Junkyard Dog Completed

Here's Junkyard Dog in his new home! He is surrounded by chocolate suede and a Nurre Caxton Salon frame in antique black. We decided that turning the paper grocery bags from Krogers into a matboard was just a little beneath him now that he has been adopted.

Elle Decor 05/08

Did you get May's issue of Elle Decor yet? There were two photos that really captured my attention. The first one has the picture hanging in front of the window rather than on the wall. This is the second time in three months that I've seen this. (We'll probably see it arrive in Lexington in 2010!)

Secondly, what a great personal gallery! I love how the photos on the right are set on a shelf rather than hung ~I'm seeing a lot more of that as well lately. The art on the floor is just leaning up against eachother two and three deep. Love it!

I am Honored

I am continually amazed by what my clients entrust to my care for design and custom framing. This is a portrait of Mr. Shelbo, who is no longer with us, done in oil pastel by Debbie Graviss.

Tomorrow I will be designing a very special shadowbox to house a walking stick. The client's father escaped from a prisoner of war camp during World War II. This is the stick he used as he was crossing the mountains to freedom. She also has a photograph of her and her parents at the airport with the walking stick when he returned home safely.

New Nielsen Gilded Mouldings

Talk about people, I don't know about you but I love my UPS man! Look what came in the brown box today ~new Nielsen metal mouldings. These frames are made to look like wood but they are metal. What's so great about that? You can frame something HUGE and only have 5/16" frame around it! Here's the profiles and an example.

Bret

Where are the people and the art? All I see is picture frames... Time to rectify that situation! My husband Bret and I have been married for almost nine years so it is safe to say that he is a huge influence in my life!

These are two of my favorite photos of him. The one above was taken on a trip to New Orleans. We were near the river, watching life go by.

Bret and Zip at my parents place in Montana.

I've learned over the years that Bret is neither a glass half full nor half empty kinda guy. He'd rather just put it in a different glass. Needless to say, he continually challenges my assumptions about life and possibilities!

"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of your goals" ~BM

Narrow Mat Borders

Most of the time, I say the bigger the better on mats because it gives your eye a chance to focus on the art rather than the frame. However, sometimes a very narrow mat can be just the ticket. Because of where this was going to hang, we needed to keep everything smaller in scale. This matboard is only 1" wide.

The Design Process ~ Junkyard Dog

One of my favorite things about picture framing is the design process. Sometimes I can look at a piece and know instantly how to make it look it's best. Other times, I will ask a client if they mind leaving the piece with me for a couple of days so I can think up something totally fantastic. This little piece is a great example: it is very small (4" x 6") and very bold. It is painted on the bottom of a brown lunch bag. I have had it laying on my design table for a couple of days just letting it "talk" to me. This little guy told me that he was a junkyard dog that has now found a very special home. He is very macho and needs to stay true to his roots, but he likes his sophisticated new urban environment.

You never know when an inspiration will strike you or where it will come from. I was grocery shopping the other night and when I saw the brown paper bags, I decided to grab a couple of extra to see if they would work in this design. I'll let you know how it turns out in a couple of weeks!