What a difference a frame makes

Remember waaaaay back last winter when I took 3 months off to go to California? And remember how I made my first “artier” mosaic while I was there? OK, confession time: that piece has sat — still all wrapped up from its journey back to Canada — under my work table since we returned in June. I know, you guys, I know. All I had to do was unwrap the thing and take it to the framer’s (which is only like a kilometre away), but somehow it just never got done. Until a few weeks ago, that is.

For days after dropping it off I stared anxiously at the calendar, willing time to go faster so that I could go pick it up. At last, the call came. It was ready. When I got to the framing studio, the mosaic was nicely wrapped up, all ready for the short trip home. The framer asked if I wanted to see it before heading out, but I declined. I think I was just so self-conscious about being really really ridiculously excited, so I was trying too hard to play it cool. Like “Nah, it’s ok. It’ll wait til I get home,” even though inside my head it was more like “omg ripthatbubblewrapoff NOW!!!!!!” Fortunately, R was there and calmly said, “Yes, we’d like to take a look at it.”

Now, I could already see it fairly well through its wrapping, but when he gently cut away the bubble wrap and revealed the framed mosaic, it was like Christmas morning. But not adult Christmas morning; more like Christmas morning when you’re 5 years old. I was over-the-moon giddy and grinning ear to ear. That night I kept periodically walking over to my work table to look at it, or randomly breaking out into a smile just thinking about it.

It’s weird. I mean, I was thrilled when I finished the piece and got it all cleaned up. But seeing it framed just took the happiness and excitement to a whole other level. There’s just something really cool about seeing your work framed and looking so, for lack of a better word, ‘professional’. I don’t know if it was so exciting because this was the first mosaic that I’ve had framed, but I’m not-so-secretly hoping that it will be this satisfying each and every time. I don’t want this thrill to wear off!

P.S. Big shout-out to Patrick Gordon Framing. They do excellent work and I would totally recommend them to anyone!