Literally. I've been scouring the earth and more specifically the east suburbs of Cleveland for some cheap yet nice looking frames. In 2003 I took a trip with the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony to Ireland and France. I came back not with trinkets and t-shirts but with PRINTS. and lots of them.
Since I was not a classy lady in college most of these prints did not see the light of day and I waited for a time when all of these lovely images could be proudly displayed on the walls of my very own home. Well, I should have been buying frames since 2003 because a good frame is not hard to find, they're just too damned expensive!
Some of my prints are matted to 11x14 which is pretty large and the larger the frame the higher the price goes. How do we cope? Hold out for the sales! I can't tell you how many times I went to WalMart and Target looking for deals on frames. Luckily, WalMart has a section of 'gallery style' frames that are relatively inexpensive.
Michael's recently had a sale on all frames, some buy one get one half off, some with just reduced pricing. I purchased a pack of 5 frames all 4x6 in black for $20. Instead of buying a collage frame for $30 I was able to create my own unique collage using pictures I'd taken myself from the symphony tour.
I also had an idea to buy plain wood frames (I've noticed they are cheaper) and paint the frames black or white (that's my theme going on right now). I figure this will be nice for housing the pictures I took, since they aren't bigger than 4x6.
I would eventually like to delve into the world of gilding some frames with gold foil. So until then. Stay crafty my friends!
