Designing and Creating Your Own Art Frame now

Creating art can be a fun and interesting hobby, and even profession. However, once you are done with your piece of art, you are only about half way done! You must have the perfect frame to go with it, to protect it and allow it to be hung, while adding to the overall look of the piece. Making one out of copper can be a very fun, and add a unique feel. Try getting a 4 x 6 piece of copper or silver sheeting from a hobby or craft store. Using a black permanent pen, draw the area you want to cut out. If you are drawing a basic rectangle, you might want to use a ruler to measure from the edges so that each side is equal distance from the middle. Depending on your abilities, you can either choose the square, or get creative and draw an organic shape. You may want to put removable masking tape over the face of the frame before you start, as this will help cut down on scratches during the building process. You can use a hammer and nail to puncture a hole in the middle. The raw edges will be sharp, so you should wear some type of work gloves that allow movement and grip well at the same time. Thread the blade of a coping saw through the hole and reattach it to the saw handle. Some people might want to use a stationary vice to hold the metal stable while cutting. Once you have cut out the middle, decide if you want to further shape your frame. You can use the pen to add jagged edges, or curved corners. Again use that coping saw; it will give you the smoothest edge of any saw. When you are finished cutting, use a small, fine-grain metal file to smooth out the edges. When using any metal, be especially careful because it will scratch easily. After the filing is done, take a fine grain sandpaper and finish off the sharp burs or edges that are left over. If you want to add texture to your frame face, you can use engraver’s punching alphabets to spell someone’s name, the date, a beloved quote, or more. Another idea for texture is using a hammer to make impressions from the back side of your frame. Turn the frame face down on a towel so it does not get scratched. For example, take a small shape of a metal object, and hammer its impression into your creation. The possibilities are limitless. You can attach heavy cardboard or a second, uncut (unless you shaped the frame around the outside edges) piece of matching metal. Take an awl or metal punch and punch two holes at the top of the frame by tapping with a hammer. Use a round metal file to clean the holes so they won’t be sharp inside. Next, you can solder a small hinge at the top center of each plate for a smooth finished product. Or you can make your own hinge by threading two small jeweler’s loops at the top of both plates and tap them back together once they are threaded through both plates. Take a one to one and a half inch strip of the metal you are using and bend each end an eighth of an inch from the end to form a flat “U” shape. Set the frame inside the “U” shape and your frame will stand up. You may need to take a small hammer and flatten the part that actually sits under each edge of two pieces of metal so that it conforms to them more readily and sits in a more stable manner. An alternative is to solder a small chain to the bottom of both ends of the front plate. Join the two chains in the center of the bottom of the back plate (this only works if both plates are metal). If you don’t want a hinge, just lay the two plates together and put them inside a “card” stand available at most office supply stores in the printing center. Now you will have a gorgeous handmade product, to help display your artwork proudly and uniquely!