Latest project, almost a reject

 

I bought this big little girl picture years ago when we were first married and had bought our fancy white furniture for a formal living room experience at our Walton house.  The large picture was originally $250 at JCPenney at the mall and was marked down by half so I thought that was a steal I couldn’t pass up...  back when we were a total of two people living on two incomes, not six living on one.  Man, that can change your perspective on what’s really a steal or a deal. 

So anywho, we lived with it hanging in exactly the same spot at the Walton house for thirteen years and then we moved and didn't rehang her. And then we moved again. Little Missy was left leaning up against a wall being stored for the past four years,  along with the other pictures that seemed past their prime like these. 

 

But the frames were still nice ones.  Plus, I really needed something to hang in this spot down here i at the new house after trying out various things I had just lying around, none of which seemed to work.   This wall is a focal spot from entering the front door so whatever was there, I wanted it to be something I was proud of.

 

Since our Michaels’s doesn’t carry them anymore (?!), I went to Hobby Lobby to find a print that would work in the living room with our colors:

and narrowed it down to these that I liked.  I think I see a pattern of maybe liking tree pictures?  And then I tried to figure which of the outdated pictures’ frames I would want to use. 

Scary but there was even some math involved.

Even though Little Missy herself was way too blue and 90’s anymore, I liked her classic frame the best and saw the multi-layer matting as having some interesting potential so it was her.    

    

And I went with the most reddish tree picture. 

Can’t you just see it all together?  I could.

And then I about pulled my hair out working with this mess on the table for a week. 

Dealing with sticky gluey mats and prints is not easy and now I get why getting a framing job done is pricey.  I trimmed and re-trimmed the print, disassembled and masked off and played around with painting the matting until I got the right color, fiddled with taking off and on and off and on the backing via manipulating heavy duty steeples, and tried to get all the bits of stuff off from under the glass that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  And I knew if I could see a little bit of anything under the glass once I had it all sealed up, it would forever drive me crazy hanging up there on the wall.  I will say there were a few moments that the whole thing almost ended up being launched through our big back window and into the pool.  

Finally I asked for an extra pair of hands from Gary and was able to get it finished good enough to let it go.  And thank goodness we lucked out with studs in the right place because, oy, this frame is heavy.  And now it’s hanging in the spot and I love seeing it every time I walk through.