- A frame
- For canvases, choose one with extra depth to accommodate the stretcher bars.
- For works on paper, you’ll also need glass, foam board, matting or spacers, and mounting corners.
- Brads for securing the artwork in the frame. There are 3 ways to do this:
Hammer: difficult but cheap

Brad Pusher: easy and a moderate investment
Brad Gun: easy and great if you’re going to be doing a lot of framing or sharing it with friends
- Dust Cover: Use brown Kraft paper, shopping bags, or scrap booking paper — anything that won’t tear easily.
- A way to make the dust cover stick to the back of your frame:

Glue: messy but cheap
Double-stick Tape: fairly easy and cheap
Double-stick Tape Gun: easy and great if you’re going to be doing a lot of framing
- Hanging Hardware: For smaller frames, use a sawtooth hanger. Anything 8″x10″ or larger should have screw eyes and wire, for which you’ll need an awl or other sharp pointy object to make starter holes. Very large or heavy frames need mirror hangers for maximum safety.
- If you don’t want to use matting, you’ll need to use spacers in order to keep the glass off of the artwork. This is vital for photographs especially. Glass on artwork + moisture = everything’s ruined! If you do use matting, determine the dimensions of the frame you’ll need to purchase. I like to show a little bit of the white border around my work, let’s say 1/2″ on every side, and 2 1/2″ of matting will look nice for this size so:
- Have your mat cut for you or, if you’re handy with an Exacto knife or razor blade, cut it yourself:

- Cut a piece of foam board to 14″x16″ and place the artwork so that it centers under the opening of the mat.
Position your mounting corners and press them firmly into place. Your artwork should now be secure! Place your glass on top and clean that side, then flip it over and clean the other side (please don’t handle large pieces of glass if you’re not comfortable doing so!). Check to make sure you haven’t trapped any lint, streaks, dog fur, glitter, etc., then add the frame and flip the whole thing over.
- Place a brad every 3 inches or so, making sure you get them close to the corners too.
Apply double-stick tape (or glue) all the way around and then place your dust cover on top, pressing down all around. If you’re using glue, spray your Kraft paper with a little water and let it sit for a minute. When the paper dries, it will be nice and taut. This might not work if you’re using something besides Kraft paper, though. Trim the excess paper using a ruler and Exacto knife.
- For sawtooth hangers, simply center and hammer the nails in.
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For screw eyes and wire, make a starter hole 1/3 of the way from the top of the frame on each side and attach the screw eyes (larger frames use larger screw eyes). Before cutting the wire, make sure you have about 4″ excess on either side, and wrap this around itself after you’ve looped it through each screw eye in a pretzel pattern. You can also add bumpers to the bottom corners to help keep it from shifting around on the wall.
If you want to get more ideas for framing projects, check out this How-Tuesday video!
78 comments
BululuStudio said 11 years ago
Nice project Thanks so much for sharing :D
juliebcreative said 11 years ago
Framing is an art within itself!! I use the eyebolts and wires for my hangin hardware on my paintings....I never thought to possibly add a dust cover on the back...great tips!!!
wireddesign said 11 years ago
Fabulous how-to! (And I really want that WINDOW frame!)
bbbennyandthejet said 11 years ago
Beautiful, beautiful "related items" list! Love that repurposed window.. Great article! Just the kick I needed to frame some of this stuff.. *grin*
MetalheartDesign said 11 years ago
i am one of those people with a bunch of wonderful etsy artist prints that i haven't gotten around to framing yet! i would also love to hear ideas for framing or hanging prints that don't involve the traditional matte and frame format...any suggestions?
niTeBecOmEsdAy said 11 years ago
What a great how-to! This is such useful information. Thanks so much for the great article!
fricdementol said 11 years ago
This is great! Thank you for this tips! Maybe I'll able to frame my own artwork :P
4TheSparrowsNest said 11 years ago
Love the diy approach to framing. Afterall, aren't we Etsians all about the handmade aspect of life? This seems much more fun than just going out and buying new frames...unless you can find some really neat old ones to use, or something like that window for example..wow.
jenniferdennispotter said 11 years ago
Nice article. I never do the dust cover on the back of my frames but you make it sound easy!
TheLaLaLaShop said 11 years ago
Great article! Thanks! :)
CwButcher said 11 years ago
awesome framing ideas thanks
travellingcircus said 11 years ago
Excellent article & extremely useful! Thanks!
pambranchdesigns said 11 years ago
Thanks for the tips. I am an artist and I have a few paintings in a gallery here in Georgia. I have an opening coming up in May and I will use your tips.
lynncyrart said 11 years ago
This is wonderful!! Although I use most of these tips when framing my own artwork, I did learn a few new techniques that would make framing easier. Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!
waltersbeads said 11 years ago
welcome!
slinkymalinkicat said 11 years ago
Fantastic article, thank you!
worksofwhimsy said 11 years ago
So, I guess I'm not the only one with unframed art accumulating.
theclassicfarmhouse said 11 years ago
great advice! I actually purchased a matte cutter which makes it sooooo much easier to make clean cuts. Well worth the investment for an art lover like me.
jkldesign said 11 years ago
Wonderful advise :)
LeftHandHats said 11 years ago
My husband and I were just discussing how to do this! Thanks for the great info!!!
thebabykitties said 11 years ago
estonia!
sadlyharmless said 11 years ago
This is amazingly helpful! Thank you so much for this article!
sungazer said 11 years ago
Well done!
uncharted said 11 years ago
Very helpful, thanks!
Xenotees said 11 years ago
Excellent tutorial- thanks Siiri & welcome to Etsy!
That70sShoppe said 11 years ago
Very helpful!
BluCille said 11 years ago
What a great how-to. I love making nice frames, I never bother to buy in the stores.
HaughtonHandmade said 11 years ago
Great tutorial. Don't forget to use acid free foam core and acid free mats to preserve your precious artwork! And yes, a mat cutting tool will make your life MUCH easier!
beyeler said 11 years ago
That's just what I needed to know, thanks!
IcingOnTheCupcake said 11 years ago
Great resource, thank you!
waysideviolet said 11 years ago
thanks for all the info!!
PrairieGarden said 11 years ago
This is a wonderful resource!
beckybrocato said 11 years ago
great tips! framing info is always welcome!
HistoryofArt said 11 years ago
I feel this is a little beyond my skill, but this stuff is great-great to know!
MeadowbelleMarket said 11 years ago
Thanks for the step-by-step how to. Perfect and much needed for all those great works of art available here...
voleurdebijoux said 11 years ago
Great how to! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReneeRobbins said 11 years ago
Great article! The pictures really help to explain the process. Thank you!
amysfunkyfibers said 11 years ago
Love the article, thanks for the tips!
JesseMosher said 11 years ago
great , this will help everyone to frame all of the amazing Art on etsy .
odiliafu said 11 years ago
Useful info!! Thanks for sharing! I love the black filigree frame.
buckscountyframes said 11 years ago
I am a big fan of framing your artwork! haha! Well written article and a great how to! thank you.
AnnieandOlive said 11 years ago
This is awesome! :) Thanks for the steps - now it doesn't intimidate me so much.
MyJunkyTrunk said 11 years ago
This article is definitely a keeper! Thanks so much!
livefunky said 11 years ago
Excellent article that takes me back to my framing days! My point shooter and ATG gun are some of my favorite tools in the studio. Three cheers to DIY framing!
catsongstitchery said 11 years ago
Very straight forward with good, clear info. Thank you!
bhangtiez said 11 years ago
good 2 know, thanks 4 sharing!
vantiani said 11 years ago
Inspiring, really inspiring for an art print junkie like me:) Thank you so much!
modernfigurative said 11 years ago
Nice article! I have too long been using that Elmer's for my backing and will be glad to try switching to the double sided tape dispenser! I had no idea the thing existed! thanks!
JoOliveWorkshop said 11 years ago
Excellent, thanks so much for the article. Any tips for framing bleed prints - how to secure them to their backing board successfully - acid free tape?
artistRD said 11 years ago
Clear and useful info, thanks.
Rhiannon228 said 11 years ago
Thanks for the info. I've always wanted to mat and frame my own stuff, someday I'll be ambitious and just do it.
stephanietberry said 11 years ago
Remember to always use archival materials on anything original! Very Important!
leafprintstudio said 11 years ago
Great article! It's great to be able to at least fit your picture (put it together) For even better results, have a shop custom cut your mat but do the rest yourself.
ManoCelebrates said 11 years ago
This is a great article, I'm going to have to save it, and read it again and again. Lots of good information framing your art. I'm going to try that for my art. thanks a lot.
tiedyedmonkeys said 11 years ago
Thank you for the clear and easy to understand instructions. I am learning alot on etsy!
Liyana said 11 years ago
simple but clear explanation.. I've to try this one. thanks for the info
capcuu said 11 years ago
Clear and useful info, thanks.
kristinenoel said 11 years ago
Again another inspiring tutorial! Man so much to do so little time;)
mybirch said 11 years ago
It great to see fellow custom framer!
mackenzieframes said 11 years ago
We will be having an 'empty frames' section in our very new Etsy shop soon. We have only started stocking it this last week, but it would be worth bookmarking us for the future if you are looking to frame your artwork.
ourfrontyard said 11 years ago
Thank you so much for sharing the instructions!!! I love tutorials. :)
ladaworks said 11 years ago
As you can see I'm a big fan of framed art. Thank you for this article.
VictorianInspired said 11 years ago
Great tips ! Thanks so much for sharing
Blubeary said 11 years ago
very helpful
ebbandflo said 11 years ago
sigh! i have no excuse now! thanks for a great informative step-by-step - i look forward to cheering up my walls now
coltsgroovies said 11 years ago
Hello! Thank you for a great how-to! I can't wait to add to my hobbies! Thank you! Niki www.nikisuitor.etsy.com www.coltsgroovies.etsy.com
funkeyfinds said 11 years ago
this is a great article!!
deebeale said 11 years ago
Cool!
SparklePaw said 11 years ago
Great info - thanks!
thelittlebrownwren said 11 years ago
Fabulous tips! Thanks!
alwaysadorable said 11 years ago
I can't believe I didn't see this article sooner. Such great tips! Bookmarking as I type!
AaishaShaikh said 11 years ago
Great article!
gretchenmist said 11 years ago
really helpful article, thanks for sharing :)
urbandesign said 11 years ago
This is a great article and I'm bookmarking it for later! Thanks!
amytrimble said 11 years ago
great information !
DisabledVet56 said 11 years ago
Thanks for sharing, I'll try a couple of these ideas on the Diamond Willow Frames I have been making and Alaskan Pine..
GnageyGallery said 11 years ago
Thanks for sharing!
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