Normally, our advice is to choose a custom frame specifically for the piece you want framing, not the other way around. But the holidays have just passed, and shop-bought frames are a common gift that you might have received. If you’re in this situation and don’t know what to place in that frame, then here are some tips to help you choose.

Check the dimensions of the frame

The first thing you need to know is the dimension of the frame you’ve been gifted. These are usually listed on the product packaging or a paper insert inside the frame. If you can’t find the dimensions, then you can measure the frame by laying it flat and using a tape measure or ruler along the inside edges of the frame, horizontally and vertically, to take measurements.

Knowing the dimensions of your frame will give you an idea of what proportions the photo you choose should have. In other words, whether you’re looking for a square photo, a landscape one, or a portrait one.

Decide which room you’ll hang the frame in

Where do you want to hang a photo in your frame? It might be that the color and style of your frame suits the décor and design of a particular room, in which case it will be an easy decision. If it would fit well in multiple rooms, then think about where there’s space on your walls that can be filled with a photo or piece of art.

Identify matching colors of your photo

Knowing which room you’ll be hanging the frame in will help you decide what kind of tones and colors the picture should have. Is it a brightly decorated room or a more neutral one? You can either look for colors that will match the walls or other parts of the décor, or colors that will complement the design well by contrasting with it. You should also think about which colors will contrast well with the color of the frame itself.

Browse through your photos

You’ve probably got collections of family photos, vacation photos, and photos with your friends. Now that you’ve got some guidelines on what size, shape, and coloring the photo should have, you can look through those collections and narrow down which photos will be right for your frame before making your final decision.

If you need help with custom framing a photograph, piece of artwork, or something else, then contact Tanglewood Art and Frame or visit us in our frame shop in Clemmons, NC.

Hanging pictures and frames on the wall is a great way to personalize your home, decorate a space, and display some fond memories or achievements. But there is more than one way to hang a frame. For people living in rented accommodation, you might not be able to use methods that make holes or marks on the wall.

Here are some of the best options when choosing how to hang a frame. With all these methods, we’d recommend using a spirit level and masking tape to ensure you hang the picture straight the first time. And aim to hang your frame so the center of it sits at eye level.

A simple hammer and nail

If your picture frame has a string attached to the back or another method of hanging it, then you can simply hammer a nail into the wall where you want the frame and hang it from there. If your frame is particularly wide or heavy, then you will probably need a nail at either side of the frame. Otherwise, you can position one nail at the center of the frame.

Picture hooks

Similar to the above method, picture hooks can be hammered into the wall to provide a secure method of hanging your frame. Some hooks are designed so they can simply be pushed into the wall, if the wall is suitable for this kind of application.

Anchors

For much larger and heavier frames, you may need a stronger and more secure option than then above, such as a wall plug anchor or toggle bolt anchor. These will leave more damage to the wall compared to simple nails or hooks, though.

Adhesive hanging strips

If you’re looking for a hanging method that won’t leave a mark, then you can get hanging strips that stick securely to your wall and can easily be removed afterward. These can be either adhesive or Velcro. When you’re choosing these strips, they should include guidelines on the packaging stating what weight they can support.

Peel the paper off one side of the strips and then fasten them to your frame at each corner. Then, remove the other side and stick them to the wall. Push the frame onto the wall firmly and then remove the frame so that the strips have a chance to stick properly to the wall.

Adhesive hooks

Similar to the above, you can also purchase hooks that stick to the wall via adhesive. Once they’ve stuck properly, so can hang the frame from the hook using a string or something similar attached to the back.

Do you need help decorating your home with custom-framed pictures? We provide custom framing services and can also help you when it comes to selecting the best method for hanging your frames. Get in touch for our help around Winston Salem and Clemmons.

Are you looking for some different ideas of what to frame and hang on your wall? Here at Tanglewood, we can provide custom framing for pretty much anything. And we’ve got an idea that could look good on your walls, celebrate your experiences, and even reflect your goals – scratch maps!

In case you don’t know, a scratch map is a map of the world or a certain area that you can scratch the surface off to reveal something underneath. They are typically used to essentially tick off countries or cities that you have visited and show you all the ones you haven’t been to yet. They’re great for travel addicts, but if that doesn’t describe you, then you can buy scratch maps or lists with lots of different themes.

Maps of the world or a country

As we’ve already mentioned, you can get a scratch map of the world, a continent, or a country. If you don’t do much international traveling, then you could get a scratch map of the US and check off all the states you’ve visited.

Must-read books

If you prefer a good book over a plane journey, then you can also find scratch maps with lists like “The top 100 books to read before you die.” Once you buy it, you can tick off all the books you’ve already read and then set a goal to read the rest of them in the future.

Must-see films

And there’s a version of the above product for movie buffs, too. How many of the top 100 movies have you seen? Or you could find a more specific poster like ones listing the top movies of the 20^th century or the top musical films. Next time you’re bored in an evening, you can consult your list to see what film to watch next.

Bucket list

Do you have a bucket list? If you’re stuck for ideas of what to add to yours, then you can buy a scratch-off bucket list filled with things that people typically want to do before they die. Daring things like sky diving and driving a motorbike, but also more laidback things like writing poetry and making a birthday cake.

Places to visit

A little more specific than a scratch map of the world is a scratch-off list of specific places and landmarks to visit. Have you been to the Grand Canyon or the top of the Empire State Building? What about Big Ben, the Taj Mahal, or the Sydney Opera House? This kind of list will give you great vacation ideas, both nationally and internationally.

There are loads of different scratch maps and lists that could suit your interests, so find one and start scratching. And get in touch for custom framing for your scratch map. Framing it and hanging it on the wall can serve as your motivation for checking the next thing off the list, while also displaying your achievements so far.

Have you ever tried to work in a dark, drab environment? It can be soul-sucking and certainly not motivational. Yes, the décor and design of your office or other work environments can have a big impact on the productivity and happiness of your team. Read on for some tips on designing your office to boost employee morale and the benefits of doing so.

Make it comfortable

You should encourage your employees to take breaks rather than trying to make them work non-stop. Taking regular breaks helps to rest and refresh the mind so they can come back to their task and focus better on it. Adding chairs in the kitchen area, a sofa in the office, or a comfortable break room lets employees know they can take breaks and provides them a nice space to relax in.

Add some color

So many offices have whitewashed walls and gray furniture. This could have an impact on the mood of your employees, which then has a knock-on impact on their work output. Add a splash of color to the walls or furniture, or buy colorful artwork to decorate the space with. This can help to lift the mood of employees on a subconscious level. A good idea is to decorate the office with the brand colors of your business.

Adorn the walls

You don’t want so much decoration that the space is distracting, but completely bare walls can look really dull. You could have artwork, photographs, staff portraits, or certificates custom framed and placed on the walls around your office. This helps to add variety and character to the walls of your office and can also be a good way to display your company’s and employees’ achievements. Hanging a mirror is another option as this can make the space look bigger, often making it feel more comfortable.

Let employees customize their space

This is especially a good idea for offices where employees sit in cubicles. Each employee could personalize their space with photos and accessories that they like or that mean something to them. It also allows them to work in a space they’re comfortable with. One employee might want a fairly plain space while another might want framed photos of their family on their desk to boost their mood.

If you need custom framing services to brighten up the walls of your office, then contact us or visit us in-store in Clemmons to find out more about our services.

We love big, framed statement pieces on walls. They make great focal points in your décor and are a good way to show off your photos, artwork, or certificates. But you can’t make all your photos statement pieces. Whether it’s holiday photos, family photos, or anything else you want to keep front of mind, there are lots of creative ways and places you can display small framed photos.

Photo wall

Why hang one photo when you could hang lots of little ones? Have a selection of small photos printed and framed and arrange them on your wall like a photo collage. You can hang them uniformly in rows or in a more random, stylistic arrangement. Hang them closely side by side or with space in between. The possibilities are practically endless.

Surround a statement piece

Maybe you want to show off photos from your wedding day or from your travels. One good way of doing this is to choose one photo to have as the large, central piece. You can then print other photos you like in smaller dimensions and hang them around the center photo. You could choose just a few photos or a dozen or more, and arrange them in any shape or pattern you’d like.

Stand them up

By placing small photos in a frame with a stand, you can place them on any surface you’d like. Your bedside table, mantlepiece, window ledges, and shelving units are all great places to position your photos. You can have your favorite memories in pride of place. Choose a frame that matches the surface you’ll be placing it on or, conversely, one that contrasts it nicely to make it really stand out.

Make a statement

I know we started out this blog looking for alternatives to large statement pieces, but going back to this idea, why not make a large statement piece from your collection of smaller photos. You can arrange your photos however you’d like, just like you would for your photo wall. But, this time, don’t frame them individually. Lay the photos out in a collage, place them on a mat or backing board, and then frame this piece together in a larger frame. This way, you’ve got one central piece for your wall but containing lots of memories.

If you have photos and can’t figure out the best way to show them off in your home, come into Tanglewood Art and Frame in Clemmons, NC. We can give you our professional advice and provide high-quality custom framing services. Contact us first if you have any questions.

You make so many amazing memories while traveling and you’ll see lots of incredible sights. Your photo reel will probably be full by the end of your trip, but what do you do with those photos? It’s a shame to leave them on your phone only to be viewed once in a blue moon, but it can be hard to know how to show them off.

We’ve got some ideas about how you can do your travel photos justice. Check out these interesting ways of displaying your travel photos.

A large feature piece

If there’s a single photo that you absolutely love, then it can make a great statement piece in any room. Print that photo in large dimensions and place it above the fireplace, behind the TV, above your bed, or on any wall with enough space for this kind of feature. This photo can be a real focal point of the room, one that everyone notices when they first walk in. Good options include printing your feature piece on canvas or having it custom framed.

Travel photo collage

If you prefer to display lots of smaller photos from your travels, then you can always make a collage of your favorite photos. Just select a group of photos and print them out together in a collage that you can have custom framed. Or, you can print and frame them all separately, arranging them nicely together to create a stylish photo wall.

Mantlepiece displays

This one is a great choice for renters who might not be able to hang pictures or frames on the walls due to restrictions set by their landlords. Mantlepieces, shelves, and window ledges are all great places to show off your framed photos. You can choose a few smaller photos and frames to display across the mantle, or a slightly larger centerpiece photo frame.

Photo prints

Maybe you don’t have the perfect space to display your photos but you still want to get them offline. You could always create a photobook of all your favorite pics or print them out and place them in a traditional photo album. Another great idea is to have a custom calendar printed with some of your favorite photos from the previous year. If you travel a lot, then you can create a new calendar each year with your latest travel pics.

Are you ready to frame your travel photos? Come into our frame shop in Clemmons to find out how we can perfectly present your memories. Or contact us online to inquire about our services and prices.

When you graduate college, you don’t just come out of it with a piece of paper. You hopefully come out of it with friendships and memories of great experiences, knowledge and skills that will help you start your career, and so much more. But that piece of paper serves as a great representation of everything you achieved over the past few years, so it is worth honoring.

Here at Tanglewood Art and Frame, we can frame your diploma for you so that you can display your achievement proudly.

Why you should have your diploma framed

If you don’t have your diploma framed, then it will probably be filed away in a drawer or box and be forgotten about. You might get it out every few years to reminisce on your achievement and time in college, but that’s all. Isn’t it better to hang it on the wall for all to see, displaying something you’re proud to have achieved?

The other risk of storing your paper diploma is that it could become damaged. Bent corners and faded text can easily occur when it’s not looked after properly. Framing your diploma properly will preserve it, keeping it safe and looking great. With high-quality glass protecting it, it won’t succumb to sun damage, either.

Tips and ideas for diploma framing

There are lots of places you could proudly display your diploma. Most people will either hang it in their home, their parents’ home, or their office, especially for professions like doctors and lawyers.

The best thing about custom framing is that you can choose each material in order to create something that suits your style and preferences. The color of the frame and matting, the material of the frame, and other aspects of the final product will decide how your diploma is presented. You can also make these design choices with the room in mind if you know where you’ll hang it. Matting especially helps your diploma to stand out within the frame.

You could even customize your framed diploma with other mementos from college or your graduation day. For example, you could hang the tassel from your graduation cap from the corner of your diploma. You could also frame photos from the day or your best memories from college and display them as a kind of collage of individually framed pieces.

Get creative and decide the best way to show off your diploma. Contact us if you want more ideas or guidance on which materials to use. You can visit us in-store in Clemmons, NC to get your diploma framed.

Have you ever taken a photo or a work of art in to be professionally framed? If you haven’t, then you might be unclear about the exact role of a professional picture framing service. How does it differ from simply buying a frame from a shop, and what advantages can a professional service offer you? This article will shed some light on what a professional picture framing service is and does.

Custom framing

As the name suggests, a professional picture framing service can frame your pictures, photographs, and paintings for you. The work is very varied, and things you can have framed aren’t only limited to 2-dimensional pieces of paper. There are lots of different items you can have custom framed. Custom framing artwork ensures that it is placed properly in a frame that suits the artwork in size and style. The frames are made to fit the art, unlike buying store-bought frames that come in standard sizes.

Understand the customer’s needs

When you bring something in to be framed, a professional custom framer will first talk to you about what you want from the finished piece. If you have any preferences about the color or material of the frame, matting or no matting, and other aspects of framing, then you can let them know. They may also ask about the design and style of the room the framed work will be placed in.

Understand the materials

A professional framing service has in-depth knowledge about the different materials that can and should be used in custom framing. This article explains the main components that go into a frame. Custom framing services have access to the best quality materials to ensure you get a finished piece that looks great and is built to last. They can also recommend which materials to use if you want to save money on custom framing without compromising the quality of your art too much.

Photo restoration

Another service offered by many professional picture framing services is photo restoration. If you have old photos that have become worn or damaged over time, you can still display them proudly thanks to photo restoration services. Through these techniques, old photos can be restored to their original glory or improved to appear more similar to the high definition photos we are used to today.

Do you need the services of a custom framing or professional picture framing shop? Tanglewood Art and Frame can meet all your framing and restoration needs around Advance, Winston Salem, Bermuda Run, Clemmons, Lewisville, and Mocksville. Get in touch to find out how we can help you.

Custom framing your prized possessions, special memories, or just a nice work of art for your home is a great way to present these things in an attractive way. If you’ve decided to have something custom framed for the first time, then you might be wondering where to start. This blog will guide you through some of the key decisions you need to make and what you need to consider when custom framing.

Matting

A mat surrounds your artwork for both protective and aesthetic reasons. The first decision to make is whether or not to have a mat, which we help you answer in this article. If you do want to mat your art, there are two main considerations – color and material.

You want to choose a color that complements the artwork without drawing the focus away from it. When matting a photo or picture, the best technique is to choose a color that matches an element of the background, such as the blue of the sky or the green of the trees, depending on the photo’s subject.

The materials to choose from are paper, cellulose, and rag mats. These increase in quality, with paper being the lowest and rag offering museum-grade quality. Obviously, the higher-grade ones will cost more, but they will protect your artwork and won’t alter its color over time.

Glazing

Glazing refers to the material the protects the artwork and completes the frame, usually either with glass or clear plastic. Higher quality materials offer additional benefits while also increasing in price, so choose one that suits your needs. Museum glass is the highest quality, ensuring that glare is eliminated and that your art is protected from UV rays. Plexiglass is another good option that is also more lightweight than museum glass. Here’s a quick comparison of these two choices.

Framing

Now for the frame itself. Like with matting, your main decisions here are material and color. Dimensions come into it too, but these are pretty much determined by the shape and size of your artwork. The material and color of your frame will mostly come down to personal aesthetic tastes, although certain materials will be stronger and longer-lasting than others. Again, you should try to choose a color that complements the artwork rather than the room it’s placed in or any other frames around it. Various types of wood and metal are the most commonly used materials for custom framing.

Have something you want custom framing in the North Carolina area? Bring it into our shop in Clemmons and we will give you a quote for the piece. We can also advise you on any of the above decisions if you’re not sure which way to go. Get in touch if you have any questions about custom framing. We’re happy to help anyone around Advance, Winston Salem, Bermuda Run, Clemmons, Lewisville, Mocksville, and beyond.

Memories are precious things. We sometimes get caught up with the material things in life, but it’s the memories of people, places, and experiences that really matter. Over time, memories can become faded in our minds and we don’t think about them as often. This is why it can be so special to give a gift or buy yourself something that commemorates a special memory. Custom framing is a great way to protect and preserve your memories.

Custom framed photos

Photographs of events and special memories are the most obvious way to protect memories with custom framing. You can frame a family photo, your children’s first school photo, pictures from a holiday, a birthday, graduation, a fun night out, a crazy experience like bungee jumping. There are endless options for framing photos that mean something to you and that you want to remember.

Other memories you can frame

It doesn’t just have to be photos that remind you of a specific time or place. There are lots of other things you can have framed, like your college diploma, a certificate your child earned, or something they drew at school. You might have a habit of keeping mementos from specific times in your life. Some people keep every movie stub they’ve collected on dates with their partner. You could make these into a collage and have them framed to commemorate your relationship.

Shadow box framing

It’s not only 2-dimensional memories that you can have custom framed. Shadow box framing allows you to frame 3-dimensional objects, too. If your children have grown out of all their childhood toys, you might find it difficult to get rid of them all and let go of the past. To remember this special time in their life, you could have their favorite childhood toy framed and put up on the wall. Get creative and frame anything important to you – stones from your favorite beaches, keychains from different cities you’ve visited, or medals you won from competing in a sport.

Sharing memories with others

Having your memories custom framed isn’t just about remembering and celebrating them yourselves, it can also be a way of sharing them with other people. Maybe there was a holiday or another experience that you’ll never forget, but you don’t often get the opportunity to talk about it with other people. Displaying that memory in your home is a great way of sharing it with friends and family members when they visit your house.

Don’t let those memories go to waste. Get in touch with us at Tanglewood Art and Frame to protect them forever.