If you're looking for a truly unique gift this Mother’s Day, what about buying your Mum the tools that will introduce her to a highly addictive hobby? Picture framing is an incredibly rewarding pastime and anyone who has ever paid to have something framed will know how cost prohibitive it can be to get it done professionally.

Carbatec have a large range of picture framing tools and accessories that make it possible to create beautiful, professionally finished frames that will conserve your photos, certificates or precious children’s drawings. You don’t need lots of equipment to get started or a dedicated workshop.

My son, Hugo, painted a flower as a gift for me. Of course as a doting mother I hailed him as a genius and wanted to keep it forever. Instead of putting it in my ‘to do something with later’ drawer or on the fridge where every other important piece of paper in my life is precariously pinned under kitsch magnets, I decided to make a frame for it immediately.

I paid four dollars for a small off-cut of moulding at our local hardware store and with the use of the Carba-Tec® mitre box and saw (CPT-550) a picture framing clamp (TV-146) and my Push Master® Kit, I was able to easily make a frame for Hugo’s masterpiece. I used 6mm MDF as a backing board and cut 3mm glass to size. The Mat Master range of products includes a glasscutterthat matches up with their aluminium straight edges.

I glued the mitres using Titebond 111, it has a longer drying time than other glues in the Titebond range and gives you time to slide the mitres into place after you have applied light pressure with the framing clamp. I inserted the V nails from the Push Master® Kit into the back of the frame while the clamps were still on and then left the glue to dry.

After a couple of hours drying time I fitted the glass, painting and backing board using the Push Master® Flexinails, and there you have it, a gift painted from the heart now has a home to do it justice

To see our full range of framing tools, click here!