Saturday, February 28, 2015

"If saving money is wrong, I don't want to be right!" ~ William Shatner (with fond memories of Leonard Nimoy)

In my previous post, I showed you these two prints unframed. you can see now that they are framed and hung! This was a bit of a frustration, but ultimately successful!

We had made a third trip to IKEA to pick up drapes for the living-room and frames for pictures and prints. We met with success on some counts (drapes and some frames), but were unable to find frames that fit my mermaid prints.

Next - armed with a 60% off all framing work at Joann Fabrics coupon, I set about selecting frames and colorful matting for my lovelies. The woman behind the framing counter was most helpful. I chose three different colored mats along with a modest frame. She calculated this combination for each print. WITH the 60% off coupon, the cost would have been $340 a piece! I'm not kidding! I stood there, mouth slightly agape, and repeated the price she had given me thinking that I simply must have misheard. Um, no. I asked her to recalculate. Um, no. I thanked her profusely for her time, took my prints and left.

I phoned Bruce and told him what had happened. He responded with something like - uh, that's not in our budget. No kidding! I told him that I was headed to Michael's to see what I could find in prepared frames and that if I was not satisfied, I'd take the prints with us when we head north and have Burt frame them for us. Those from Cortland know exactly who I mean!

Once in Michael's, I hunted through frames and ultimately came across something that I thought would work. The frames were originally dark brown, but I purchased some gold paint to lighten them up. Armed with the paint and a sponge, I feel really, really happy with how they came out (the right one looks darker in the photo, but is actually identical to the left).

The end result - happiness, and $62.00 including paint for both, in comparison to $680.00. I still have to believe that the young woman at Joanne's miscalculated - I know that custom framing is pricey - but that was a bit much!

The Bank of Bruce and Tracy is officially closed!

PS - The lovely mermaid lamp on the right was one of my birthday gifts from Bruce last year. She has finally found her home!


4 comments:

  1. $680?!?! Eeeks! That must be some material they use! But these you got now are really beautiful! Congratulations!

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  2. How satisfying! And the colors look so vivid and inviting.

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  3. They are gorgeous images and the frames you chose look great. I am staggered by the custom pricing. Good heavens!

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  4. How are you fitting in time to conquer all of these projects while also entertaining and sightseeing?! So glad you are, because your work is paying off. Each piece you add to each space is perfect. You and Bruce must be feeling quite at home by now. It's all so beautiful, T.!

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