Dear Matsutake

Dear Matsutake,

Recently while perusing the art section at my favorite craft store, I found nestled between the 10 Commandments posters and the Harley Davidson posters a beautiful, vintage-inspired botanical print. Quickly, I snatched it up. Do you have any ideas for framing it? I can't afford professional framing, and I don't really like cheap poster frames. My budget is around the $1.50 to $1.75 range. 

Sincerely,
Art Connoisseur


Dear Art ConnoiHoweverYouSpellit,

I love to snatch up cheap finds at my favorite craft store, too! Sadly, store security almost always catches up with me in the parking lot. Now, on to your question.

Do you have any pieces of 1x2 lumber lying around? Perhaps from an outdoor sofa you made last summer? No? That's ok. You can pick up one from your local home improvement store for a buck or two. You'll also need a few screws. And some twine.

Cut 4 strips of the wood. Each should be 2 inches longer than the width of your poster. (You could also just use 2 strips of wood if you don't want the bottom part of the hanger.)

Stack two strips of wood and pre-drill a hole at the end like this. Pre-drilling keeps you from splitting the wood when you drive a screw in. The hole should be a tiny bit smaller than the width of your screw.

Now stuff something between the boards. Something like strips of cardboard or craft foam or rolled up duct tape bits but not bubblegum because that will leave a wet spot. This will help to hold your poster in place by providing gription, the force that holds two things together. Double sided acid free sticky tape helps, too. I know you don't really want to stick tape on your poster, but, c'mon, it's not fancy art.  Would've been free if you'd run faster.

Between the top two boards, you should also slip in a piece of twine with a loop tied on the end. Select a strip of twine from your extensive twine collection. Because like Alexis Stewart, daughter of domestic guru Martha Stewart, once said, "Who needs friends and family when you have twine?"

Now screw the boards together at each end super tight. I used a big washer for decoration. If you buy washers at the home improvement store and the Hank Hill-esque employee asks you what size washer you need, tell him you need the prettiest one. Then he'll know you mean business.

And voila! Wasn't that easy?