Displaying (Big) Family Photos

 

What did we ever do before digital cameras?  I’ll tell you what we did.  We actually took our film, had it developed and had photographs in hand.  I am the worst about taking hundreds of pictures and keeping them stored on that little memory card forevermore.  Are you?

 

Earlier this week, I collaborated with Lindsay Hart (the photographer who took our recent family pics) for her segment on the local talk show, Charlotte Today.  (No, I wasn’t on camera.  We’ll leave that to Lindsay.)  She shared some great ideas for how to display your family photos in your home once you actually print them out. 

 

 

 

You can watch the whole segment here.

(Lindsay also did a recap of all the tips on her blog.)

 

 

One of my favorite tips from the show is one you may already know about.  You can have a huge 3x4’ print made of one of your photos at Staples for around $7.  It’s called an engineering print, and can also be ordered online: 

 

 

source

 

I have plans for one (or maybe several) of these in our house this year.  When it comes to displaying family photographs in your home, I’m a bigger fan of a few, fun, oversized prints as opposed to lots of little frames that get lost in the mix. 

 

Do you put your family photos on the wall?  Or, are they trapped on your memory card, too?

 

Art for Your Abode (a giveaway)

 

 This giveaway is now closed.

 

I love seeing bloggers turn their talents into thriving businesses.  I also love colorful art. 

So, I was excited when Laurel-Dawn of the blog Abode Love, emailed me to tell me about her new online art shop:

 

 

 

 

She was kind enough to make me a print of my favorite painting in her shop, “Flowers for Reese.”

 

 

 

Right now, it’s gracing my kitchen countertop, but I have a feeling that this is art I’ll move around from room to room.  It seems to work everywhere.  I would call it “happy art” because it instantly brightens any space.

 

 

 

 

 

She offers both original paintings and prints, as well as commissioned pieces:

 

 

(One of Laurel-Dawn’s paintings hanging in her own home)

 

 

Giveaway details . . . 

To celebrate the grand opening of her shop, Laurel-Dawn is giving one winner a print of their choice!  (a $55 value)

To enter, just visit Laurel-Dawn, pick your favorite print, and leave a comment on this post letting me know which one.  I’ll announce the winner this Friday, Nov. 16th. 

 

What Do Your Walls Say?

 

I’ve been guilty of it.  Buying a piece of art for our home only because I needed to fill some wall space.  In fact, when decorating our first house, I remember driving to a home decor chain store (in the mall) on a mission to find artwork to “match” our couch.  I succeeded—or failed, depending on how you look at it:

 

(Circa 2002.  There are so many things wrong here—but let’s just talk about the art today.)

 

 

As I’ve matured (or gotten older, whatever you want to call it), I’ve learned that what’s on our walls should match “us” and not our furniture. 

 

 

 

 

Jamin and Ashley Mills came to the same realization several years ago.  They’re a husband/wife blogger team at The Handmade Home who became frustrated with the price tags and selection when shopping for pieces to fill the walls of the family’s home.  So, they took matters into their own hands and made their own creations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They’re now sharing their ideas and projects in a new e-book:

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t have a lot of experience with e-books, but when they emailed me about it, I knew this is one I wanted to share with you all.  They’ve provided lots of great ideas for creating pieces that will make your home feel like “you”.

 

 

 

 

 

The e-book contains 22 projects and over 250 pages of inspiration, with colorful photographs and step-by-step illustrations. 

 

 

 

 

They’ve divided the projects into three categories:  frames, art, and function.  And, I appreciate that each project includes a supply list, difficulty level and estimated cost and time requirements.  (The average cost of each project is around $35.)  In other words, there are no surprises once you get in the middle of a project.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s available for $9.95 in a simple, easy-to-use PDF format with an accessible and affordable approach for all—no matter your skill level.   Just click, download, and read. It's that simple, and if you have any questions, they'll be there to help you. 

 

 

Just click on the button below to visit The Handmade Home where you can purchase your copy:

 

 

 

I have a couple of ideas about what I would like to attempt first.  Can’t wait to hear what you make….  Christmas gifts, perhaps?  :)

 

On My Summer To-Do List

 

Now that it’s summer,  I’m realizing I did a pretty poor job of sorting/organizing the papers I wanted to keep from my kids’ past school year. 

 

 

 

So, my goal before they go back to school is to sort through it, pick out the most colorful pieces and frame them for our back hallway:

 

 

 

 

A similar project to what I did in our last house. . .

 

 

 

 

But, this time, I plan on putting everything in white frames (just spraying the ones I already have) . . .

 

Young House Love

 

 

Call it indecisiveness (or creative genius at work), but I’m also considering a completely different color scheme for this area of our house.

 

    

 

 

 

And, for the rest of their work and art projects that don’t make the wall of fame, I bought several of these gray paper boxes from The Container Store that I plan to store on our office shelves.

 

 

 

Book Art

    

I hope you'll swing over to the Goodwill blog to read my latest post, "New Uses for Old Books."  I'm sharing some obvious and not-so-obvious ways to use old book pages in your decor.

Woman's Day

   
I recently took my own advice when I needed some quick art for our very blank canvas of a playroom.  Since this room stays in upheaval most of the time, I wasn't looking to invest a lot of money in artwork.  Instead, I scoured my kids' bookshelves and found this beautifully illustrated train book.  (I also had this canvas train painting that I bought off Ebay a few years ago and never used. . . )

After convincing my six-year-old that the entire family could enjoy his book if we cut it apart and hung it on the wall, I went to work.  I also discovered a new favorite IKEA frame.  Although I usually recommend the Ribba, I tried the Stromby and really like the thin frame and the price for the size--just $10.  (Is this new?  It's not listed on their site.)

The frame doesn't come with a mat. And, since I told you this was a quick "cheap" project, I just flipped the paper that came with the frame over to the white side and put my art right on top. (It's a playroom, not an art gallery, after all.)

 
 

Once I got the hang of the clips on the back of the frames, I was in business. (It should tell you something if the frame comes with instructions. And, notice that all IKEA "directions" start with that dumbfounded guy calling for help.  That's a bad sign from the get-go.)

 

I'll be showing you more of this room soon.  For now, you can read more of my ideas for using book pages here.