DIY Fabric Photo Mats

We keep a LOT of photos hung up in our house. Pictures of places we’ve been and people we love are our favorite type of art, but the process of framing photos can be expensive, especially when it comes to buying good quality mats for the pictures. This is a fun and inexpensive way around that dilemma that can be customized for any kind of décor.

Things you’ll need:
Lightweight cardboard (poster board or recycled cereal boxes are perfect
Lightweight fabric
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil/chalk
Spray adhesive

Things to do:
1. First, determine what size mat and what size opening you want for your picture and cut your cardboard to this size, being sure to keep the edges straight.


2. Cut a piece of fabric ½ inch larger all around than your piece of cardboard.

3. Spray the cardboard lightly with adhesive and smooth the fabric over it, pulling the fabric tight to remove any bubbles.
4. Now spray the back of the frame lightly with adhesive. Pull the edges down around the outside of the cardboard, keeping the corners neat and tight.
5. Cut a large “x” in the center opening of the fabric so that each leg ends exactly at the corner of the inner opening of the square. (If you have a large center opening, you may want to remove a chunk of fabric from the center before hand to reuse)
6. Fold the inner edges in tightly, smoothing down so that they adhere well to the cardboard. Allow the glue to dry before mounting in a frame.