Here's What You Need to Know About Picture Framing...

Howard's has an excellent selection of READY-MADE FRAMES and we pride ourselves on our Award-Winning Archival Quality CUSTOM PICTURE FRAMING.

FRAMING ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. It can be done easily by someone (like you!) who is handy, but it can also be done wrong. This may ruin what you are framing.

Use these guidelines to prevent some of the more common mistakes (and don't be shy about talking with your framing professional about the methods they use to protect your artwork (including needlework).

1. Use only archival quality materials. This means rag or alphacellulose mats, archival quality backing, and reversible mounting techniques. And a warning... just because something says "acid free" doesn't mean that it is safe for your artwork Something can be made temporarily acid free, but yet can harm artwork over the long term.

2. Don't trim or fold fine artwork. Doing either can lower the value of the work. Needlework should be stretched using reversible methods Pinning or lacing over acid-free board are the only acceptable methods. DON'T USE STICKY BOARD! The adhesive will migrate into the fabric and eventually stain your work.

3. Don't use cellophane tape or masking tape to hinge you artwork. Use (at a bare minimum) Scotch brand Magic Tape or (better) Scotch's NEW Preservation Tape. We also sell small rolls of Framer's Tape. Custom Framers who do archival quality framing (like Howard's!) use only reversible methods to hinge your artwork.

4. Hinge the artwork only from the top. This allows the artwork to move with the changes in humidity without causing it to buckle.

5. Ask for our FREE handouts: Framing Artwork Yourself and Framing Needlework Properly. These give more details on framing properly.

HOWARD'S has all the supplies you need to do-it-yourself. You can order these by phone or fax (with a credit card).

We also Custom Frame for folks all across the country, and the results are GUARANTEED!