diy: make your own linen/burlap picture frame mats

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  We got so much accomplished in the nursery, I was sorry to see the long weekend come to an end.  Now it’s just a waiting game….waiting for curtains and crib bedding to come back from the seamstress and for art to arrive so I can get her gallery wall up, as well as put all the little finishing touches on everything.  With less than four weeks to go until my due date, I’m holding my breath that it’ll be done in time for us to bring her home!  One of the things I knocked out this weekend was making my own linen matting-if you follow me on Instagram (@bungalowblue) you might remember this gorgeous watercolor my lovely and talented friend painted for Baby Girl:

With white walls, a white frame and white mat did little to make the painting itself really pop, so instead I thought I’d try my hand at wrapping the mat in some leftover linen fabric I had to add a little texture and it looks amazing!

All I used was some linen fabric, an exacto knife, my mat and some adhesive spray:

First, lay your mat face down on the fabric and cut a border of 1/2 inch to 1 inch all the way around:

Next, using my exacto knife, I cut a really awkward looking “X” in the middle of the mat, making sure to cut all the way to the corners:

Using my scissors, I trimmed the edges so there wouldn’t be any overlap (it won’t fit in the frame easily if you don’t):

Also be sure to cut small squares at all four corners to make it easy to wrap your fabric on the mat and have it lay flat:

Remove your mat and spray the fabric liberally with this adhesive spray.  Don’t worry, it’s readjustable, so you have plenty of time to work with it.  I recommend spraying it on a piece of cardboard and doing it outside as it gets on everything:

Place your mat face down again on top of the sprayed fabric and pull the fabric up on the sides with slight tension:

Here is what the finished product looks like now.  I couldn’t love it more:

More to come on the nursery progress soon, I promise!  In the meantime, follow me on Instagram (@bungalowblue) for more updates!