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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sleeping Dogs

I'm back with the next part of our Master Bedroom update.  Remember before when I hinted we'd be bringing in something that reminds us of Lucy?




Here it is, all framed and hung.









Back in January, Groupon was offering a $50 gift card for $25 to art.com, and after several months of mulling over what I would buy, I landed on this print by Andrew Wyeth called Master Bedroom.  I loved it right away because it was so peaceful and it reminded me of the many times we find Lucy curled up at our pillows in the middle of the afternoon.  

Once the picture arrived, I set out to find a frame and mat that would work without costing an arm and a leg.  I started adding it up, and a custom mat and a nice, large, wood frame was not going to be cheap.  So, when we were at the rummage sale a month or so back, I found this frame that had potential.






It could work, right?  Chunky wood frame, good lines, mat included, and the best part?  $5.  Yep, $5.  A custom mat is more expensive than that on its own, so I whipped out my purse-sized tape measure and figured that it would fit just fine.  

First step was to get the frame up to par.  I went back and forth between paint and re-staining, and finally decided I wanted the wood tones.  So, one evening while we were catching up on the DVR, I sanded down the frame, first with 180 grit and finished with 220.  






Once all was sanded down, I put on three even coats of Jacobean stain by Minwax (I wiped off the excess after about 5 minutes and allowed a few hours between each coat).  Here it is after one coat.




Next up was the mat.  Size was perfect.  Color was not.  So, I had an old white canvas curtain laying around and did an old cover-roo with the help of spray glue.  I learned that trick from Katie Bower.  This stuff is super sticky and super airborne, so I suggest using it outside if at all possible.  I use Elmer's and have been really happy with it.  It doesn't dry really fast, so I have time to position and reposition as needed.   

So, here are my steps in photos...










Easy enough, right?  The verdict?  It's love.  




And yes, that is new bedding.  I am over the duvet/down comforter thing, so we moved to a quilt and blankets.  It's proving to be a good change of pace.  Here's a much better picture...




And, since it's lighter in color, it makes the room feel bigger (or maybe that's because we have one less dresser in there...).  I'm still on the hunt for white, crisp cotton sheets though.  You know, the kind your Gramma always has.  Why is it so hard to find them at a reasonable price?  

I owe you one more reveal.  It's been a really busy two weeks around the house for various reasons, so I'll be back as soon as I can find a few quiet moments while I still have brain capacity left in the day.  

2 comments:

  1. If you do a lot of matting and framing, I'd suggest buying a matte cutter. I got one at Hobby Lobby for $25 (not including coupon, so it was less than that). You can get huge matte boards at HL also for like $8, or $4 if you wait for them to go 50% off, which they do frequently. It is not that hard to cut your own mattes and SO much cheaper than getting it done by the pros!!

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  2. Good call Rach! I used to cut my own mats in college when I was in photography classes. I might just have to get one of those...

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