Make Yourself A Frame
Your painting is finished, you have a name for it, and now you need a frame so you can either exhibit it on those trendy pop up display stands, or just put it up on the wall. So you go to the local framing place and oh…it’s expensive. Much more than you can afford to spend, considering you have a few to do. So what do you do? You make the frame(s) yourself of course. And it really isn’t that difficult, even if you’re not a gifted DIYer: all you need is a saw and a hammer and some long nails. And paint, or wax, to finish. It takes no time at all and providing you are careful and don’t rush, there is no reason whatsoever that it shouldn’t look really good! 1) Get an old frame that is too big for your piece and break it up. It’s much cheaper to find a ready made wooden frame than it is buy one. 2) Saw it to the right lengths, making sure to cut each mitres at an accurate 45 degrees. 3) Now you need to join the pieces. First apply a generous helping of PVA glue and then stick together. Now, hammer in the nails while the glue is still drying. Hammer them in diagonally, so that you are sure to get a good fixing in both pieces. 4) Sand down the corners so that the join is not so noticeable. 5) Either leave it at that or apply a coat or two of clear wax. Or, alternatively, you could paint the frame black or white with emulsion. Emulsion is the best kind of paint to use because then you can put clear wax over the top and get a really nice smooth finish.