The big day is approaching. You have thought of everything: the room is painted, the furniture arranged, the changing station set up. But the walls are bare--there is no artwork anywhere in the baby’s room. What are you going to do? Purchase a poster? Run to a big box retailer and pick up some standard frames? If so, what artwork are you going to put into them?  

In this article we offer a simple, low cost solution. It is a creative project that can be scaled to meet any budget beginning at about $20. The only thing you need is the baby’s name. The idea is to purchase identical frames in the quantity required to spell your little one's name with pre-formed wood letters. With these we will show you how to turn the ordinary into a work of art!
 
The Frames
The frames can be purchased from a variety of sources. For the low-budget or recycle-savy crowd, a visit to a thrift shop (Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army) may be worthwhile. In this case, you will be looking for identical frames in the quantity required to spell baby’s name.  To be fair, this can be a difficult task as thrift shops do not often have large quantities of identical frames. If this is the case, consider visiting off-price retailers such as Ross, TJ Max or Nordstrom Rack. These stores nearly always have large quantities of identical frames that are low priced. For those on a larger budget, any of the big box retailers or online companies have a great selection of ready-made or custom-made frames at a reasonable prices.

Either wood or metal frames will work for this project, although wood frames often have a warmer, richer tone. When searching and purchasing the frames, keep in mind that the color you are looking for should mesh well with the room the frames will be put in. Details to consider are whether this is for a girl or boy, the current color of the wall, and how big the space is you are trying to fill. Of course, the bigger the space the larger the frames can be.

The Letters
The letter themselves can be purchased in a host of sizes from any craft store. Even Wal-mart sells wood block letters. The letters can be painted, stained or just left in their natural state. You can also create dots by dipping a pencil eraser or other disposable sponge-type material in paint and effectively stamping on a design. You also use metallic tape to create glitzy, slanted stripes. If using paint, we recommend spray paint because it is easy to apply, dries quickly, and will not require messy brush clean-up between coats. We also recommend purchasing a coat of primer paint. This will ensure that the colored coats adhere well. Finally, it is possible to paint each letter a different color. 

The frames can be painted to match the letters or all the frames can be one color with all the letters a different color. There are literally thousands of combinations you can create by combining various backgrounds, letter colors and designs, as well as frame colors and patterns. For each frame, center the letter on the background and glue it in place.

Mounting Methods
The letters will be placed onto the mounting board. This mounting board can be a standard board used in the industry, or it can be a piece of card board covered with decorative tissue. Whatever material is chosen, the letter will be place onto the mounting board. Usually the easiest way to do this is to glue them one. Many types of glue will work, from hot glue to Gorilla glue.

The most challenging part of this project will be actually placing the mounting board and letters into the frame. This is because we will not want the mounting board to be pushed all the way to the font of the frame. This will push the letters out and make them look like they are bulging out of the frame. Instead, we want the letters to be recessed inside the frame. This will require us to find a method of keeping mounting board at the back part of the frame, or rabbet (link). There are two solutions, one easy and fast, but technically not up to framing standards, and the other the way a framer would do it.

Method 1, the fast and easy way: Simply cut the mounting board larger than the frame opening. This will prevent it from sliding in the frame and will instead require it to be placed on the back part of the frame, to which it can be glued. Most professional framers would probably turn their nose up at this method because it fails to meet even the most basic conservation standards. However, babies grow fast! Unless you want this project to stand the test of time, this quick method should do the trick. 

Method 2, the longer and more expensive road: The proper way to complete this would be to make use of spacers (link) in the rabbet of the frame. The spacer would be placed between the lip of the frame and the backing board. This would move the backing board to the back of the frame.

Hanging
When hanging the frames, be sure to mark each nail opening at once, before the frames are hung on the wall. Follow these steps to ensure success. We assume you will be working form left to right.

1. Determine the total space required between each frame.
2. Measure the width of each frame.
3. Mark the where the first frame will be hung with a pencil.
4. Use a piece of string and a level to mark the horizontal direction of the frame.
5. Measure the distance from that frame to the center of the next frame. This is the gap required between frames, plus the width of each frame (essentially half of one frame and half of the other one).
6. After making the last mark, remove the string and take a few steps back to ensure that the line looks level and the points are equidistant to the naked eye.
7. Make adjustments as necessary, then hang the frames and enjoy how the room has been transformed.
   

We hope that this article was of use to you. If you follow it through, we'd love to see your pictures and post them on our site for others to see.

Happy Framing!