framing failure

I really wish this post were a documentation of our success in matting and framing our calendar prints.

It's not.

Here's where I admit that Husband and I aren't pros in anything that we do around the house. Cutting matboard is among the things we've never done before. Therefore, we did not have the tools to cut matboard. Yesterday, while out on a shopping extravaganza (to be detailed later on), we stopped in A.I. Friedman and found the exact mat cutter I had picked out online. And since we needed a ruler, I picked up one that I thought matched.

I didn't.

I bought the Logan Series 1100 handheld "freestyle" mat cutter and the Logan "Adapt-A-Rule" ruler.

Although they were in the same darn display, these two items are not compatible. The "Adapt-A-Rule" is compatible with Logan Series 2000, 4000, and 5000, as noted here. I thought it would work. It's a straightedge, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I refuse to show you my finished product. The blade of the "freestyle" cutter slipped under the ruler, creating a sweet little curve near where I started cutting. Not ideal for a crisp mat.

Thank you, Logan people for making such easy-to-open packaging. I was able to make my horrible looking mat, stop myself from doing more, and put everything back in the package to pretend nothing bad ever happened.

I learned a lesson:  Read the packaging!


I had looked up mat cutters online, and I'm pretty sure I found the Series 2000 and decided to buy it. Did I write down the series number? No.  Did I look to see if there were other model numbers? No.  Did I buy two items that probably work really well, but not together? Yes.

I'll be either returning the "freestyle" cutter or exchanging it for a series 2000 if A.I. Friedman has that one. I can't recall if I saw that one in the display. You know, right next to the ruler it's compatible with.

Why is one cutter better than the other? The 2000 (and higher) models clip on to the ruler. Meaning that sucker is not going to move from one end of the cut to the other. Which was exactly my problem.

I did manage to stop myself from doing more, making a mess, and hating myself. I'd rather wait and do it right than charge through and do a terrible job.

In the words of my father, who has successfully matted several pictures with none of these tools, "Mats are a pain in the _ _ _ to cut."

We did have some success on our outing yesterday. I'll show you soon! Today will instead be spent cooking applesauce, pumpkin bread, and squash soup. Our home will smell as good as it looks!