Framed Botanical Prints

Thursday, January 20, 2011


I don't know about your house but the walls of mine are pretty bare. I've got a few prints here and there that I really love, but only a few. I've slowly been working towards finding pretty and/or meaningful art to fill up our walls. I'm kind of picky, but you already knew that.

On my last road trip I found some framed botanical prints at an (expensive) cottage-y shop. They were priced at $175 each. Since I was looking for a set of 4 prints for the dining room, it would have run me about $700. Um, not gonna happen.

As I was standing there weeping at the price tags, my mom happened to mention that she had some old encyclopedias with some botanical prints in them that I could possibly frame. I was hesitant at first ('cause of the picky thing) but once I saw them I knew they would be perfect.

Old books.

Thanks mom!

Pale blues, greens, yellows, pinks, and purples. Perfect.

I went to the only store in this city that sells white frames (Michaels) and picked up four 11x14 frames when they were on sale for 50% off. (Instead of $39.99 per frame I paid $19.99 per frame.) I tried a few different matte options at the store while I was there but they were either too big or too small for the non-standard sized prints.

Frames from Michaels.

I called all of the local frame shops to find the best price on custom cut mattes. I found a little shop downtown that would cut a double matte for $26. At first I was going to skimp out and get just a single matte per picture but then I wanted a more professional look so I went with the double. (Sorry Alex.) For the large matte I chose an off-white that matched the frame. For the inner matte I chose a subtle grey-blue colour called veil that matched the background of the print.

Pale blue-grey background. Love.

White for the outer matte and soft blue-grey for the inner matte.

I looked at the selection of prints in the encyclopedia over and over again until I narrowed it down to my four favourites. 

Four lovelies.

I used my trusty Martha Stewart craft knife to carefully cut each page out of the book. 

Supplies: craft knife and tape. My kind of project.

I then used a single piece of scotch tape to "hinge" the page to the matte at the top only. That's what the lady at the frame shop told me to do. She's an expert or something so I just listened to her. Apparently taping around all of the edges is bad in case of humidity or crumpling or something.

Note: I used scotch tape but I've been told that masking tape is better to use on prints.


Looking good so far.

Ta-da!

Aren't they perty?


Approximate Cost Breakdown:

Four white 11x14 frames at $19.99 each:  $90.35
Four custom cut 11x14 double mattes at $26.75 each: $120.91
Vintage botanical prints that you steal from your mom's encyclopedia set: Free

Total cost for 4 cute, unique, vintage, custom, framed botanical prints:

$211.26

 That's a savings of almost $600 if I were to have bought the pre-framed prints at that cottage-y shop.

Booya!

I cannot wait to get these four prints all wired up and hung on the wall. I am beyond excited. It might have to wait until Saturday morning though since Alex and I are babysitting our nieces tomorrow night. Gotta practice for when Roary's friend comes home!

Oh yeah, if you are interested in finding some botanical prints, try your local used bookstore, an antique shop, or even Etsy (I've seen a few cute sets on there before).

Easy, affordable, and way pretty. :)

Update: You can see them hanging up in our dining room in this post.

Sharing at:

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm, Good Life Wednesdays @ A Beach Cottage, Hookin' Up @ House of Hepworths, Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple, Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home, Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest, Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous, Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints On the Fridge, How To's Day @ The Lettered Cottage

34 comments:

  1. Those turned out so neat!! What beautiful wall art, and they definitely have meaning behind them. Great project!!

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  2. Um... these are beautiful!.. Great job!

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  3. I LOVE THESE! The prints are wonderful and so authentic. You have really accomplished a stunning project.

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  4. Gorgeous! I love that you give us all such detailed information so we can steal, oops I mean copy your projects! These turned out so beautiful...

    ~Chris

    PS does your mom have any extra books laying around.... just askin' :)

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  5. I love floral prints like that. They are so great to display in the spring and summer time. Great job!

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  6. I'm not sure that I've ever left a comment here before, but I've been blog stalking you for a while now... And I have to tell you that I ADORE your sweet little blog, I love your photographic mad skills, and I don't think I can live with out attempting to re-create your darling valentine punch art!! If I make my own version, may I blog about it, and give you credit for first giving me the idea?! It's so cute!!

    Anyway, I'm so happy I found you.
    Blessings,
    Sasha

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  7. oh how i love these prints.....just beautiful! & i'm sure you will enjoy them so much more knowing you did it yourself! xoox

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  8. Sarah...What a great idea! They turned out fabulous!!

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  9. Absolutely gorgeous. It pays to have mats done professionaly .. the end product is so beautiful.

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  10. Those are just beautiful...found two at GW yeterday, just have to paint the gold frames, got them for 3.00 a piece, the price on the back of them...85.00 a piece!

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  11. This is a great idea! They are so pretty!
    Jo-Anna

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  12. Cute! These came out great! If you can't find white frames next time, buy a different color and spray paint them (it's a lot cheaper!). =)

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  13. Very cute! What a great find your mom had!

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  14. Well, you sure did luck out! They look great!

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  15. I love this idea. The pictures you used are beautiful and I love how you made a series of them. Grat job. I would love to try this.
    Careyann

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  16. I simply adore this idea! They came out fantastic!

    I love botantical prints, but whenever I see them in stores they are too rich for my blood! But this is a great way to make them affordable - and bonus - the paper isn't yellowed!

    Loved it! Thanks!
    Kelly

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  17. Sara!! They are perfect!!! You did such a wonderful job on them! Can't wait to see them up on your wall!
    Hope you have a wonderful day!
    Beth.

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  18. Well done, just the sort of creative findings that Sarah at the Beach Cottage loves, thanks for sharing the inspiration

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  19. Beautiful finished prints! The extra for the double matte does make a difference. I have a couple of prints that need framing and will remember your post when I get ready to frame them, thanks for sharing.

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  20. Those are beautiful!! Very Pottery-Barnish! :) Way to save $600 bucks to! Aren't mom's the best when they pull out their free stuff??? My mom does that occasionally and I loooooove it when she does.

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  21. Very nice! I am planning to do the same thing with some Audobon prints that I have. Jackie

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  22. Yay for botanical prints!!! This is my favorite way to get wall art, cut things out of books. Its so easy and definitely cheaper. Yours are beautiful. I don't think one can ever have too many framed botanical prints hanging in their home - if they can, I'm screwed:)

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  23. Those are so pretty! I love the thick mats. Be careful about regular tape on stuff though, the acid can damage/yellow stuff. They sell acid free tape (scrapbook tape) that is better :) I did custom framing before and cut mats, it was a lot of fun! One day I'll get my own mat cutter for home :)

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  24. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time!! Love how yours turned out--so classic. Aren't moms the best? They always give good stuff. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  25. Hey miss Sarah!
    Just got my post up, linking to you and your AMAZING talents, on my blog. Thanks again for sharing such a fun Valentine idea with us!

    Blessings,
    Sasha

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  26. Great idea...thanks mom :) I saw a Sarah 101 decorating show and she was working on a nursery and framed some flashcards! Just have to use your imagination. Your pics turned out great!

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  27. You've really outdone yourself!

    These are amazing.

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  28. Hey miss Sarah!
    Just got my post up, linking to you and your AMAZING talents, on my blog. Thanks again for sharing such a fun Valentine idea with us!

    Blessings,
    Sasha

    ReplyDelete
  29. Very nice! I am planning to do the same thing with some Audobon prints that I have. Jackie

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  30. Beautiful finished prints! The extra for the double matte does make a difference. I have a couple of prints that need framing and will remember your post when I get ready to frame them, thanks for sharing.

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  31. I simply adore this idea! They came out fantastic!

    I love botantical prints, but whenever I see them in stores they are too rich for my blood! But this is a great way to make them affordable - and bonus - the paper isn't yellowed!

    Loved it! Thanks!
    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love this idea. The pictures you used are beautiful and I love how you made a series of them. Grat job. I would love to try this.
    Careyann

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  33. I LOVE THESE! The prints are wonderful and so authentic. You have really accomplished a stunning project.

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  34. For future projects, you can buy a mat cutter and reduce your cost significantly....just practice on the scraps that Michael's or Hobby Lobby has.

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