How to create beautiful framed comic books for just over $1 each!
Comic books feature some amazing cover artwork that deserves to be on display, rather than tucked away in a dusty box in your closet. Your favorite comic books can be a cool and really inexpensive way to decorate your office, bedroom, game room or other living spaces.
Dollar Tree to the rescue!
You can make these frames for just over $1 each! I visited my local Dollar Tree and picked up some basic frames with corny "middle-aged lady" artwork which I will be tossing out and replacing with some of my favorite comic books that I want to put on display.
What's nice is that there are comic books for a wide range of interests - you can grab some old comics for that vintage look, comics from your favorite video games, movies and TV shows, cartoons and even some musicians get their own comic books.
What you’ll need:
- narrow, vertical framed artwork
- comics you want to display
- scissors
- colored paper for the back matte ($.59)
Grab whatever comic books you want to frame, your narrow artwork frames from Dollar Tree, the paper for the matte and a pair of scissors. I decided to frame my Dragon's Lair and Space Ace comics to display them in my game room. Make sure you grab the frames that are vertically oriented and not horizontal. I’ve bought horizontal ones by accident before, so I’m stuck with those.
To get started, simply peel back the black tabs on the back side (carefully) so you can slip out the cardboard backing, throw away the cheesy Dollar Tree artwork and you're ready for the next step.
Using the cardboard that you removed from the frame, use that as a guide for cutting your matte. I used the edge of the scissors to score the paper lightly, which makes cutting out your matte with nice straight lines much easier. One sheet of colored posterboard is enough paper for at least 6-8 of your framed comic masterpieces.
Slip your favorite comic book behind the glass, taking time to center it as perfectly as you can. They're not a perfect fit, which is where the matte comes in. Replace the cardboard backing and reassemble your frame. Make sure to pinch down the black tabs as tightly as possible to minimize how much the comic book can slip inside your frame. Note that thicker comic books might not fit after you've put everything back together, so I had to swap out my Batman 500 issue with an obscure vintage comic from the 70's.
That's all there is to it. You’ve got a nice piece of comic book artwork that cost you just over a dollar to put together. Either use your favorite comic books or frame some that you come across at garage sales or comic book shops. Older titles can often be picked up for 50 cents or less.
Paired with a little shelf and accessories, this is a very cheap and fun way to add some fun artwork to any room. I added some Spider-Gwen comics to my daughter’s room and she loves them.
Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!
Image Source: original photos by retro-room
Next time I'm at the Dollar Tree I'm going to look for some of those frames... I also want to find some cheap shadow box frames because I want to put some old computer parts in them along with some LED lighting...
Sounds like a cool project! Most hobby stores (Hobby Lobby/Michael's/JoAnn's/etc.) have shadow boxes, and most of them have a constant stream of 20-50% off a single item coupons, so that might be a good place to look.
My wife is a pro at JoAnn's and Michael's. If you're shopping there without a coupon, you're doing it wrong :) The Ikea frames are also supposed to be good, but like you, I wasn't able to find any.
Part of my own wall (I prefer the white backers for this, and I need to unwrinkle the bag covering What The??:
This has been my secret for years. There is some site with this same tutorial out there, Dollar Tree rules with decent frames that are perfect for comic books. I have at least 30 frames with comics and art in them.
For some reason one of my cats like the wood the frames are made of and if reach will chew them. So about half of my have a neat custom cat bite design along the corners.
I saw something like this a few years ago using frames from Ikea, but the nearest Ikea is 500 miles away and they don't carry those frames on their site. At least not the last time I looked. But there's a Dollar Tree I drive by to and from work, so its really easy to swing in there and grab stuff.
This post has received a 4.34 % upvote from @boomerang.
Kickass!!!!