framing assortment of pictures different sizes.

[velvetkytten]

So I have an assortment of of art pieces I would like to have framed but have limited funds. Does anyone know how to do this ? or have any suggestions of cheap places to go ?

I hope this is in the right forum.

[Renwaldo]

Likewise here. Everything she said. I have pictures, but I'm too cheap to have them professionally mounted. :I

[bloodredruby]

First and foremost, hit up the second hand stores and garage sales in your area. The trick here is to look for ugly, cheap art in nice frames, which is far more common than you may think.

If you find a frame that is the right size, but wrong color or has scratches/minor paint damage, paint it with acrylic paint (you can buy the paint at the dollar store) or take a piece of sponge and dip it in the paint, and dab on liberally. If the frame has any carved or embossed details, using a metallic paint and a sponge will create an antiqued effect, as long as you are not too heavy handed with the paint. Even plastic frames can be painted to look elegant, and no one has to know that they are plastic, just rough them up with some fine grit sand paper or some fine steel wool first to help the paint adhere.

For matting, you can either buy it prefab at an art place, or you can buy thick paper from the dollar store and matt it yourself. You can use bristol board (poster board) or even scrap booking paper to matt a photo. Or, you could use felt or foam from the dollar store as well, though I find that felt and foam don't normally have a satisfactory color saturation for my taste. This can be cured by painting, if you are set on matting a picture with that specific medium. You can also paint paper with a sponge for an interesting dappled effect, which works very well with metallic paints.

I hope that this info is helpful. ^.~

[velvetkytten]

the sizes I'm looking for are not regular sizes. I've tried looking in the dollar store but i havnt tried second hand stores yet. thanks for the tip :)

[bloodredruby]

You are quite welcome. ^^

Personally, I prefer to frame and matt my own pictures, so I've a fair bit of experience with this kind of thing. When it comes to an odd size print, I think that a large frame with a dramatic matt looks stunning, and it solves the problem of trying to find "that perfect frame".

Happy crafting/framing!

[tokar]

you might want to try ikea.  they have lots of pics available in  many frame styles and not too expensive.

did i read that someone said they prefer to do their own?  maybe a deal / trade could be worked out for framing services in exchange for .....?