Re-Using Old Picture Frames
It's fun taking something apart and
putting it back together again in a new creative way. I work in an
office where we had a lot of old promotional type posters that were very
expensively matted and framed. Now that we're moving to a new office we
wanted something new, but didn't want to spend a lot of money
decorating. We decided to disassemble the old frames and re-use the mats
to frame new prints.
We made a visit to a local craft store
and found an abundance of inexpensive artwork in all sizes, ranging in
price from $1.49 to $40.00. Definitely within our budget. We picked out
several beautiful floral prints and framed them with the old mats and
frames. Disassembling the old prints included tearing off most of the
prints that had previously been glued to the mats, but I just tore it
all off and used scotch tape to tack down the new prints.
The new prints don't have to completely
fit your frames or mats, either. It was hard finding prints that were
just the right size. Don't be afraid to move the print around in a mat
that's a little too small. Often you can cover some edges of the print
and not take away from the overall effect of the picture at all. Just
trim edges where necessary to make the print fit (after you've double
checked your positioning within the mat). You can also buy bigger mats
to make a smaller print fit in a larger frame.
If you don't care if all of your frames
match, it's very inexpensive to shop thrift stores and yard sales for
cheap prints and re-use the mats and frames for new prints. Or go
through some of your own old prints and redecorate!
Also, when looking for inexpensive
prints, don't limit yourself to poster prints. Postcards and greeting
cards also look great framed. Add a mat and you'll never be able to tell
the difference.
You don't need a lot of special tools to
get started. All you really need is possibly a screwdriver for
disassembling frames, a ruler to make sure your print is straight, some
tape for attaching the print to the mat, and a pencil and scissors for
marking and trimming prints that don't quite fit.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to
have great wall art. It just takes a little planning ahead to match
print sizes to frames and match colors. Have fun, and use your
imagination! A beautiful picture really brightens up a room, and you can
create your own easily and inexpensively.
by Rachel Paxton -
rachel@creativehomemaking.com Copyright 2001.
Creative Homemaking -
http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
Suite 101 -
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/creative_homemaking.
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