Mats, Mounting & Embracing my OCD...

Yesterday, I did my first vacuum mount and cut mat board.  Yee Haw!  I know that may not sound like it's very difficult, BUT for someone like me who is a wee bit obsessive, it was a challenge to make sure I fully understood the process soup to nuts (whatever that really means).  But more than being somewhat difficult, it was actually a lot of fun.  Yes, I said fun, and no, it isn't because of the contact high I am sure one can easily get from the spray adhesive.  And NO, I haven't tried it.  In fact, to avoid the fumes and subsequent momentary intoxication, Owner devised a most ingenious solution:  tuck your nose into your shirt while spraying.  It is cheaper than face masks, you look just as crazy and is equally effective! 

The difficult part of mounting prints:  Spray adhesive is sticky and unforgiving and OCD people don't like sticky.  EVER!

Lucky for me, I was only mounting pictures from a magazine* and not someone's priceless item.  I had the chance to mount someone's photo, but Owner saw the look of horror on my face at the mere suggestion and gave me another option.  Whew; bullet dodged.  True enough, the process really is easy as long as one doesn't rush and screw it up.  Apparently, I have some skill (or I like to think so) as my three mounts turned out just right.  There were no pesky wrinkles on the prints, and I deemed it a success.  The hard part of the process is affixing the print/art after it has been sprayed with adhesive to the mounting surface.  It takes a bit of time and precision and this is where the OCD comes in quite handy.
*Find a cool pic in a magazine, in a calendar or wherever and I can mount and mat it for you!

The fun part of matting:  Picking out the mat board. 

I am sure I could spend 3 hours looking for the right mat without any problem except that taking 3 hours to select a mat IS a problem.  But in defense of my OCD, there are approximately 740 million mat board colors and types from which to choose.  All that to say, it was pretty much a blast selecting the right mat board to complement the prints.  (Your nerd-alert should be sounding any time now).    I can hardly wait until I start putting frames together with mats and prints.  Remember the Dr. Pepper commercials in the 80's where everyone was happy, singing and dancing in the streets and they were so darn glad to be a Pepper?  Well, that's pretty much the scene in my head while I'm doing this stuff.  I assure you in my erstwhile career that was never the case.  (Your nerd-alert probably just broke).

And to top my day off, I got a new pair of kicks to help me be the best FramerGuy I can be.  I haven't worked on my feet this much since I worked at the Western Sizzlin way back when! 

Ok, so my new shoes and I are off to The Frame Shop & Gallery for a little more fun with framing!  Have a great Labor Day weekend and don't forget to put those white shoes away.  Ciao!

P.S.  Shoes came from Feltner's in Russellville.