I just had some of my photos enlarged (a 10x20, 8x12 & 8x10). Since they’re photos, I figured I’d go with a really simple frame.
So far all I’m finding for the 10x20 is in the $40 range. For the others I’m looking at around $20 each. I haven’t exhaustively looked, but so far I’m not too impressed.
I thought about buying some framing stock and making my own, but then I’ll need something for matting and glass/plastic.
Anyone have any creative framing ideas? I’d really love do a bunch, but the price is just too much.
Yeah dollar stores, or other “most everything is under $10” stores.
I have a friend who does a lot of photography and has framed photos all over her house. Last time I was there I was admiring them and also noted how expensive it must be to frame them all. She said nope, most of her frames come from Family Dollar and are less than $5 apiece.
I bought 3 of her photographs, printed 8.5"x11", and we went to the Family Dollar and got suitable frames with mats and glass for under $5. I actually bought six frames in case some of these break. They are flimsy but the photographs look great and hey, they just hang on the wall!
If you buy frames from a flea market or estate sell. How can you tell if it has the good glass? The kind that blocks UV and protects the photo from yellowing and fading? Also, the Acid Free matting?
I know hallmarks will help identify good silver frames. These days, they are probably too expensive, even used.
I’ve thought about getting some used frames and replacing the matting with acid free. Does that save a lot of $$$?
Also be sure to check out discount stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshall’s. Burlington Coat Factory, too.
I, too, am baffled by how costly picture frames are, so I exclusively buy mine at discount stores OR at places like Michael’s when they are having a sale and everything is $5.
I have a friend that has a picture frame hung up on the wall with the original “sample” photo still in it of a woman in a wedding dress. I asked if she was going to ever put a picture in there, she said she already did. Oh really, :dubious: says I. Yes, says she, it’s right there in the frame!
Turns out it was a real picture of her sister. The frame company had used her photo for a sample :smack: I guess I should have known, real people have to pose for those pictures.
The way to tell if the glass is UV filtering is to look at the edge. It will be brownish, rather than the green cast of “regular” glass.
The thing to look at on the matting is the cut bevel. If it’s a mat with a colored surface paper the bevel of a preservation grade (and what you want here is acid free and lignin free) board should be bright white. It’s not fool proof. There a boards that are not preservation grade that have a super bleached white core. There are also boards (brand named Antiquarian) which have a buff colored core for use where the bright white bevel would be glaringly out of place.
If you’re looking for frames at garage sales and thrift stores make sure the corners are sound, not rickety. Also, if it’s a wood frame try and determine that the wood’s not dried out. The frame moulding is typically the most expensive single component of a custom frame job so you can save money by starting with a frame.
If you are looking at metal frames to reuse check that all the hardware is there. There are a lot of metal frames that use one style of hardware that’s pretty easy to replace. However, I get a lot of folks in my shop bringing other styles looking for the one corner clip they’re missing, or hanging hardware that fits, and I have to disappoint them.
Depending on the decor of the room it’s to go in, old windows can make interesting picture frames. My SIL has an urban industrial thing going on, and some abandoned windows (taken out when the building installed newer, better windows, but left in the basement) are really cool picture frames in her hall now. I think she secured the back with a piece of cheap particleboard cut to fit and a few finishing nails.
Yes, they are expensive and having them matted is even more so.
I second the idea of looking for unique items which can substitute for a frame. One year I framed my son’s picture in a two-dimensional toy train engine with him in the window of the engineer’s seat. It was to commemorate an experience he had riding on a train during vacation that summer.
I once babysat for a doctor and his wife whose home was very nicely decorated. In their formal dining room they had a picture of a beaming Shirley Temple framed by a toilet seat! Odd sense of humor, those folks.
Also, if they’re your own photos, you don’t have to worry so much about acid free matting or UV blocking glass. If a photo fades or gets affected by acid in your lifetime you can print a new one.
Hobby Lobby or Michael’s offers some good deals on frames during their sales. Regular priced frames are not a great deal.
Also, you can always print the 40% off one item coupons for either place online and buy your frames one at a time. As long as the store is a reasonable distance, you can save a ton of money with those coupons !
