How to mat a photo?

This is my first time matting an image. I picked up the mat from wal-mart and it came with the white front mat and a piece of cardboard the same size. Do i use the cardboard for the back? How do i get the photo to stay in place? What do i use? Any help thanks.

anyone?

You need to get some acid free mat tape....Most good craft stores have it...just use two small pieces at the top of the image...don't tape all sides. The cardboard can go behind. If you really want to save some money on framing and matting...check with your local community college...most of them offer a class in frames and mats. Money well spent.

Thanks

I been using masking tapefor years w/o trouble.

There are basically two schools of though when framing a photo. The first is to mount the photo on to a rigid piece of board (acid free if you are concerned about longevity). You can "dry mount" the photo with wax coated tissue paper and heat and pressure. A dedicated dry mounting press works best but some people get by with a clothes iron. Just be sure it is completely dry and an that you put some heavy brown paper over the photo to protect it. The other option is wet mounting with adhesive. Spray on adhesives are often used. 3M's Spray Mount (a removable version) and Spray Ment (a permanent version) are two common brands. Rubber cement is also commonly used since it is easy to clean (just peal off mistakes after they are dry) and it wont wrinkle paper. Neither of these adhesives are considered archival however. For archival purposes I would recommend Yes brand adhesive. It is basically a highly refined version of wheat paste and is often used in libraries to repair books.

The other school of thought is to "float" the photo in the mat. Just attach it at the top with tape and let it hang free under the mat. Traditional photo papers are often too curled or wrinkled to do this (hence the development of dry mounting) but I find it works well for digital prints. Especially 8x10s or larger on matte paper. I put the print face down on the back of the mat and tape across the top with a piece of photo safe tape. Some people tape the print to the backing board instead. I just think taping it to the mat is simpler.