Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Glass, we don't need no stinkin' glass

Hellloooooooo there everyone! How are ya? All is well here. Today is my sweet hubby's b-day and we are heading out for a celebratory sushi dinner tonight - yum! Ok, well, I eat like a 5 year old and don't really love sushi, but I never met a terriyaki chicken I didn't like.

Moving on. I wanted to show you a recent project I did. I gave you a teaser of it in my last post, but I wanted to go into further detail for you. Remember when I showed you these?


My super talented friend is Kelly of Bubba-loo photography based down in Carlsbad CA. She took these amazing pictures of the kids back in December and I finally had some big ones printed. I ended up ordering really great quality, well priced prints from a printer that she works with. The prints have a linen like texture and are so super clear. They look great! Our living room gets tons of natural light, which I love. What I don't love, is looking at a framed photo and seeing all the light reflecting off the glass. These prints were so crisp and clear, I really wanted to frame them without glass. Now, if you just frame a large print in a frame without glass, it will start to sag over time. So, I knew I needed to mount the large prints on foam board to make them firm. Enough rambling, here are some pics.

Basic foam board from Michael's...


Photo spray mount...
Basically, all I did was cut the foam board to size with a razor. Then I sprayed the mounting glue on the foam board and let it sit for 2 minutes to get tacky. My hubby helped me smooth the print on the board with a straight edge (we just used a scrap of the foam board) because I was nervous that I would trap air bubbles and get reaaaaallllly mad. He is way more precise and patient than I am when it comes down to it.
Before placing the foam mounted print in the frame, I sprayed the backside of my frame with the spray mount. Then I carefully put the print in the frame being extra careful not to get any of the sticky stuff on my pretty print.
After I placed the foam mounted print into the frame, I added some light foam (the pieces I used just happened to come with my prints) to bridge the gap between the foam board print and the backer paper. You could also use bubble wrap, tissue paper, or anything like that.


Once everything was in place, I finished it off with some kraft wrapping paper that I had on hand. I just cut it to size and pressed it down on the now sticky back of the frame.
Once that was dry and secure, I added a sawtooth hanger to the top center and it was ready for hanging.

The frames from Michael's. Simple white distressed "driftwood" style frames (on 50% off sale of course).

See all that sun beaming in and.....no pesky reflection. Lol. I'm easy to please :)

Oh - and this cute little block printed card came from a friend of mine this Summer at The Sawdust Festival. She is really talented and I just love this card. I hand sewed it on to some vintage fabric and put it in a vintage frame. Easy :)


This wall makes me sooooo happy :)

That's all. Radom-ish but I thought it was worth sharing.
Happy day to you! Bye!


11 comments:

  1. beautiful photos!!!! and i will come have sushi with you and i don't even mind if you order chicken tempura, because i would be having dinner with you.

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  2. Love the framed photos! I'm embarrassed to say we haven't done family pics since Carter was 8 months old. For real. And my hallway is totally blank so we need to get crackin on photo projects! Happy wall friend :)

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  3. The pictures are amazing! I really want professional photos of my kiddos! Mounting the photos to foam core is a fab idea.

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  4. Great idea! Beautiful photos, too.

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  5. Every wall in your house is pretty, Ali!

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  6. What incredibly beautiful photos! That couch is amazing... I love that card, too!

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  7. You always inspire me to do something crafty! Thank you for that. Love this.

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  8. love it! I hate reflecting glass too! what a cute idea to sew the card onto the fabric and framing it.

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  9. What a great idea!! I love the pics and your card!

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  10. love it all Ali! that hugy chunky gold frame!!
    love it when things are simplified :)
    thanks for the love & support friend! ♥ have a great week

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I think I'm a comment-a-holic :)