20% off Custom Framing during the month of May!

Spring is in the air! (Well almost, if these clouds would go away!) Come in and see us during the month of May for an extra 20% percent off your custom framing order. Don’t forget to mention that you visited our blog and saw this offer!

Here are some ideas for framing for upcoming weeks!

• Mother’s Day frame your mothers favorite photos and memorabilia. Mom’s are always proud of their children’s achievements. Show that you are proud of her by framing her treasures!
• Graduation gifts- Graduations are just around the corner. What a perfect time to frame your favorite scholar’s treasures and certificates! Give them something special to take when they go away to college to remember home by.
• Weddings- Wedding Season is upon us. We can put together the mat/frame for guests to sign at your wedding. And after the wedding preserve those memories with a shadow box of special artifacts like the menu, dried flowers, glasses, cake topper or anything else from your special day. Frame a collection of those special wedding photos for the wall of your new home together.
• Children’s Art As the summer comes upon us and the school season comes to a close. Frame all those fun projects your child will be bringing home that have been up in their class. Your child will feel like a true artist.
• Sports memorabilia Basketball, Hockey, Baseball……..the sports fields are busy this time of year! Framing these treasures after the season, will preserve them for years to come.
• Veteran’s memorabilia Frame your fathers and grandfathers war memorabilia as gifts for upcoming Father’s Day and  Memorial Day.  Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a current project we are working on a collection of shadow box’s of WWII memorabilia including a japanese samurai sword!

Art Hanging Inspirations

A couple of weeks ago we blogged about some art hanging tricks. To expand on those ideas, we thought we would share some great wall groupings that may inspire you to get those photos and prints out of your closet, out from under your bed and up on your bare walls. Don’t be afraid to have fun with hanging a grouping of frames. Here are some ideas to give you some inspiration and hopefully get you started! Of course we can help get you started as well…….contact us at 714/898-5097 or visit our website fineartsframing.com and let us turn your stack of photos that are crammed in that drawer into a grouping on your wall that you can be proud of!

Family Tree Grouping sourced from freshpaintartist.com

What a fun way to use a curtain rod! Sourced from countrygirlhome.blogspot.com

From Elle Decor via Pinterest……Who says wall groups of black and white photography always have to be in black frames! This red is so dynamic and is a nice contrast down this neutral long hallway.

Great way to “ground” all the small frames we collect though the years. Sourced from simplybeautifulspaces.com. .

This is going against the grain in a BIG way! Hanging pieces on a tilt like this will add interest to a room that had a lot of hard vertical/horizontal lines architecturally. If you can handle looking at your wall grouping without a sore neck then this is a fun way to change it up. Add pieces like the round plates shown here that can be versatile in all directions.  Sourced from designsponge.com

Awesome family photo grouping centered around wall vinyl letters. Sourced from thebirdspapaya.com

Mirrors make great groupings on your wall. They really add openness to a room. This is an interesting look of doing a mirror college with a few wall shelves that coordinate with the furniture below. Mirror collages are also a great way to do a grouping when you want to incorporate several frames styles (especially antique frames) together.

I love this idea from Better Homes and Garden’s website for several reasons. It shows how your tv can still be creatively camouflaged into an attractive grouping of artwork. Also, I love the simple use of silhouette artwork used together with a grouping of mixed frames on the gray wall. Very clean and fresh.  Sourced from bhg.com

Pottery Barn always knows how to combine rustic accents in a very traditional way. I love the use of brown with the vintage photos on the blue wall. Even though there is an assortment of different size objects and frames, it still looks organized and clean.

Canvas photos are very popular. Even without framing them you can still do them in an attractive grouping. Sourced from laurabrettphotography.com via Pinterest

Finally there are many sources for templates to hang your wall art groupings but we liked this one from
annbeckphotography.com. Be playful and open-minded when hanging groupings. Even with frames that are different sizes and shapes you can still create balance and harmony.

Sourced from annbeckphotography.com

Storing and displaying your collectible memorabilia and jerseys is as important to their preservation as it is to the attractiveness of their display. Damage to your collectible can hugely affect its value, and severe damage could cause your item to become worthless.  You’ve invested money and time in building your collection, so don’t you think it’s worthwhile to make sure that it’s properly protected? So many stores advertise products for matting and framing your photos and art pieces.  Sure, this works for family photos and non-collectible artwork, but you don’t want to attempt to try to frame your valuable collectibles your self.  Improper framing can be worse than no framing at all. Autographed photos need to be carefully and gently handled because it can be so easily damaged.  A simple rip or fingerprint can quickly decrease the value of an otherwise quality piece.  Special mounting and framing materials need to be used in order to preserve both the autograph and the image.  Amateur or inexperienced framers might use elements such as glue, spray adhesive or tape to affix or mount the picture.  These items if used can eventually stain the paper and will make it impossible to re-matt or make changes to you’re framing in the future. Many of the same issues that apply to framing a photograph also apply when it comes to framing jerseys. First, jerseys need to be safely and properly mounted for display. During this process, it is quite easy to damage the fabric.  Pulls, rips and stretches can easily occur, causing irreparable damage.   Jerseys need to be hand sewn to make sure it is secure to the mat backing behind. It is a time-consuming process that an experienced framer must take but the results are worth it. Your jersey should not be saggy or have wrinkles. It should not look shoved in to the frame poorly. The glass or acrylic on a jersey frame should also protect against UV rays as fabric can be prone to yellowing or discoloration. All things considered, it is imperative that you hire the right framer for all of your collectibles. This should be a professional who has experience working with collectibles and preservation (archival) framing.  Further, the framer should be knowledgeable of, and have worked with autographs as well as photography (or collectible jerseys where applicable).

Call us at Fine Arts Framing to let us show you some options to best preserve and display your valuable treasures.  We have been framing sports memorabilia for 35 years! Call us at 714/898-5097 or email us at mail@fineartsframing.com.

I am often asked for art hanging ideas and tips. I thought I would share some ideas and suggestions. Often times it is easier for people to have blank walls then to figure out where they are going to hang their artwork. I can’t tell you how many times people have come to me with artwork that has been in a closet or under their bed because they can’t find a spot for it. Well…..most of the time it is not that there is a lack of space to hang it, but rather they just need some insight in to where or how to hang things.

1. Play with your options  Carefully determine your arrangement before you start hammering holes in your walls. Trace the outline of each frame onto Kraft paper and cut each out. Then tape the outlines to the wall using blue painter’s tape.

Move your paper frames around until you arrive at an arrangement you like, then gather your supplies (picture hooks, hammer, level, and tape measure) and start hanging. This same Kraft paper trick also works for tracing and placing mirrors, plates, wall clocks, and sconces.

2. Think of Scale!  Relate artwork to its surroundings. Consider the wall space and size of nearby furniture. Use the 75% rule. If you are hanging a piece over a sofa or table make sure the artwork is not wider. Hang artwork that fits the space and will not look overwhelming. If it’s a small narrow space, use one vertical piece or a stacked arrangement of smaller pieces. Same goes true if you are hanging over a small scaled piece of furniture. Do not use a large piece that will look to heavy.

3. Hang securely! Especially over beds and places where you sit. Make sure you secure artwork so that it stays straight! It is better to hang your larger pieces especially mirrors with a Z-Bar or to securely hang from a bracket on each side of the piece instead of using a picture wire.

4. Illuminate your art! Use of lighting to spot your artwork is important especially down dark halls.

5. Hang a wall shelf. Do you have several some pieces of different sizes? Hang a wall shelf . You can even add a few objects that relate the your art to add interest.

6. Let your art be your window. If you have a small windowless room, the use of landscapes and scenery artwork add openness to your room.

7.  Horizontal vs. Vertical. Choose artwork that is more horizontal in narrow rooms that you want to create a wider illusion. Horizontal pieces tend to add more calmness and a more casual feeling. Stacked or Vertical pieces add more of a formal atmosphere and add more of a dramatic feel.

8.  Collect themes or collections to hang together. Examples would be a collection of sea life, a grouping of black and white photos or a collection of vintage movie posters. In one of the below photos, the wall art carries the dining theme on the hutch below.

9. Vary your frame shapes. Do a collection of different shape frames. This will add interest to your wall grouping. You can either do all the frames in the same finish or use a few different types. In the first photo below, notice how there is a mix of a few simple coordinating frames with a mix of canvas pieces. The color scheme coordinates it all together. The different elements lets your eye still focus on each individual piece of art. Keep it simple and let the artwork be the focus.

10. Play with your colors! The use of color matting with your prints can tie your artwork to your room’s color theme. Make sure that your mat color does not clash with your wall color. Also make sure it is either darker or lighter than your wall color. Also you can play up your accent color in your artwork. Prints can often be made to match your color palette. You want to make sure your framed artwork creates harmony with the décor in the room.

11. Hang Low! A common issue is that artwork is often hung too high on the wall. Relate your artwork to your furniture as if they go as a grouping. Keep things at eye level. If you hang a piece over a table keep the artwork about 4-8” above the top of the table. You should never look up at artwork! If it is too high it will look lost. You always want it to ground the room.

12. Hang architectural elements

Fine Arts Framing is not just your source for custom framing, We can also be your source for art prints! We have 1000′s of prints available to order! Do you have a special theme or color palette you are working with? Looking for something in particular? Contact us and we will do all the research from our database and submit options for your consideration. We can also have art prints changed to your color palette, and special sizing. We also offer services for prints to canvas, metal and acrylic mounting.

Special Offer! Free Art Print with Custom Framing Purchase!  Call for details. 714/898-5097 or email us at mail@fineartsframing.com

Several photographs have come into the shop recently and the owners are looking for unique ways to display them. Face mounting of photographic images behind acrylic is one of the most impressive ways of presenting photographs. This technique is widely used in museums and galleries these days. This method adds a third dimension to a two-dimensional image and protects the image against scratches, dirt and aging. Acrylic photo mounting provides a brilliance and intensity which is not possible with conventional photo mounting methods.

This technique uses the acrylic media with the print fused to a smooth elastic base. The print is fixed to the back of the Plexiglas with a special adhesive, forming an airtight bond. Thus the image sharpness, contrast and color saturation are enhanced in the Plexiglas mounting method. Diffusion of light is reduced because of the homogeneous quality of the Plexiglas media, thereby making the colors appear more brilliant, more intense, and sharper.

The superior qualities of the acrylic photo mount are not very expensive compared to standard framing. One of the popular ways to display a Face Mounted Photo is to do a sandwich display with stand-off hardware

Shown in a Floater Frame:If you are looking for more of a traditional look and prefer framing the acrylic, then the options are endless. The acrylic would be fitted into a frame similar to how a canvas is. There is not a need for glass of course. The moulding would go directly around the acrylic as shown below.

Record how quickly your child has grown by lining up shoes in a shadow box and labeling them with the appropriate ages. This growth chart is way prettier than pencil marks on the wall. What a good use to shoes that have lost their mate. We can even make the shadowbox coordinate with their bedroom! It’s a perfect way to perserve the memory of how tiny they once were!

Our latest project was a Egyptian Papyrus that we framed in a wood frame by adding a gold fillet inset on the inside of the frame to bring out the gold paint of the papyrus. We floated the art on black linen fabric mat for a dramatic touch that shows off its characteristic frayed edged

Here is a little background on the making of the papyrus. They are very popular with travelers to Egypt. We have framed many over the years. It is a form of art to us today that is one of the oldest writing materials in history.

Papyrus is the material that is made from the fibers of reeds that grown on the banks of the Nile River. It was manufactured as early as the first Egyptian Dynasty about 4000 years ago until “Ground paper” eventually replaced papyrus for economic reasons, about the 11th Century.  Since then,  papyrus has still been manufactured the same way but has been primarily used for art but also as material for baskets, bedding, rugs etc.. The papyrus is gathered and trimmed into pieces about 12′ long, it is then soaked in river water for about 3 days to keep the reed flexible. The tough skin is peeled away exposing a white pith. This pith is sliced into thin strips with a razor blade the slices then squeezed to remove the excess water. The strips are laid slightly overlapping, vertical and horizontally, creating a tight weave. The strips are then squeezed between blotters and held under pressure until the papyrus strips dry for about 4 days. Egypt’s dry climate was perfect for the stability of papyrus. The natural juices from the papyrus create a glue, giving strength and durability to the paper. 

The Papyri was then used for painting pictures, sending correspondence or as a journal to record events using paint or ink made of oil or gouache colors. We know this ancient Egyptian writing as “hieroglyphic”