First Anniversary!

Congratulations to Tracey and Trevor McDonald who just celebrated their first wedding anniversary last month! Putting together a frame for a first anniversary is such a great idea as there has been time for the couple to choose their absolute favorite photograph and time to really think about what size/style they would like the piece to be and where they want to display it.What I have seen happen in the past is that in the excitement right after a wedding a couple might decide they want a poster size portrait of themselves to hang in the living room, and a year later realize they would have loved to invest in custom framing a photograph that was much smaller and included the family/wedding party for example. This is a case where procrastination can actually pay off!

Anyone who knows Trev and Tracey would not be surprised that they chose a photo with their friends and family all around them. The mat has been signed by the wedding guests and will be a beautiful feature in their home. They love to entertain and I'm sure all their friends and family will enjoy looking at this picture as much as they do!

The frame is a charcoal colour in a style called "Fairhaven" which blends rustic and traditional elements together which is a very popular trend in framing these days. The piece is simply matted in white with reflection control glass. A shout out to Peter Classen Photography, what a great moment he captured!

Dig out those Diplomas!

Quite often certificates,diplomas and medals look nice with combinations of black, navy, or burgundy matting with gold or silver accents. Although there are really no rules, these combinations create a classic elegant look that will never go out of style. So dig out those diplomas and certificates that are probably still rolled up under your bed (i'm right aren't i?) and dust off the medal from that marathon you trained so hard for, and treat yourself to a beautiful custom frame. Styles can range from the most simple to very extravagant, and there really is something for every budget.

Mothers Everywhere, You Make the World Go Round!

With Mother’s Day approaching, it is always a time to reflect on our mothers (and grandmothers) that have made such a huge impact on our lives. I am not a mom myself, but I am truly inspired by my sisters, friends, cousins, and aunts who are all in different stages of motherhood. Maybe it’s just me but it seems like there are so many complex challenges for parents and grandparents these days, with technology, society, and the whole planet undergoing changes at an amazing rate. I hope all the mothers out there know how appreciated they are!

On my mind this Mother’s Day also are moms who because of addiction, mental illness, poverty and tragedy are unable to care for their children and have had to give them over to the care of others or are struggling to properly care for their children. Also on my mind are the mothers who have suffered the loss of a child. I know I speak for all when I say that our hearts go out to you in a special way, this and every Mothers Day.

Mothers everywhere, you make the world go round!


Veronica Wynker is one of those fabulous moms who looks like a teenager still but you don’t have to look too far in this picture to see she is the mother of 4 beautiful children. She has been coming into the shop for a couple of years now for framing and I have witnessed her family grow in front of my very eyes. I just have to mention these are some seriously cute and well behaved children. Veronica is always so kind and gentle with them, and they adore her. She makes it look easy!





This is a picture I framed for friends/customers Bill and Mary. This was a photograph taken of Bill’s mom in her younger years. It was in a beautiful old frame that they wanted to preserve so we shadowboxed the frame within another frame! They gave it to Bill’s mom as a gift and it made some beautiful memories come alive for her.



I think I’ve posted this photograph in the past, but it is a lovely piece given as a gift to a new mom by the grandparents. It is very simple and elegant, one of my personal favorites because there was a LOT of love in the room when we were choosing a frame for this one!


If you want frame something special for your mom this year for mother’s day or for any occasion, please feel free to call and we would be happy to discuss some creative framing ideas with you.
And last but certainly not least... I love you MOM!

“My mother was my first great love, she was a wonderful rare woman- you do not know; as strong, and steadfast, and generous as the sun. She could be as swift as white whiplash, and as kind and gentle as warm rain, and as steadfast as the irreducible earth beneath us.” –D.H. Lawrence.

The Skinniest Pictures I have ever Framed

I have been custom picture framing for 13 years and paintings this long and skinny have never crossed my path! I wanted to share them with you because I thought they were so unique! They are about 7 inches in height by 60 inches long. The couple that brought them in had been on a trip to Africa where they had bought them very inexpensively. The artists there are very poor and often paint on "bedsheets" or thin cotton with a coat of white paint as a primer. By the time these paintings leave the country they are often cracked and very fragile.



These are the paintings before I stretched them over wooden stretcher bars. I am glad my tetanus shot is up to date because there was rust everywhere from old nails, and dust and dirt right from Africa all over my worktable!





These are the finished pieces framed in a brown "float" frame. (click to enlarge) Float frames refer to when the stretched canvas piece is inset in a special frame with a gap left all the way around to create a shadow effect.It is a nice minimalistic framing style and very popular these days as people move towards more simple streamlined looks for home decor.

A Cinderella Story

This beautiful print came into the shop recently. Entitled "Starlings in the Maples", it was printed in 1976, one of only 12, and hand-signed by the artist. It is easy to be drawn into its breezy, free-wheeling spirit...in my opinion a very unique and lovely piece of art. (Click on picture to enlarge)

The bad news part of this story is that the frame and mat was also from 1976! BUT fortunately the customer was able to look past the outdated ugly beaten-up frame and mat and see the potential in the artwork itself and bring it in to be re-framed. This print had been in her family for years but overlooked due to its terrible old frame.


Thankfully no one threw it out or donated it to Value Village! We chose a creamy mat and a chocolate coloured boxy modern frame to give this print a well deserved new lease on life! So if you have a gorgeous piece of art that you've had for years, maybe its time to give it a wardrobe update!

Turn Your Snapshots into Artwork!

Have you ever thought of enlarging your own digital snapshots and transforming them into artwork for your home or business? Recent advances in commercial printing technology has made this very possible and there are a lot of options available. I had a customer come in recently with these massive photos of her and her husband wakeboarding. She is decorating her cabin up in the Shushwap and wanted some large artwork to suit the casual "summer" setting. I mounted and laminated the photographs with a UV protecting non-glare finish (no glass required) making these pieces very lightweight and durable, and framed them in a boxy walnut frame.To give you a better idea of scale, these pictures are each over 3 feet by 4 feet!

Most framers will be able to refer you to a printer in your area who can do large format printing. The print shop will ask you what type of surface you would like to print your pictures on. This can be quite confusing as there are all sorts of paper types as well as canvas. What I recommend is when choosing a paper surface make sure you tell the printer the paper will need to stand up to the "drymounting" process. Avoid shiny papers or any type of papers that are heat sensitive or waterproof. They will not be able to be drymounted. If you choose to have your photo printed on canvas, you might want to have the canvas stretched professionally at a frame shop even if the printer offers the service. Speaking from experience, a rule of thumb is "leave the printing to the printer, and the framing to the framer!" Hope this information helps and inspires you to look at your digital snapshots in a new way!

A Grandparent's Gift

I had a couple come in the shop recently to frame a picture of their granddaughter, to be given as a gift to the new parents. This is not really out of the ordinary in itself, but I was really touched by the effort and care they had put into collecting the little footprints and handprints of their grandaughter. They were just totally in love with this new baby girl and it showed! They wanted to get a plaque made with the name and details of the baby's birth on it, and after much discussion the grandmother decided to handwrite the information instead, and i think turned out perfect this way. One day, long after these grandparents are gone, this family will have a beautiful keepsake reminding them everyday of how much they all are loved!

Grouping Artwork

Grouping pictures is a great way to bring together artwork, photographs, and those strange miscellaneous items we all collect that inspire us but we can't find a home for. I had a bunch of black frames destined for the garbage can and an assortment of art, art cards, and pages cut out of books that I wanted to put together on a wall at home. I unified the grouping with black frames, and cream coloured matting. This is a really easy, economical way to decorate a bare wall. The mat borders are not all even, but who cares! No rules here. You could mix up the mat colours for a fun look, or play with spacing the art in different ways. If you had a group of artwork that was more formal, there is no limit to beautiful custom framed groupings with more traditional and symmetrical layouts.







Here are a few more pictures from the web of different styles of groupings. So if you have a big bare wall at home, consider a grouping instead of one big piece of artwork, you'll be glad you did...and keep collecting, because its easy to add and subtract art as you journey through life!