Buy special glue paper used for mounting Chinese rice paper paintings to prepare them for framing. Using the old fashion wet mounting process is too messy and difficult for most people who are not familiar with the process, but using our glue paper anyone can get professional results in just minutes.

Tools Needed for the Mounting Process:

1. SHARP utility knife
2. Common clothes iron
3. Ruler or yardstick for large paintings
4. Pencil
5. Table with a thin old blanket laid on it, one layer, should not be too thick or too soft.
6. Large piece of glass or smooth wood surface for cutting painting and rice paper. Glass is best and will last longer too.

Follow the steps outlined below and your painting will be ready for framing in just a few minutes.

Step 1: Cut the glue paper to size, it should be the exact same size or slightly smaller than the painting you wish to mount. It is best to write or paint on rice paper slightly larger than the desired finished size of an artwork so you can trim it to size during the mounting process.

Step 2: Find a clean mirror bigger than the size of your rice paper painting. Holding the painting against the mirror use a spray bottle to wet the rice paper painting and make it stick to the mirror, the spray bottle should be on mist, not a hard spray.

Step 3: After allowing the painting to almost but not quite dry carefully peel it from the mirror and you are ready to mount it onto the glue paper. Center the painting on the glue paper and use a piece of clean rice paper larger than the painting to GENTLY smooth out the painting.

DO NOT use force during this process, it will create wrinkles in the painting, and though they can be removed later with some effort it is much easier if you avoid creating the wrinkles.

Step 4: With the clean rice paper still on top of the painting, use an iron set to the low setting to slowly bond the rice paper painting to the glue paper. You should start from the center and work outwards in all directions, always returning to the center to begin again working outwards.

DO NOT use pressure during this step, wrinkles created by using pressure will be extremely difficult to remove later, so let the weight of the iron do the work, don't use force.

Just use enough heat, for a long enough time to glue the rice paper and glue paper together, don't over do it. Using too much heat, or ironing for too long can produce wrinkles. You can test to see if it is glued together by carefully peeling a corner back.

Step 5: Slowly peel the rice paper off the glue paper, the glue should now but stuck to the backside of the rice paper. Place the rice paper painting onto a thick sheet of mounting rice paper cut slightly larger than the painting size, centering it on the mounting rice paper.

Use the sheet of clean rice paper again here to smooth out the painting onto the mounting rice paper. Once again be gentle and don't use excess pressure.

With the clean sheet of rice paper on top of the painting use your iron to glue the painting to the mounting rice paper.

You should start from the center and work outwards in all directions, always returning to the center to begin again working outwards.

Step 6: If you created any wrinkles in step five follow this step to remove them, if not go on to step seven.

To remove wrinkles use your spray bottle to mist the affected area, making sure not to put too much water onto the painting, just make it damp, don't soak the entire painting.

Use the iron again working away from the wrinkle in opposing directions using light pressure. You can repeat this process a couple of times if needed to remove the wrinkle. ALWAYS use the clean sheet of rice paper on top to prevent the ink from bleeding.

Step 7: Finally the easy part, just cut the rice paper painting to size, and your finished. Please make sure you use a very sharp utility knife to trim your painting to size, you don't want to tear it and ruin your painting after all your hard work.

Congratulations on Mounting Your Painting

Congratulations, you have mounted a rice paper painting to prepare it for framing. Practice makes perfect, and you will get much better and faster after a few tries. Soon you will be able to complete this process in five or ten minutes depending on the size of the painting.

Send us a picture of your completed artwork, we would love to show our visitors how beautiful your painting on rice paper looks after being framed.