Easy Custom Frames Using Book Corners & Plexiglass!

I love my Brian Kesinger calendar, so when the time came to switch it out for the new year I decided to try and save the artwork from 2013's:

At first I thought I'd just cut out the pages and frame them, but I quickly discovered every page's art was a different size - and none were anywhere close to a standard frame size:

 Drat.

As I sat pondering, the digital photo corners in the calendar's design gave me an idea. Why not use brass book corners to make custom frames?

I still had several sets of book corners left over from my old book purse experimenting days, so my only expense was this $6 poster frame from Wal-Mart:

 

Kindly ignore the truly outrageous Jem pink, please; the plexiglass is clear, promise.

Think of the frame as an art sandwich: first the plexi, then the art, and lastly a thin sheet of chipboard or heavy cardstock. (Not cardboard, though; the corrugated sides look terrible.)

My calendar pages were perfect because each page had a virtual mat already printed in place, but you could always place your own art on a colored background, scrapbook paper, or even use real mats, if you want to get crazy.

So, cut out your art:

Then cut out matching chipboard backers, and use a glue stick to stick the art down:

(The chipboard came off the back of last year's desk calendar. Yay, recycling!)

This doesn't have to be perfect; the book corners will clamp everything down later. Make sure your edges line up, though!

The most time-consuming part is cutting the plexiglass, but if you do it right it's super-duper easy. (Which took me three or fours tries doing things the hard way to figure out, of course.)

As you can see, I had enough plexi for all 9 or 10 of my pages, and with space to spare for future frames. (Also, that pink: Ow.)

First, trace your art onto the side of the plexi with the thin plastic protective layer on it:

Use a pencil; it'll show up on that thin plastic.

Next use a craft blade and a ruler to start scoring those lines. (The ruler will keep you on course; this plexi is slippery stuff!)

Now, here's the slightly time consuming - but extremely important - part: you need to score each line 8-10 times, and on both sides of the plastic. That's right; flip the whole sheet over and score the opposite side, too. (Be careful when flipping; the plexi is both flexible and oddly brittle.)

Overshoot your corners like this, too, to make sure you get a nice clean break.

Once you're done scoring, get a padded pencil (or something with a similar amount of "give") and place it directly underneath your score line, like so:

Now gently press on either side of the pencil, and your plexi should snap or tear easily. If it doesn't, don't force it; go back and try scoring the line a few more times. If you force it, you risk snapping off a jagged break.

Btw, because this plexi is so thin, you may be tempted to cut it with scissors. Technically you can, but this is what happens:

 See all those white marks down the top side? You'll get those micro-fractures down every cut line with scissors. Not good.

When your plexi is cut out, use a nail file to take off any sharp burrs or jagged bits. (There shouldn't be many.)

Now you're ready to assemble!

I don't remember where I ordered my own book corners all those years back, but here's a close up of two of the styles I used:

After a little digging, I found a pack of 100 corners in bronze for less than $12 (including shipping) here on Amazon. That's enough to do 25 frames - not too shabby!

You can also check the scrapbooking aisle in your local craft store, or find a book-binding supplier online. Just remember you need corners that wrap around the back side; not just decorative ones that stick on the front.

Place your plexi over the art & backer board, and then use a pair of smooth-jaw pliers to clamp the book corners in place, holding the layers together. It helps to pad your pliers with a small cloth, just to be on the safe side; don't want to scratch those shiny corners!

When you're done give your corners a tug; if they budge at all, go back with the pliers and clamp them down tighter.

I finished cutting 10 pieces of plexiglass and assembling seven frames in just one night - but I think I spent a good 5 hours doing it all.

This project is Tonks-approved.

Even the best plexiglass is a bit scruffy compared to glass, of course, but you'll never see the imperfections from any kind of distance - and lookit that beautiful shine!

The corners are what really make the whole frame, though; I love that rich gleam of brass:

To hang your art - get ready to judge me - I recommend using that re-usable poster putty stuff. Yes, really! These frames are so ridiculously light that there's no point in hammering nails in your walls, and the putty lets you re-position them to your heart's content. (You could also put magnets on the back and class up your fridge, or go ahead and glue down a traditional saw-tooth hanger, if you really want to.)

I'm currently working on putting together a nice collage in a corner of our back room:

 

Not quite there yet, but working on it!

Oh, and just to combine my last two craft posts: you could ALSO make frames like this and use metal tape for the edges instead of photo corners. In fact, I'm tempted to try this myself next, only with copper tape. Mmm... copper....


Happy crafting, and happy framing, everyone!

*****

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