SPECIAL NOTE: Frame Destination mascot Artie the Panda penned this month’s blog. He kept bugging us about it, so we finally said yes. Does he have the writing chops to do this again? Let us know.

Say you’ve finally finished that project you’ve been working on for months. A labor of love and creativity like no other. How can you showcase this beauty so that you get top dollar from astute clients and art aficionados? If you’re keeping the piece, how can you add an extra twinkle in the eyes of admiring friends and family?

Then again, perhaps the art aficionado is you. You’re strolling through an outdoor festival one crisp fall weekend, and your gaze is captured by a something sublime — a whimsical watercolor or a hypnotic black-and-white photograph. Whatever the case, it’s calling your name. You have to have it. You buy it, bring it home, and start wondering what’s the best way to display it?

Here’s a suggestion for either scenario: Give it a custom frame that provides added protection, creative mounting options, or cool effects that help your art stand apart.

In other words, trick that baby out.

These Advanced Options, found in the Build-A-Frame section of our site, are featured in the latest video by Frame Destination co-founder, Mark Rogers, (my boss). He takes you through the four main ways you can display and protect your art in extra-special ways — and I promise it’s easier than you think! Just take a look at the video.

Here’s more on the reasons why you may want to consider advanced options:

1. Add Spacers to Give Your Art Some Breathing Room and More Protection

For truly cherished paintings or photos, the first thing you’ll want to do is add spacers to your frame package. Spacers help protect your art by creating a space between your art and Glass. (We all need our space, right?) Over time art can become stuck to the glass, ruining the art if you try to take it out of the frame. Of course, a mat will also provide a gap, but if you’re not going with a mat, spacers will do the trick.

2. Make Specialty DIY Cuts or Float Your Art With Mats

In the world of mat boards, a blank mat differs from a window mat in that it’s solid, with no pre-cut opening. You may want a blank mat if you plan to “float” the image, meaning the art is smaller than the mat window, creating a border between the mat edge and the image edge. In this scenario, you would be able to see the background the image is mounted on, which would typically be white from the foam core. If you don’t want it to be white, you would mount your image on the blank mat (in the color of your choice) and place it under the window mat. (By the way, there’s a difference between float mounting and floater frames.)

3. Use Additional Backing to Offer a Museum-worthy Presentation

A third option is additional backing. In previous steps, you’ve already selected, for example, a 3/16-inch foam board to serve as the frame back. Frame Destination acid-free foam core is archival, but if you want to make the frame package truly museum archival, you can add two-ply foam board — a pure cotton-rag mounting board. This additional backing will protect your image even further. To learn more about these backing options visit our foam board category here.

4. Create Special Effects by Adding Glass or Acrylic

Finally, why not do something super fly by adding extra glass or acrylic? With this option, your art is “sandwiched” between two pieces of glass or two pieces of acrylic. If the glass is larger than the artwork, you’ll have a clear border around the image, allowing you to see through to the wall behind the picture frame generating a “hover” impression. Pretty cool effect!

Artie Tip: In extreme conditions, this method could result in the art sticking to the glass over time so use this method for non-priceless art only.

There you have it! Four ways to take your custom frame to the next level. Simple, right? That’s our mission here at Frame Destination — to make your life a little easier and arty-er.

Have you taken advantage of these advanced options? Let us know how it went in the comments below, or share your art with us on social media be using the hashtag #Framedestination. We’d love to see your tricked out creations.