FEATURED IDEA
Framing the Perfect Wedding Gift

Do-it-yourself Rating: Advanced

 
Looking for the perfect wedding gift? Search no more. With this great idea you will have a creative and thoughtful gift that any newlywed would enjoy. Though this project has an advanced rating, we will walk you through the steps to making a true heirloom piece. This is a really fun project too…it even requires a trip to the craft store! As a matter of fact, we had so much fun, we did two versions; one traditional and one contemporary. Both are elegant.

What is this fun project? It's an elegant "floating" invitation within a frame. It is a great way to memorialize this special day. This is also a fun idea for a birth announcement. You'll be amazed at what a little foam core, mat board and imagination can do.

 

 

The Traditional example you see here uses a Reminiscence #63401 wood frame, #71 and #593 Papermat Mat Board, Standard Mounting Board, and Plexi-glass, all custom cut to 14-3/4" x 17-1/4".

For your project, simply apply the following steps using your own dimensions and product selections.

  

 
 



Materials:
- 14-3/4" x 17-1/4" Reminiscence #63401 Gold wood frame
- 14-3/4" x 17-1/4" Papermat Mat Board, #71 Brilliant White with 3 border
- 14-3/4" x 17-1/4" Papermat Mat Board, #593 Cranberry 3-1/4" border
- 6" x 8" Whitecore Basics Mat Board, #C968 Old Gold
- 14-3/4" x 17-1/4" Mounting Board (foam core) 3 pieces
- 14-3/4" x 17-1/4" Plexi-glass
- 1 piece of decorative paper

You will also need:
- adhesive transfer tape
- regular screwdriver
- sharp cutting blade
- Kraft paper


Need to stock up on any of these items? Click on the following:
Adhesive Transfer Tape
Snap Blade Knife

Let's Get Started!


STEP 1
Determine measurements of the "floating" space.
Consider the invitation being framed. Measure it and add the desired length and width for a border, along with the amount of space you would like between your artwork and mat board. This is called the "floating" space. In this example, the Wedding Invitation is 5"x7", however we made the mat board window 8-1/4" x 10-3/4" to provide us with 1-3/4" floating area on the top and bottom, and 1-1/2" floating space on each side. The border is 3-1/4" for the bottom Cranberry mat, and 3" for the top Brilliant White mat. Once the overall size is determined, all materials (frame, mat boards, mounting boards and plexi-glass) will be ordered in that size.  




STEP 2
Trim all mat boards.
Beginning with the invitation, we first need to mount it on the window cutout from the #593 Cranberry mat, using adhesive transfer tape. Center the invitation on the mat and trim it to size using a sharp knife. We left a 1/8" border of Cranberry around our invitation. We then mounted the Cranberry mat board with our invitation to the #C968 Old Gold mat and trimmed it to 5-1/4" x 7-1/4", which left us with a 1/8" gold border showing.  

 


STEP 3
Divide and cut foam core.
Using two pieces of foam core mounting board, cut 12, 2" wide strips. Six of the strips will be
2" x 17-1/4", six will be
2" x 10-1/2". Using the remaining portion of foam core, cut one 5" x 7" piece. These are used to build the shadow box effect.		  


STEP 4
Create riser sections.
Using adhesive transfer tape, attach four of the
2" x 17-1/4"strips together, two at a time, and four of the
2" x 10-1/2" strips together, also two at a time. Once completed you will have two,
2" x 17-1/4" riser sections that are approximately 1/4" thick, and two 2" x 10-1/2" riser sections that are also approximately 1/4" thick. 		 

 
STEP 5
Adhere riser sections.
Adhere the 1/4" thick riser strips to the back of the bottom Cranberry mat. With the remaining two, 2" x 17-1/4" and two, 2" x 10-1/2" riser strips, attach them to the back of the top Brilliant White mat, one piece on each of the four sides. Now, take the 5" x 7" piece of foam board and adhere it to the back of the mounted invitation.  

STEP 6
Center the artwork.
With the decorative paper in hand, adhere it to the last full piece of foam core mounting board, making sure it fully covers the window area of the Cranberry mat. The mounted invitation, with foam board riser, is then adhered to the decorative paper. Make sure the invitation piece is centered on the paper.  


STEP 7
Remove the protective paper from your plexi-glass.
All that is left to do is frame things up. Set the frame face down on a clean work surface. Carefully peel the protective paper off of one side of the plexi-glass and lay that side down into the frame. Remove the remaining piece of protective paper.  

 

STEP 8
Secure the artwork.

Place your Floating Invitation Shadow Box face down on the plexi-glass. You will notice that the invitation does not touch the plexi-glass. Place the last piece of foam core mounting board into the frame, creating a secure base for your mounted object. Using your screwdriver, install spring clips to the frame to hold everything in place. (For this example we used a Point Driver to secure everything in place, because it is easy to use).

Need a Point Driver?

 

  


STEP 9
Apply the dust cover.

Apply a dust cover by putting adhesive transfer tape on the back of the frame and placing Kraft paper onto it. Using the Dust Cover Trimmer, carefully trim off the excess paper. To tighten the paper backing, use a spray bottle to mist water on the dust cover and let dry for a few minutes.

 

 

  

 


STEP 10
Finishing touches!
Secure the hanging hardware
and you are ready to
present your heirloom.

 






 

Here are a few tips to help you when framing your
wedding gift project.
  • When selecting a frame, make sure the rabbet depth is deep enough to accommodate you artwork. For a deeper rabbet area, choose frames that are at least 1" deep. Click here for deep frames.
  • You will notice that the riser sections of foam core are at least 1/2" from the edge of the mat board window opening. This ensures that they will not be visible in your finished piece. A good rule of thumb is that this space should be at least the same as the thickness of your riser sections. This also applies to the pieces of foam core raising your artwork.
  • Depending on the item being framed, you may want to substitute UV Plexi-glass, Alphamat Mat Board and Archival Mounting Board for conservation purposes.
  • You can use a variety of material in place of the decorative paper. Examples include decorative mat board, velvet, satin, etc.

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