Whether she's decorating a tabletop, mantel, or wall, Juliette thinks in vignettes. In the photo at right, artful little groupings around a room come together as a whole. She does this to give the sense that each grouping has its own story to tell. One of her techniques for grouping together a collection of prints is to customize the mats with complementary designs or colors (see photo below). Here's how to complete this project:
MATERIALS
Rag matte with smooth finish (so paint won't seep under tape)
Gouache paint (choose a complementary color from the print)
Ruler
Semipermanent tape
Paintbrush
Paint pen (such as gold)
All of these materials can be found at an art or crafts supply store.
INSTRUCTIONS
Have the matte cut to the dimensions of the print, allowing for a 4-inch border around the artwork. With a pencil, lightly mark 3/4-inch stripes down the mat. Mark off a 3/4-border around the print.
Apply the tape to every other stripe (the taped stripes remain the color of the mat). Paint the stripes that have not been taped. Let the paint dry 3 to 4 minutes.
Carefully remove the tape. With the paint pen, carefully trace a pencil border around the print.
Attach the print to the matte, place it in the frame, and hang it together in an eye-pleasing arrangement.
Decorative Framing
Velvet mattes in rich, deep tones give prominence to these old photos, at right.
Place memories center stage when you creatively frame them. Here's how:
MATERIALS
Picture frame
Acid-free matte boards (2 per picture frame, one to cut out and one on which to mount your design)
Acid-free adhesive photo corners
Ruler
Fabric
Acid-free framing tape
Pencil
Craft knife
Scissors
INSTRUCTIONS
Measure the photo and cut the opening in one matte board for the photo. Lay the cut matte board on the uncut matte board; trace around the opening.
Position the photo where you've marked it on the uncut matte and mount the photo with framing tape or adhesive photo corners. Lay the cut matte on top of the fabric (make sure the fabric is wrong side up).
Outline the matte on the fabric with a pencil. Using a ruler, measure 1 inch around the outline lines and mark; then measure 1 inch inside center lines and mark. Cut the fabric along the outside lines. Using a crafts knife and a cutting surface, cut the fabric along the inside lines. Snip the corners diagonally to create flaps.
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