Art for zero cost

A couple weeks or so back, I took on a project of rebuilding an old fence for a relative of a friend. It was in dire need of repair, but mostly it needed some TLC and a few crucial boards replaced. I disassembled about 40' of the fence panels, and replaced all of the stringers. I thought there might be 3-5 new pickets needed, but I ended up replacing about 14. At the end of the day, there was a small pickup load of old wood to haul away, which I did.

So what do you do with a pile of old lumber like this? For $30.00, you can take it to the landfill. Cut it up and bundle it, and you can sneak it into the trash cans for our weekly pickup. You can't burn wood tree limbs or brush where I live, although I have on occasion. 

In my work, I like reusing boards for fill-ins around doors when the wood is still in perfect condition--but I probably would not use wood in this condition. 

Then, I had the idea to make picture frames. Below are two of the four I made.

These are made from the stringers--the horizontal rails on the fence. They are 1 1/2" thick, and 2 3/4" wide. I rabbeted out the back to accommodate the picture, a cardboard backing, and a glass pane. In keeping with the recycling theme, the cardboard was from a box we used when we moved a few years ago, and the glass was from some old storm windows I hauled away recently from another job. There was almost zero cost in the project. The pictures were from a run earlier in the year where I went by several old dilapidated houses and barns. I suppose I used a small amount of printer ink and a couple sheets of paper. The only thing I bought was the clips and hanging hardware shown below.

So total cost--about $.20 each and about an hour of time. I have been told I could sell them--but I like them too much. They're not for sale. I have made four frames and have enough wood and glass for several more. I just might take orders??