My first stacked frame

Twin2

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Posts
2,263
Loc
Bedford, Nova Scotia
I hadn't really thought of stacking frames until I read about it on the Grumble - Hmmm, what else have I been missing? (fabric wrapped mattes for one thing
) Anyway, I tried out a simple stacked frame the other day and was quite happy with the result.

stacked_frame_for_jean_youngs_painting-medium.jpg


I used a black moulding for the 'outside' and a narrower green moulding that picked up the green leaves in the painting. The matte is Bainbridge's Alphalinen Gaugin Green and I also used Bainbridge's BevelAccent Tartan Green (hard to see it in the photo).

It certainly isn't anything fancy, but now that I've tried it and found it not too difficult, I can't wait to experiment with other combinations.
 
Karen, that is beautiful.
I love stacked frames-soon you will be whipping up all kinds of combinations.
(They are even more fun to SELL!)
 
It IS fancy, because not everyone is doing it, and the result is rich.

"Bossy" Ellen & I are quite proud of your end result!

Flowery antique whites with muted golds, wide smooth mahogany with thinner embellished blacks... the combination possibilities are endless!
 
Karen, Nice job! And Barb is right - they are fun to sell. Besides adding to your bottom line, customers love the look. Get used to hearing "I didn't know you could do that."

Don't forget about metal frames. A 1500 inside a wooden frame will give you just a tiny line of color and wider ones make an interesting contrast of textures.

Ooooh you are going to have such fun with this idea.

Kit
 
Well done, it may be your first effort but it is fantastic! I was wondering about having a dark green line on the mat, so I 'shopped it to have a look, here is the result (hope you don't mind):

060315_LE_frameplay.jpg
 
Thanks for the compliments. I hope I'll be able to sell people on the idea of stacked frames when I show them this example.

I will keep metal frames in mind, Kit - I'm sure using them with wood would give an interesting effect.

Love the look of the dark green line on the matte, Lance; also how you weighted the bottom of it. Wish I had thought of it
How would you go about adding the dark green line? Would you just add an extra matte (dark green), about 1/8" in width, just to get the piping effect? Or are you thinking of putting another bevel accent in that place? Instructions please...
 
I could have made an inlay mat to get the effect, also I would have considered painting it on (actually that is probably what I would have done).
 
Thanks for the info, Lance. The inlay matte makes sense. As for painting the line on, wouldn't it be a bit difficult painting on the alphalinen matte with the texture of the matte? Would you be able to get a straight enough line?

Another option I thought of after my other post was cutting another matte and then painting the bevel a dark green - not sure if that would show up as well since the dark green line would be just the width of the bevel. I realized the my other two ideas would show the white bevel, unless a reverse bevel cut was made.
 
Twin;
I like the effect that stacking produces ,it was just that I couldn't get my clientel to go for the extra cost,despite the fact that it produced a look that was unlike anything production moulding offered.
When I was open I had the biggest bunch of price conscienous shoppers I have ever heard of.I think another way to say that sounds like a bunch of young chickens.LOL

On another note ,STACKING isn't only a way to produce unique looking frames but it can faciltate a nice looking a functioal combination for SHADOWBOXING.
The additional depth is almost a necessity but with some imagination ,such as turning certain profiles on edge or ripping the tops of some deeper profiles and capping them with a more desirable one you can come up with some truly beautiful and unique looks.

But I'll bet everyone knew that already, and I just felt the need to add my two cents since I didn't get to make such attractive frames like this.
BUDDY
 
Another idea for your picture would be to simply emboss a line around your opening. I love the simplicity of the piece...its absolutely beautiful, and the embossed line would add just a little "something" that you would notice upon further inspection of the piece...then you dont get too "strip-ie" if you know what I mean.

You did a very nice job on this...
 
Buddy, I know exactly what you mean about 'price conscienous' clientele. Some people think nothing of spending $100 on a dinner in a restaurant but will gasp at the cost of a custom framing job (something that they will be able to enjoy for a lot longer and should not affect their waistlines ;) )

Thanks for the reminder about stacking mouldings for use in shadowboxes. That was going to be my next experiment with stacking frames...

Julie-Tulie, that is another great suggestion regarding embossing a line around the opening; it certainly would add a subtle, yet distinctive touch. This is such a terrific site! I always thought I had pretty good design ideas, but I realize now that I was just touching the surface
I have to admit that I've never embossed a matte before. I'll check in the archives to see if there are any instructions, otherwise, would you mind telling me how it is done?
 
That looks very nice indeed! I also like it with Lance's modification, it stands out even more.

Actually, when I first read the title, I, Like Buddy, was thinking about shadowboxes!

We do this quite often, and I suggest it a lot to our customers, but I never called it "stacking". We use the term frame-in-a-frame, but Stacking is a good name too!
 
I like the term "frame-in-a-frame", Paul. I can see the confusion over the my use of 'stacked frame'. I guess I figured I was just stacking one frame inside the other (stacking horizontally rather than vertically). Your terminology is easier to understand
 
At the risk of looking difficult ( which I try hard not to be) Stacking IMHO seems more appropriate and "Frame within a frame" conjures up the image of a Frame mounted inside another similarly to what a Filet might do.And a shadowbox or "STACKED MOULDING FRAME" would be almost necessary as the outer Frame.

I say this since I have done exactly that witha Fish print that I framed and then mounted on a matting which was decorated with Sea grass and antigue Glass to give a sort of watery appearance. But that is just an example of why I would use that phrase instead of the other and we each have to use what we can make our customers understand what we hope to accomplish. So If that works for you Don't even give my opinion a second thought.LOL
BUDDY
 
I don't think you are being difficult at all, Buddy. As you said, the main thing is to make sure the customer understands what you are talking about, regardless of specific terminology. That is why samples of different framing techniques displayed in your shop can be so effective.

I bet that 'fish print' with the sea grass looked gorgeous. I can just picture it
 
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