- Re-Using
Old Picture Frames
- by Rachel Paxton
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. |
