that foam board is a popular material. The product is very lightweight, colorful, and affordable. Foam board was the perfect choice. I let my creative spirit take over, and I was very impressed with the final product. It's cute, colorful, safe, and inexpensive, just like I was hoping. The total cost of the materials was about $10, not including the poster. Here's how you can make one, too:

Materials:

1. Poster
2. One sheet yellow foam board, 20 inches x 30 inches
3. Two sheets standard white poster board, 22 inches x 28 inches each
4. Foam sparkle flower stickers
5. Two ribbons, each 28 inches long
6. X-Acto knife
7. Tape measure
8. Tape

Directions:

1. Tape the 2 sheets of white poster board together, creating a larger, single poster board that is 28 inches x 44 inches.

2. Tape your poster of choice onto the poster board that has been taped together. Try to center it evenly in the middle, equidistant from all 4 sides. The Barbie poster I used for this project measures 22 inches x 34 inches, but you can always adapt the size of your frame to accommodate a poster with different dimensions.

3. Cut the yellow foam board into pieces to fit the size needed to frame your poster. Suggestion: Add an extra inch to the top and bottom pieces and inch to the width of each side piece to avoid unwanted space between the poster and the frame. Because of the dimensions of the yellow foam board, I had to piece together the sides of my frame. The actual dimensions of the pieces I cut for the frame were:
   2 sections of yellow foam board: 28 inches x 5 inches
   2 sections of yellow foam board: 30 inches x 3 inches
   2 sections of yellow foam board: 4 inches x 3 inches

4. Tape the yellow foam board frame pieces together.

5. Using tape between the two, attach the frame to the poster board, showcasing your poster.

6. Tape ribbons to the reverse side of the frame. Try to center them about 8 inches apart equidistant from the center point at the top.

7. Tie the ribbons into a bow.

8. Embellish the frame using the foam sparkle flower stickers. Find the perfect place on the wall and hang it up!

Summary:

At first, I was discouraged because I could not find a suitable frame for my daughter's poster. Using foam board and a little creativity, I made a lightweight, colorful, and inexpensive poster frame that she will enjoy.