Photos of family and friends add warmth and personality to our homes. The more public the photo display, the more creative you can be in exhibiting your treasures. As a photographer, you can also display your photos – travel memories or, like a friend of mine; she creates beautiful and creative images of flowers.
Wall Space
Every home can convert some wall space into an attractive photo display. Most people view their photos as priceless memories, so why not display them as works of art — create a gallery to showcase your family and friends.
Decide on what pictures you want to display. The images need to be close up and clear; otherwise, the gallery will not be sharp.
Create a theme – a family vacation or a memorable holiday. You can update your pictures yearly — have a photo gallery party each year.
Mixing frames of different styles and sizes can be fun, but it does take some planning. Find a consistent theme of color or type of wood to balance out the different shapes and styles — the photos need to take center stage, not the frames.
Lay the framed photos on a tabletop or the floor and rearrange until you find a workable arrangement. First, I recommend starting with the most prominent pictures and surrounding them with smaller photos.
Find a friend or family member to help when measuring and preparing to mount on the wall. Have your leveler ready to be sure that a picture that looks straight is straight.
Older Photos
Older photographs add character to your home. If you have a favorite old photo that’s fading, or has been damaged or crinkled through the years, take it to an expert to have it restored and reprinted. You might even be able to do this yourself at home with photo imaging software. You might consider adding a special effect, enlarging or cropping the photo differently to add a new perspective to a familiar picture.
Other Areas in Your Home
Great places to display your favorite photos are on tabletops, desktops, bookshelves, and your family entertainment wall unit. I received a gift of an oak wood dressing screen that contained space for nine large 8×10 photos — what a fantastic display for my children’s pictures.
Last year I received a group of magnets with family pictures – proudly displayed on my refrigerator.
Fabric Ideas
Transfer a favorite photo onto a pillowcase or wall hanging. Photo collages of friends or family members make great placemats. Arrange and laminate.
Create a photo memory quilt that can last a lifetime for a special occasion. The quilt will need to be hand-washed, but what a treasure to give someone a gift.
Create a Scrapbook
Finally, create your own scrapbook and add your stories around the photos for those memorable pictures that don’t make the home display.
I went online and created a photo album of my trip to Scotland. I have taken other trips and still have to make books for them. I had so much fun putting little stories around the different places I visited in Scotland and now have a permanent memory book. We can do this for family, places we visited, our memories growing up, and the possibilities are abundant.
How often do you view your phone or camera images? Do they sit on your phone or computer, and you rarely view them. By creating a photo book of whatever unique story you want to showcase, you have the whole experience in the book.
Your Thoughts
Do you showcase your photos? Or are all those memories tucked away, never to be viewed again? What have you done with your photos – any great ideas to share?
Women’s Group Topic
Have fun and bring your photos to share with others. Share memories of people or places that make you happy.
Be well,
Pat
“To fully enjoy the ‘richness’ of our lives, we need to stop long enough to visit with ourselves.”
(Pat Brill)
Other Topics You May Be Interested In
Make Meal Time Special
Do You Celebrate?
How to Add More Laughter and Fun to Your Life
Do you want to download a PDF copy of both of these books, then go to:
