How To Frame A Magazine

Whether you have a limited or collector's edition of a magazine that you want to display or you've found a magazine with an attractive or artistic cover that's worth exhibiting, there might come a time in your life when you need to frame a whole magazine. Sure, you could cut off the cover and just frame that single page, but it's not always a good idea to do that, especially if you have a valuable or otherwise special-edition magazine that should be preserved in its entirety. Professional framing looks great but can be expensive. Luckily, framing a magazine is pretty easy to do yourself, and it's not so different from framing a print or a photograph.

1. Select the Right Frame

The key to successfully framing a magazine comes down to choosing the right frame because magazines are thicker than most single prints or photographs for which you might have picked out a frame before. For the best look, you'll want to find a shadow box frame. These are frames with a spacer inside that creates space between the object (magazine) inside and the glass. Because of the thickness of magazines, these frames are the most suitable type.

However, not all shadow box frames come in the same size and neither do magazines. Measure your magazine both vertically and horizontally so you can select a frame of the right size. Ideally, you'll have an inch or two of white spacer visible around the edge of the magazine — that is, the magazine won't come right up to the edge of the frame.

2. Cut the Foam Board

To prevent the magazine from sliding down inside your frame, you'll need to create some padding. A foam board, which is easy to find in craft stores, is ideal.

Take off the back of the picture frame and place it over the foam board. If they're not already the same size, trace the outline with a pen. Then, cut the foam board around your marks.

3. Assemble the Magazine and Frame

Place the magazine cover-side down on the glass of the frame. Place the foam board on top of that and replace the back of the frame, securing it with the hooks or latches.

If the magazine does slide down inside the box frame, you may need some thicker foam padding so you can repeat step 2 to secure it better. If you have a collector's edition magazine, then avoid using tape to keep the magazine in place. If you're not worried about damaging the magazine, you could place a piece of tape in each corner to secure the magazine to the padding or the frame backing behind it.