First Place, Non-Professional Non-Original with Instruction

This is a Debbie Kelley Brazilian embroidery design. I didn’t change anything about the design or the threads—but what I love about this piece is the mat my framer and I created for the piece.

The design on the mat is actually a piece of scrapbook paper. I wanted something that would give the piece an Asian feel and so looked for a mat that would be appropriate. When I didn’t find anything in my framer’s stock, I started thinking about alternatives and remembered that I had created my own mat design previously with a piece of sheet music. I started looking at scrapbook paper and finally found this one at Michaels. I love how it suggests bamboo with the design and the color and it goes so nicely with the piece.

This is an example of how good mat and framing choices can make an ordinary piece of needlework into something spectacular.