Help needed to frame wedding shoes

[Dobbo]

I am quite new to framing but fancy a challenge and would like to frame my wife's wedding shoes for our anniversary.

My main issue is how to fix the shoes to the mount so they stay in place. Does anyone have any examples of this and can offer any guidance? Any help would be much appreciated as I cannot find anything online that helps.

[kartoffelngeist]

Someone once suggested two neodymium magnets, one in the shoe the other behind the mount board. Seemed an elegant solution to me. I believe there was also some discussion over how well it would withstand an EMP attack...

Failing that, if they're fairly lightweight, I would probably hold them in place with a few loops of thread to closely match the colour. If I could get away with it, cable ties would be even easier. If she's never going to want to take them out of the frame I would be considering the glue gun, but that's not generally good practice.

Can expand on any of those if needed.

[Jamesnkr]

I believe there was also some discussion over how well it would withstand an EMP attack...

On the grounds that 90% of the population of the US would be dead within twelve months of such an attack on the US, I doubt your wife's wedding shoes would be much of a worry. http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-kor ... ?r=US&IR=T

[kartoffelngeist]

This was the thread that discussed magnets and EMP viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13227

It's about mounting football boots, so might even be relevant!

[muffinski]

Check with customer if she is likely to ever want to wear them again and ask if she is happy to have them glued, there really is no point in doing conservation just for the point of it in some situations. If she does want them done in a conservation method then use either a cotton thread or even fishing wire that is clear, charge accordingly they may help with her decision, the conservation route will take more time and there for more costly to customer.

[Jamesnkr]

Check with customer if she is likely to ever want to wear them again

Ask your wife if she proposes wearing them at her next marriage?!

[muffinski]

Ask your wife if she proposes wearing them at her next marriage?!

exactly glue em in!!!!

[StevenG]

I done a pair a few years ago, the customer didn't really care how they were attached so I just used 'no more nails' cheap & nasty but it fitted the situation at the time

[Not your average framer]

Glue is not the best idea! The fixing of these shoes needs to withstand a certain amount of mishandling and even a little bit of shock, or vibration. Sadly the weak link when these circumstances occur is likely to be the adhesion of the surface paper to the core of the mountboard. A mechanically secure fixing is the safest way to go in these circumstances and there are a number of different ways to do this. As always reversibility is to be preferred, if possible at a reasonable price. Usually a reasonable price also dictates that the procedure should be quick and easy for the framer to accomplish.

I have a range of different sizes of tags, tag gun and other types of tag type fixings that get me out of just about any situation when it comes to framing all sorts of objects. Assuming that the customer is agreeable I would suggest the following fixing procedure: Unfortunately this does require a couple of small holes in each shoe where the sole of the shoe fully contacts the mount board, but if it is ever necessary to remove the shoes to wear them at a later date the two holes can be quickly and easily filled an seal with a small amount of silicone sealer.

The heel is slightly more difficult and I would not even consider making any sort of hole in the material of the heel, it just not worth it as if the shoes are ever to be worn again the structural strength of the heel is most important. The easiest and most straight forward solution in this situation is therefore to use a really thick mountboard and recess the heel fully into the complete thickness of the mountboard and if the holes in the sole of the shoe are carefully positioned, such that they maintain positive pressure to retain the heel into the recess cut into the mount board.

Many ladies shoe have round ends to stilletto heels which hopefully will coincide with a standard paper drill diameter, so that an invisible fixing will be easily acheived. I like to use very long nylon tags so that they can be pulled tight behind the mountboard and taped securely into position. I also like to form a loop in the end of the long nylon tag and securely attach it to one of those gummed paper attachments for hanging china plates on a wall and stick this attachment onto the rear of the mountboard. I form the loop by bending the end on the tag double and passing it through a small bras ferule.

Make sure that the gum on the attachment is fully hydrated and allow time for the water to fully penetrate the thickness of the gum. Maintain a good level of clamping pressure while the gum is drying and this really does take longer than you probably are expecting to acheive a really solid bond. I like to play it safe and allow 30 minutes. I tape the gummed attachments in place and weight them with some suitable while the gum is drying.

I hope this is helpful and makes sense too!

[caro]

I was asked to frame an historical shoe sole, (there's further info in a post on here 'shoe sole needs fixing discretely' last December) and J Feig very helpfully advised to use clear polyester as an archival product. The strips are visible close up, but the customer didn't mind and my feeling is that the two strips are obviously the means of attachment, do the job, reversible without leaving any mark on the framed object, are transparent and can be ignored whilst looking at the framed object . Anyways this is how it looks. photo attached, whether it is a suitable method for your job is your decision but this is a means you could use.

[IFGL]

Your strips could have been much thinner, we have used them at just 2 mm wide, they are incredibly strong, of course it does depend on the integrity of the item you are framing.