I was annoyed as to why they sell the art paper as 9 x 12 pads at the art stores like Aaron Brother and Michaels, but then when I've tired to find mats pre-made mats at these stores, they don't sell them made to mat to that size. ARGH.

I guess do you guys order the mats online? Where is a good place to order them from, if anyone could recommend?

Thanks.

I always cut my own mats - it's much cheaper and you can cut it to fit whatever size you want. Simple, too, even without a mat cutter (although I do use one now). In college, we had to learn how to cut mats with just a metal yardstick and an exacto knife. If you would like the directions, I would gladly post them.

Hello bkluver,

I would certainly be interested in any help on that. I know mat cutters are expensive and don't really want to invest in one right now. Thanks tons.

Rainy

here is what I do many times .. i go to the local goodwill store and find beautiful frames that are already matted and most times double and triple matted for under 4 bucks ....thats a steal then I draw to the size and color of that matted frame lol ...hope that helps

Rainy
These are the directions I give my students. If you have any problems figuring them out, let me know.

You can usually get a large matboard - 32" x 40" - for around $7 (even cheaper if you are near an Hobby Lobby where they have them on Sale all of the time for $4.99). You can get a lot of smaller mats from one sheet.
Barb
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I buy frames that I like in bulk with preset sizes and do a lot of my work within that size range. So my paper may be 9 x 12 but the drawing may be 8 x 10. The same with larger frames and larger drawings.

I also get things framed professionally, but usually have a stock of frames on hand in the more common sizes and simply tailor my drawings to fit them. You need to plan the drawing and have it fit within the size range of course before you start your piece.

I have had one pastel framed but it seemed to me to be quite expensive compared to doing it myself. (I had a gift certificate.) It certainly looks nice and didn't take up my time! But, overall, I prefer to do it myself. I just don't have those extra funds to spend, so I invested in a good mat cutter, large self- healing mat, and other supplies.

I also buy frames anytime I can get them at a reasonable price. I like to go to Garage Sales and pick them up. They sometimes have the glass still in them, which is really nice since glass is also expensive. But even without, when I can get them for $1 or so it is well worth my time. My only problem is my stockpile of frames is taking up way too much space!

Thanks for the directions. I tried cutting down a finished mat that I had which was about an inch too narrow for the art. I used an xacto knife like in the photo but my bevel doesn't look like a bevel and one of my corners is a mess. I need practice!!

You are very welcome.
Yes, the first few times are better left for practice. Creating a bevel definitely takes some time. For all of our college work we only did straight cuts. We could only use cream or off-white mats so the bevel wouldn't have shown up that much anyway. If a bevel is really important to you, there are actually some less expensive small hand mat cutters that you can purchase to use with the metal straightedge. Otherwise, I guess I would just get some good old cardboard and practice a lot!

I have one of these http://www.avillagemarket.com/item_detail....isterart7007740
it is no dream to use but way better than a regular xacto knife. I feel it is well worth the money if you don't want to invest (I haven't) in a real mat cutter. I used this when mating the charcoal drawing in my gallery. I didn't do the bevel it is a real pain...

Yes, airscapes, this is exactly what I was thinking when I wrote about the small hand mat cutter!