One of Frame USA’s most important values is making our products in the United States. So as you might imagine, the 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays! We strive to give our customers the best quality products by making them here in Cincinnati, OH. This also means we’re creating more jobs for Americans, which helps the economy and the well being of our citizens!
We are able to create our products locally after Frame USA moved in February 2003 into our current 85,000 square foot warehouse and manufacturing facility in the northern Cincinnati area. After extensive remodeling, we now have a state-of-the-art facility.
Frame USA is grateful to be in a country where people have the freedom to build businesses and follow their dreams. So we are proudly celebrating America’s birthday with a 4th of July sale for our customers!
From 7/3/2018 – 7/5/2018 you can get 10% off all orders from any of our four websites – Frame USA, Posterservice Inc, Frame Closeouts, and Mat Designers! The coupon code for this sale is “july2018”. Our websites have a huge variety of frames in all colors, styles, and materials, and a wide selection of posters.
We hope you all have a great and safe 4th of July! Here are a few fun facts about the 4th of July:
John Adams made a prediction in a letter to his wife that the “Second Day of July” would be celebrated as American Independence Day, since the Congress had actually voted to sever ties with Great Britain on that day.
Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1870.
The Founding Fathers actually lost the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th 1826.
The original wording in the Declaration of Independence said “the pursuit of property”, but Thomas Jefferson changed it to “the pursuit of happiness.”
As your children turn from kids to adults, buying them presents for the holidays or birthdays can become a difficult task. They become far less easy to please and far more expensive to shop for. You may have given up the fight and settled with money, gift cards or clothing (that they will probably end up returning for the money). We thought that we would end this madness and give you a few gift ideas that will guarantee make your kids cry or at least give you a really big hug! The best part about these gifts are you most likely will have almost every one of them, and with the help of Frameusa.com you won’t even have to leave your house this Black Friday because you will be all set for your presents.
1. Frame ticket stubs and program from an event you experienced together.
Almost all kids will attend concerts and/or plays that impacted them greatly in some way. By framing them you are providing your children with someplace to not only protect those precious ticket stubs and play bills but to display them as well. We have three types of shadow box picture frames that you can choose from: Shadow box Boxers, Shadow Box Showcase and Shadow Box Elite. All of which come in our standard sizes. Just like all of our other picture frames our Shadow Box frames are back loading. This will allow for your children to put in their precious ticket stubs and play bills, close up the frame to display and then add more ticket stubs and play bills as they receive them! Only have one particular show that was special? Just frame those elements with Build a Frame
2. Frame your child’s favorite childhood toy
Our picture frames come in variety of depths so they will accommodate everything from a puzzle all the way up to a matchbox car or train. If the toy itself is rather thick I suggest looking at our shadow box picture frames. They range in depth from a little over 1 inch all the way up to 3.5 inches
3. Take a childhood “Blankey” and frame it
You can Use the aforementioned shadow box picture frames and have the blanket sewn onto black foam core. The other option is to unfold the blanket and frame it in a traditional wood frame.
4. Combine your child’s catcher’s mitt or dance shoes with a picture of them in the uniform/costume
Take your child’s equipment and find a photo of them wearing it. Use our Shadow Box Showcase picture frame and combine them for a meaningful gift.
5. Turn your childhood’s art piece into a masterpiece
Our Customer Kandy Myndy Turns Her Artwork into Plaques!
We can take a copy of your child’s artwork and turn it into a plaque that can be hung on a wall. For more information about the plaque process, click here! A Plaque is a great picture frame alternative that allows for you to protect your pieces but in a simple inexpensive way!
6. Frame a memento from an important life experience
You can use Build a Frame and choose beautiful mats and high quality made in the USA picture frames to turn that moment into a lasting memory.
7. Framed pennies from the birth year of each of your family members
These can be especially wonderful to use as a gift for your grown children, especially those that have new families of their own. Once you have the pennies you can lay them out however you please, in a more artistic way such as in a family tree style, or a simpler layout such as a straight line.
8. Frame a map of your home state or city
If you’re really crafty you can do something spectacular to the map, but for those of you that are like me, all you need is an image of a map, scissors and a made in the USA picture frame.
9. Framed Image of Childhood Home
We suggest turning it into more of an artistic style photographs using an online generators.
10. Frame a family letter
The easiest gift of all is simply writing your child a meaningful letter letting them know how much you love them, and are proud of them and getting it framed
After hearing of the topic of this blog, one of our employee’s shared with us a personal experience that really showed us that these gifts really do mean the world to our children. With approval of this employee we thought we would share her story with you to show that this really is a worthwhile post and is not just an attempt on our part to push our products.
“My senior year of college I was required to go through a portfolio show in which I displayed my portfolio to friends, family and professors. All of the projects in it were an accumulation of my 4 years at school and it was extremely important to me. My mom took the postcard invitation that was sent out about the show and got it framed for me. This simple gift that my mom gave me serves as a daily reminder of my accomplishments and I cherish it deeply.”
Giving your child (or anyone for that matter) a worthwhile gift isn’t about how much you spend or how trendy it is, it’s about coming up with something that makes that person feel cherished. That is why these gifts that we gave you are so effective; they will make your child see that what is important to them is important to you.
OK, so you’ve cleaned and primped your house in expectation of family and friends for the holidays and in the process you found $3.84 in couch change. It’s time to put it to use…
You Can Help!
We only have a few days left to help out. Christmas is just around the corner and area families still need your help. Please join us to help “Fill the Truck”. We are collecting donations of all types at our warehouse retail store, or you can simply browse to http://fillthetruck.org . You can provide basic necessities like cleaning supplies, toilet paper or warm clothes to a family that needs it right now. You can even donate that $3.84 via PayPal and we’ll take care of the shopping, picking, packing the skids, and delivering the goods.
Ron Burgundy Parody Video
Ron Burgundy, disgruntled from his recent captivity covering the Fill The Truck charity campaign, fends off against the jolliest of them all: Santa Clause!
Please take a moment to check out the site, give if you can. We hope you enjoyed the video and have a wonderful Holiday Season!
Thanksgiving is over. Look outside and what do you see? Lights, blow up snowmen, people rushing about furiously, insane traffic, and crazier shoppers. We all know how commercialized the Holidays have become, and it’s all too easy to get caught up in all the mayhem and forget one of most important aspects of this season — family.
This season, take a moment out of the madness to take a deep breath and prioritize. Is Christmas really about making sure you are spending enough on everyone equally, or trying to one up another gift giver by making sure you spend more. Is it about beating the shopper next to you to the last XBOX 1 or PS4? Has it become so commercial and hurried that we can’t stop for a moment and make some awesome Christmas memories? I hope not.
So, this season spend a little time thinking about how you can make some new and lasting holiday memories. Let’s take a look at some ideas from others across the internet…
White Elephant Gift Exchange
On my step-fathers side of the family we have always do a white elephant gift exchange. If you are not familiar, this is where everyone finds one gift to give from something either around the house or something under a set spending limit. The gift can either be funny or useful. I tend to lean toward the funny or gag gifts just to watch the reactions. That’s what makes the fun memories for me and everyone else seems to like smiling and laughing, as well. We wrap the gifts properly and then everyone brings their gift to our family Christmas get together and places it in the pile.
During our gift exchange, the first person selects 1 wrapped gift from the assortment and unwraps it. The next person can then, either select a wrapped present from the pile or they can take the unwrapped gift that the previous person opened. If they chose to steal, then the person stolen from takes the next turn.
Additional Rules:
A gift can not be “stolen” more than twice. Whoever steals it 2nd gets the gift.
A gift can not be immediately stolen back by the person it was stolen from.
All gifts must be kept in plain sight.
Get the Kids Involved
It doesn’t matter if you are preparing a feast or stringing up Christmas lights and decorations to rival the Griswald’s, be sure to involve the children. It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and push the kids aside and do things ourselves in the name of efficiency. It seems there is so much to do that we don’t have time to teach or show our children how important family actually is.
Bake some cookies or make some candy and let little hands help as they learn tasty skills that they will pass on.
Involve children in decorating the home and tree. Make some decorations with your kids, or even just 1 decoration, then repeat every year to create a tradition. Stockings and ornaments are always a decent choice.
Let the kids learn from Grandma in the Kitchen. I know it’s busy, but remember Grandma won’t ALWAYS be around. This is the chance for her to spend some real quality time and pass down her years of knowledge in the kitchen. Start with something simple like rolling dough into a ball for the dinner rolls. They’ll love it.
Volunteer or Give
There are people in every community that have less than the majority of us. This brings a multitude of ways that you can help out and create new memories for your family. All you have to do is give… It doesn’t matter if you volunteer time to help distribute food at a shelter, serve meals at a soup kitchen, or just stop and ask someone if the “need anything”. Get involved and try to do something that will make an impact in someones life. You’ll be surprised how it will benefit YOU and your family, as well.
Saving the Memories
I can’t stress the next part enough. With all the smartphones running around your household, there is NO reason to not take some snapshots to remember your time together. Capture the moments that touched your heart. Print the images. Protect them in a frame, and everyone visits your home can share in a little piece of your favorite moments. Shop for Picture Frames
