These beautiful summer days that stretch into warm oblivion inspire nostalgia—and the need to start a summer project! What better time to take advantage of the air conditioned inside, or a breezy afternoon on the patio, and reminisce over some old photographs? Perhaps it’s too many evenings in front of HGTV, but we’re feeling inspired! Forget photo albums and shoeboxes, from candles to clothes, we’ve got seven creative ideas for your old photographs.1.
1. Ceramic tiles with whimsical sayings and pretty pictures are gift store staples. Why not create our own from photos that mean something to you and hang or stand real memories around your home? Follow these DIY steps for custom ceramic tiles from Brit+Co.
2. Still into sending letters or paper invitations? We love this DIY photo envelope liner idea from Paiges of Style to personalize each and every piece of mail!
3. Make Memory Candles with this DIY tutorial that turns old photographs into personalized glass candle holders using black and white photocopies, transparent contact paper, and dollar store votive holders.
4. Then there’s the tried-and-true photobooks, custom printed calendars, and wall prints. From Staples to London Drugs and several online options, you can turn your pile of prints into coffee table books, usable family calendars, and fine art.
5. Create family heirlooms like a picturesque family tree or a personalized photo map that depicts where in the world you’ve been, and where you’re from, through photo history.
6. Really feeling crafty? From skirts to shirts, you can even turn vintage photographs into wearable, custom art!
7. Still have negatives? Turn those into art, too! See Pinterest.ca for a plethora of ideas. But first, make sure you digitize them to preserve the images in case you want to print them at a later date.
Before you dive in though, protect your prints to save those memories forever:
Step One: Scan all pictures into a computer or external hard drive.
Step Two: Upload to the cloud (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive), just in case!
Step Three: Then sort and ensure each one is digitally labeled so you’ll never forget who, when or where. And neither will your children this way, when they have a neat, organized way of viewing their history—and in a format they actually might, rather than an old, cluttered shoebox!
Happy crafting!
