A friend of mine recently said to me, “I just love what you do with frames!” Huh? I never thought I did anything super spectacular with frames, but I suppose the option to frame something isn’t everyone’s go-to. I just tend to frame everything! Framing is a great way to showcase your original photography, posters you pick up randomly, or even post cards you collect while you’re on vacation or receive from friends. Here are some examples of what I’ve done with frames. Hopefully it’ll inspire some of your own ideas!
1. Print and frame original photography or artwork.
I’m not a professional photographer. Eons ago, I took a one-day beginner photography class (you can also pick up some tips on YouTube) and I don’t have a fancy DSLR camera (nor do I intend to buy one). Besides my smartphone, I do have a Canon PowerShot S95 (an older, but fantastic point and shoot), and I love snapping a cool picture when the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes I surprise myself and get a reeeaaaaally great shot and I just want to gaze at the photo all the time — there’s no shame in my game! One quick visit to the CVS photo print kiosk, a dip into my stash of thrift store frames, and I’ve got some new decor for my apartment!
I took the framed photo below while camping last fall in the Shenandoah Valley out in Virginia. None of us could believe how great it looked (and the photo below still doesn’t do the original photo any justice). The photo fit perfectly with the vibe in my living room so I had a large print of it made at Staples (about 30 inches wide) and found a large, inexpensive frame at Ikea (similar here).
2. Frame post cards you receive from friends or collect while you’re on vacation.
Look, I’m a bit of a post card junkie. A good 10 to 15 post cards will end up in my suitcase when I go on vacation, and honestly, I never intend on sending them to anyone. I just really like the photo or artwork on the post card! You can imagine the pile of post cards I have hanging out under my bed. Recently, I had an epiphany and thought, “I CAN FRAME THESE!!!” Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Of course, I can’t frame all of them, but I can rotate my post card collection periodically and keep things fresh on my walls. Here are a couple examples from my trips to Spain and Italy. To fill empty space on one large wall, the frames from Italy are organized like a collection — a great alternative to showcasing one large photo.
3. Frame posters that catch your fancy.
Often I’ll come across a poster that I absolutely love and connect with. But, what would I do with it? Attach it to my wall using thumb tacks? Maybe next to my life-sized poster of Leonardo DiCaprio (as Romeo) and Bop Magazine pull-out poster of JTT? (Jonathan Taylor Thomas, duh). No, because I’m an adult. Posters should be framed! Currently, I only have two framed in my apartment. That’s all the space I have. One was a find at a novelty store in Hampden, a neighborhood in Baltimore. The poster is called “The Good Ol’ Menstrual Cycle” (by IHeartGuts) and it rightfully hangs in my bathroom. Note: by day, I work communicating women’s health issues. My second poster, snagged at DC’s annual craft festival, Crafty Bastards, is by a local group called the Cherry Blossom Creative (check out there awesome DC-centric artwork here). If didn’t know how much I love Ethiopian food, now you know.
Just frame it.
You can fame almost anything, so be creative with it and take some risks! Try framing dried leaves or flowers; movie, flight, or train tickets; tapestry or cloth with funky designs; playbills or event flyers. Just before you stick anything to a wall with a tack, please consider framing it first.
Here’s an infographic from World Market to help you out!
