All of us want our homes and offices to be as appealing and personalized as possible, where we are able to feel a sense of belonging to them. This is what you can do: a personalized oil painting of yourself, you and your loved ones, or that of your favorite scenery!

However, as soon as you remove all the packaging materials, you realized that you are lost as to what to do after you had it up. How should you go about maintaining it? After all, good paintings are meant to last, if handled with proper care.

Here are some suggestions on how to care for your painting:

1. The very first step in maintaining your canvas painting is to frame it up. Frames act as cushion against any physical shocks and impacts. Frames can be purchase easily off the rack. You could also send it to a local framer as well. Be reminded not to frame your painting under a glass panel to avoid damaging the painting’s surface.

2. Avoid direct contact with the surface of the paintings. All handling should be done via the sides of the wooden frames.

3. Steer clear of areas with excessive heat, cold and humidity. These environmental factors will cause the canvas to turn moist, expand and shrink periodically hence inflicting damage to the painting.

4. Avoid placing your painting in extreme light of darkness. Extensive exposure to light causes the painting to fade away while being kept in darkness for too long will deepen the colour of the painting as well.

5. Do not leave the paintings near or on pointed objects. These sharp edges could inflict dents or cuts on your fine portraits, hence disfiguring them.

6. Apply a layer of varnish to the painted surface of your oil painting to serve as an extra layer of protection from the environment.

7. Dust your paintings occasionally to prevent dirt from accumulating. Use soft and clean brushes to brush the dirt off gently or a dry micro fibre cloth to lift these particles up. Alternatively, you can also employ a low power vacuum with a brush attachment.

8. If your oil painting has been badly damage, bring it to a professional cleaning and restoration service shop. The experts will reinstate the vibrancy of the painting which is lost. Although such services are relatively costly, to be able to get back a beautiful painting certainly outweighs the cost incurred.

In fact, caring for your prize paintings does require an additional effort. However, these steps are simple and realistic, anyone could achieve it! I’m sure that all of us would like to preserve our precious memories for as long as all we can and present this pride of ours to future generations.

Browse through your photo album now and get your very own portrait painting done!

At Paint The Moment, you will be able to transform darling photographs into endlessly lovely oil paintings at reasonable prices. Made from the finest material, each hand painted works of art is one-of-a-kind and can last for generations! So don’t hesitate to hang your portrait of love in your premises!

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For many collectors who intend to sell their collection or just plain curious about how much their collectibles are worth, appraising the value of their collection is foremost before marketing them. There are several ways to know the monetary value such as the following:

The going rates for collections are based on aspects such as the origin of the good, manufacturer or producer, age and the place of transaction. For instance, wines are consistently in demand in Europe, particularly in countries like France and Italy where a good and classic wine is most appreciated. Drinking wine is practically a lifestyle. The value in selling wine, especially one that is of excellent quality, can be considerably higher as opposed to transacting in other regions where wine is not valued as much. Many wine collectors buy and sell in areas where there is high demand and recognition for their collection.

A further case is that of area rugs. There are an increasing number of rug collectors and the value of rugs is getting higher as well. If a collector has a rare or antique rug, the more he can gain from the appraisal. Rugs made in the earlier centuries and were preserved and passed down to this time are absolute collector’s items. Materials, designs and colors that are more elaborate cost much more too.

The availability of the item is a factor often looked at by private evaluators who compare it with those in the current market. The more in demand the goods are, the higher their estimated value is.

The condition or the quality of the item is crucial in determining its value. The more flaws there are, the more it loses its worth. For this reason, carefully examining an item you’re interested in during an auction is important. It can be such a good find in terms of its name and background, but if its quality has deteriorated, you are wasting your money and will not gain much either if you decide to sell it later on. A rug for instance, requires a check for cracks, rips and tear. Stains even the disguised ones should be looked out for. Any damage or imperfection means minus in digits.

Collections that are an authentic set or part of a set also demand a higher cost. The collector should be able to ascertain the value of his collection before selling off. If unsure, there are professional evaluators who can help assess the items know the right rates.

Zoey Callehan is an interior design writer for HouseofAreaRugs.com – an online area rug store dedicated to bringing you the best in Persian style rugs and transitional rugs.

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1999 AAA KENTUCKY & TENNESSEE ROAD MAP,COLLECTABLE

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1995 PENNSYLVANIA OFFICIAL TRANSP. ROAD MAP,COLLECTABLE

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Alaska 50th Anniversary collectable Bear 1959 - 2009

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Mervyn's Village Square Christmas collectables

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Silver Plated Collectable Ganz Spoon A Cup Of Cheer

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1981 AAA PHOENIX CITY ROAD MAP,COLLECTABLE,paper

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