Custom Framing at Michaels?

[kimbe]

I need to have a 13x15 print framed (can't find a frame myself) and I was wondering if Michaels does a good job? Has anyone ever tried them? About how much did it cost? I just need a simple frame and glass.

TIA!

[ctmom]

we used them for framing and I was happy with the results. It was a custom size, original oil painting and it cost well over $100 to frame, after the 50% off coupon that they have about once a month. I would go over there with the print and get a price and then just wait for a coupon.

HTH!

Mary
dd#1 2/01
dd#2 12/03

[miki]

I think Michaels is pretty expensive. You can buy custom frames and framing kits from www.pictureframes.com for reasonable prices. You can also assemble a frame yourself for less than $20. You pick the length and width you want and put it together. I've done this before, super easy and you can't tell at all that I did it myself. Look up frame sections at www.dickblick.com .

[nfowife]

Another thing I've done in that situation is buy a ready made frame at Michaels (they have a pretty good selection, and usually have 40% off the large wall frames), say 16x20ish, and just pay to have a mat cut. You can take the Michael's frame to a local framer and see if they'll cut the mat for you or Michael's will do it for you. look for a coupon in their flyer for a discount on a mat as well.

[Pennylane]

I have never had a good experience with them . If it is something important to you I would take it to a store that only does framing.

Ann

[winifredzb]

I would agree that if it is something special I would not go to Michaels -- you get what you pay for. They've done a good job on a couple of things for me, but they've done an equally bad job on more things! It came down to price (I had a lot to do), but I could not recommend their work.

[kimbe]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I am definitely going to visit those websites and see what I can do myself. I appreciate your advice!

[Globetrotter]

Try Aaron Brothers. They have many odd sizes, so even if you can't find what you want, you can probably get pretty close. If you are on a budget, I second the idea to get a custom mat cut for a standard frame.

I recently framed lots of things, after procrastinating for years. Since I did everything at once, I had to keep the costs down. If I had loads of money, I would have loved to have everything custom framed, but I found ways to get around it.

I had a few small batiks that cost about $6 each, but would have cost $80 plus each to frame! Instead, I bought floating frames for $15, or so. These are all glass with a wooden border (in my case). I just inserted the fabric in the middle of the glass (no mat) so the wall is essentially the mat for the picture. It actually looks quite nice.

I had another odd size batik (larger). I found a premade frame that almost fits. I bought matching acid free foamcore (they cut it for just 25 cents) and wrapped the fabric around it and velcroed it in the back - it's a little short in some places (tiny bit) but since the foamcore matches the edges of the fabric, you can't really tell. It's not as clean as a professional job, but I saved $150, and I think it looks pretty good! If I was handy, I could have stretched it over pieces of cut wood, but I can't imagine doing anything like that myself!

For another job, I wanted to frame two large pieces of fabric. I bought large poster frames with acrylic fronts and also bought acid free foamcore for the back. I stretched the fabric over it and stuck it with velcro. I probably should have used something else (?) but it works and it was an inexpensive way to do it. I bet that job would have cost a fortune to do professionally.

I also framed several small prints with coordinating mats. It's amazing what a difference a nice mat can make, even with inexpensive frames!

I looked into the online websites but chickened out. In the future, I would consider that, too.

Kris

[smilequeen]

They framed a 20x24 portrait of my son for us and did a beautiful job.

However, the frame lady at our Michaels is my husband's patient, so I can't say whether or not that had something to do with it :)

[LD92599]

Will they cut a mat while you wait?

Laura
mom to William

LKibala @ optonline.net
[img]http://lilypie.com/baby3/030305/1/2/0/-5/.png

Use a Mac? Interested in learning more about them? Join us!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BBB-MacUsers/