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Summer is full of memories we capture on our cameras, print them onto glossy paper or store them on our computer and sometimes that is as far as they go. 

If we are lucky they creep into an album but rarely do we give enough time to how we put them in frames and arrange them.  Many of us have a selection of mis-matched frames given to us as presents or bought at Boxing Day sales and we are fearful of how on earth we are going to arrange them.

Arranging your memories can take on a whole different sense of excitement if you arrange them with a theme in mind.  Be it travels, family or events in your life the main thing is to let them tell a story as a group.  This principal can be for small picture frames you gather on a table or dresser or for pictures you arrange on a wall.

Formal

When arranging formally it is best to position in even number of frames and keeping to the same type of fame to give it a sense of balance and create symmetry in your final arrangement.

Casual

Keeping the feeling of casualness means you can play around with the frames texture and not just stick to one finish.  If silver is your main choice of colour have a variety of textures like polished, matt and even aged sliver for variety. 

Arrange in odd numbers and keep it away from a basic format that sits inside a ‘square’ or ‘rectangle’ form so the feeling isn’t structured and has a flow to it.

Shape

Playing with the shape of frames you need to be careful not to overdo it.  Start with a basic shape, say square as your main choice, and introduce one or two other shapes such as oval or rectangular. 

If you are having ten picture frames keep the majority, as in this case six, in the square shape and have one oval and two rectangular shapes for a variety.  This will give the feeling of variety without making it look too messy and out of control.

Size

Play around with the sizes of the frames and the matt boards.  Don’t be afraid to go away from the basic 5-7cm matt framing in a frame.  A large frame with a small picture can look stunning with a wide matt board of 20-35 cm surrounding it, bringing the focus right into the picture.

The most important part of framing your pictures and hanging them is to make it about the subject and not just about the frames.  After all these are to be looked at and to be a talking point and not o be lost and swamped by the arrangement. 

Look at the subject and colouring of the pictures before you make the choice of the colour of frames and matt boards to make sure you are highlighting what is in the picture. 

We can get sometimes too hung up on how we place out pictures instead of seeing what it is really about -memories, relationships, experiences and dreams.

by Shaynna Blaze-Vaughan
www.blankcanvasint.com