A Different Kind of Frame

Maria writes...

My concern lately, has been finding good homes for the multitude of (amaZing) pieces of Zentangle art the I have at home.  I try to put out as many of my tiles as humanly possible so that I, as well as others, can admire, study, but not forget about them.  I love that our home is pretty much a “museum of fine art”, taking friends, as well as strangers, on tours.  But, even for me, this gets difficult: there is only so much wall space available. 

So, what is a good docent to do? 

It can be difficult at times (!) to get out to shop for frames, and sometimes pretty darned expensive.  So, I decided there had to be alternative ideas for framing for our beautiful tiles.

It is always such a treat when someone sends flowers for this occasion or that, but I am often left with a generic glass vase that is adequate to hold a beautiful bouquet, but when the flowers have seen their last breath, what do you do with these “less than stellar” glass vessels?  I know, I know. . . you hate to toss it, as it was such a lovely gesture, and perhaps someday you would use it again (but almost certainly you don’t). Right?  They’re all sitting in a dusty cupboard in the cellar, a box under the guest room bed, or in the worst case, the “closet of no return!"

But, what if they did have a purpose?  They could become a home for little wanderers: your precious Zentangle tiles. Establish beautiful, loving places where you can visit them easily and often, and perhaps even find someone to adopt them forever.  All this AND a new way to stretch your creative muscles.  That always leads to more brilliant ideas!

Perhaps you have a few pretty glass jars, bowls or vases you forgot about, that would be perfect for this newfound life.  If not, surely someone you know would.
I cannot wait to see what you do with this idea. Sometimes, all you need is a little nudge to get you going.  They make great gifts.  Fill with candy or treats, or just on their own. 

🐌 Bijou just reminded me to tell you to put only DRIED flowers in and not the others.  

Most of these images are self-explanatory.  With the large squarish vase, I cut some mat board the sizes of the 4 sides.  Tested the fit, you want them to be snug.  Stuck my tiles to it with just a tiny bit of double face tape.  Then, with a Sakura Graphic One black, created a border of mooka and other friends.  Nothing too fancy. Then slid them back in.  I had some old dried flowers destined for the trash, shook the dust off, and, voila!

Have fun with this.  I know you’ll come up with better ideas once you get going.  And, please share them with us!