You’ve probably noticed that framing photos, small crafts, drawings, and paintings can be muy expensive. Often the most expensive part of the process is having a mat cut to size. You could, of course, buy a mat-cutter…for a small fee. This expense, however, is none too practical unless you’re an artist who’s producing framable work all the time.
An easy and frugal solution is simply to draw or make your artwork to fit a precut mat. Shops such as Aaron Brothers and Michael’s sell precut mats inexpensively, often on sale. Get the mat and a frame to fit. At home, unwrap the mat (with clean hands!), gently lay it on the paper or other medium you will use for your artwork, and lightly outline the opening with a hard graphite pencil. Then simply draw, paint, or collage to fit the space you’ve outlined.
Be careful in buying mats on sale, because these sometimes are dirty or damaged. Inspect them closely before purchasing.
I bought these two square mats at an Aaron Brothers, at a smokin’ sale price, and also found a pair of inexpensive frames to go with them. My hobby is pencil drawing, especially botanicals. The rose and the poppy shown here were drawn to fit the size of the mat opening.
Great art, it ain’t. But the point is, you can mat images cheaply simply by sizing the image to fit the mat, rather than the other way around.
First of all, those are beautiful drawings. Very impressive. I am a photographer and matting is sometimes difficult, or just a step I like to skip. Especially when they cost so much. Getting a custom frame can also be expensive. I have found that getting your own mat board and custom cutting it would be much cheaper and sometimes better than hand cutting it.
For sure, if you’re a photographer or artist and you produce much work, a mat cutter is worth the investment. You can get a small one for a reasonable price on Amazon.com; the larger versions sometimes come on sale at Michael’s or at art stores.
Wow — beautiful drawings, really nice. I love the poppy one. thanks for the inspiration.