Logan Team System Mountcutters - January 2011 special offer!

Framing can be an expensive business, whether you are framing photography or your own artwork for an exhibition, or you have a special picture you want to frame nicely and give as a gift...

If you do your own framing you will probably have noticed - as I have - how expensive (yet essential for a professional finish) the card mounts are.

So... here is the solution - cut your own mounts!

The tricky thing about cutting your own mounts is getting that lovely 45 degree angle on the cut - a small detail that makes all the difference. Logan mountcutters are specially designed to cut this angle, and enable you to produce professional, unlimited mounts to your own size and specification, for a fraction of the price it would cost to buy ready-made.

I bought a Logan Team System Mountcutter (24") myself a few months ago, as I do a lot of framing and was becoming frustrated by the amount I was spending on mounts. (I hate paying for something when I think I can do it myself!) I have found it to be an excellent purchase and well worth the money - in fact it has definately saved me money over time.

The system comes in 2 parts - the ruler and the blade. The ruler is a very sturdy, metal 24" that can also be used for general cutting. On one side it has a groove that the blade holder fits into. To cut your mount, you simply measure out the size of the hole you wish to cut, mark the mountboard on the back of the card and line up the mark you have made with the special mark on the blade. The blade is spring-mounted, so you push the blade down firmly with your thumb and run the blade along the length of the line to make the cut. Do this 4 times, one for each side of the rectangle you are cutting out, and hey presto - done!

I was a bit nervous when I first used my mountcutter, as I thought it would be quite difficult to master, but it really wasn't - in fact I was surprised how easy it was. So long as you are precise with your measurements and careful with your cuts, you should achieve perfect results. One little note - watch the corners, you may need to push the blade 1mm further than the end of your marked line to ensure your cuts meet at the corners.

RRP £54.95 but currently on offer at Chromos for £39.95! (We also sell the mountboard in a range of colours, A1, £3.55 per sheet).
Grab one while you can!
(reviewed by Lydia)

Merry Christmas to all our customers and readers!

Thank you to our lovely customer Romaine Dennistoun for this fantastic hand-drawn, humourous festive scene!

I thought this would be a fitting way to say Merry Christmas to all our customers and readers, who have helped make 2010 another successful year for Chromos. We think it is important to support local buisnesses like us, and we are very grateful for your continued custom and passion for Arts and Crafts in all its splendid diversity. We are happy to continue supplying all you talented and creative people out there with the tools for your artistic endeavours.
Hope to see you all in 2011!

Fragonard Artist's Quality Linen Canvas by Pebeo - canvas of the month!

Pebeo Artist's quality Fragonard Linen Canvas is one of the loveliest and best quality readymade canvases we supply. They are made with 340gsm 100% linen canvas fabric, stretched onto a professional quality frame - providing a very sturdy, 'weighty' product that very rarely warps or curves. The canvas is side-stapled to the frame in the traditional manner, so if left unframed these will be visible when the finished piece is hung.

The Linen canvas fabric is woven with pre-washed long fibres, which gives it its clean look and very good regularity.The Pebeo research laboratory has formulated a new type of acrylic coating, guaranteeing the stability of the canvas, good colour adhesion and total protection of the fibres. The canvases are double-primed with this coating, and can be directly painted onto without an additional layer of primer. This is a particular advantage if you prefer to work onto the lovely linen colour rather than a white surface.

At Chromos we supply these canvases in a range of 14 sizes;

- 5 square sizes:
20x20cm, 30x30cm, 40x40cm, 50x50cm and 60x60cm.

- 2 double-squares and 1 triple-square:
20x40cm, 30x60cm and 20x60cm.

- 6 traditional continental sizes of Figure 5, 6, 8 ,10, 12 & 15:

The 'figure' sizes were worked out many years ago and are traditional French standard canvas sizes. We often receive enquiries as to the actual measurements of these figure canvas dimensions.... So here they are:

Fig. 5 - 35 x 27 cm
Fig. 6 - 41 x 33 cm
Fig. 8 - 46 x 38 cm
Fig. 10 - 55 x 46 cm
Fig. 12 - 61 x 50 cm
Fig. 15 - 65 x 54 cm

Final verdict? Fragonard is definitely worth the extra expense if you are looking for a great, superior canvas upon which to create your masterpiece!

See our previous blog on Pebeo 3D Linen canvas if you are looking for a deep-edge quality linen readmade canvas.

Chromos is on the Channel 4 website!

Check us out... We have recently found out that we are featured on the Channel 4 website, in the Craft Suppliers Directory - 4th no less!

Onwards and upwards...

Just a little extra note - we do actually supply a lot more than just PVA Glue and Varnish, and we can in fact supply you with materials for all the activities mentioned on the directory list (namely: decoupage, Guilding, Glass Painting, Paint effects, Papercrafts and Craftmaking, Printing and Stencilling... not to mention our friendly, helpful and sometimes quite knowledgeable staff!)

Hampshire Artist - Dallas Maughan

Moody Blues

Minstead

Stephanie I

Blueberry Hill

We are delighted to introduce the work of Dallas Maughan - one of our lovely Chromos customers - who was kind enough to get in touch recently and show us some of her beautiful and unique works of art.

Dallas descirbes her work as 'paper-fusion', and uses collage to combine and bring together various papers, beads and other media. She then mounts the final work onto canvas or paper.

We love her delicate, intricate and vibrant designs.

Thank you for sharing Dallas!

STUDENTS! Sale! 20% off everything for one night only, 6-9pm Tues 30th November 2010

STUDENTS! There is a 20% sale on at Chromos for ONE NIGHT ONLY!

Come and grab a last minute bargain from 6 till 9 pm on Tuesday 30th November. Stock up on everything you will need to complete your projects, make that one big purchase you need for your course but have not bought yet because it is too expensive, or simply come and grab some Christmas pressies and get creative with home-made craft goodies!


Also, be there early and receive a free goodie bag full of even more excellent art stuff!
Hope to see you there....

Chromos SALE! 20% off EVERYTHING for 2 days only

As you can see from our fabulous poster, Chromos is having a mad bonanza SALE!! 20% off everything for 2 days only, Friday 12th and Saterday 13th November 9am - 6pm.

Come and visit our shop to pick up a bargain before christmas... there are lots of lovely gift ideas, from crafty items like candle-making kits and kids stuff, to beautiful box sets of scrumtious oil, acrylic and watercolour paints, pastels and pencils... Also lots of d.i.y ideas, like make your own cards, jewellery, glass and silk painting, decopage... (the list is almost endless!) OR you could knock up a beautiful piece of artwork for that someone special, whilst there is still time to prepare!

Here is a map of our shop location, (made by Hand Drawn Maps) just behind the Abode Hotel, off the High Street:



Don't miss out on your chance to buy quality art materials for great, low prices... We are standing by the tills in readiness for the crowds, and hope to see you there!