Unique ways to show off your photos

By Gloria Knott | September 30, 2015

I am obsessed with hanging up pictures. Seriously, you should see me when I’m in the frame aisle at Target. And while those classic rectangular frames are nice (I definitely have a bunch of those in my room too), I wanted to show you a few other ways to display your favorite memories. 

 

ROW BY ROW

I recently got a bunch of my favorite pictures printed at Walgreens. My ratio of pictures to frames was about 100000 to 10. I was dying to show off my remaining pictures somehow, but I had no idea how to do it. Finally, I decided to just put packing tape on the back of the prints and stick them to my wall. It’s so simple, but this easily turned into one of my favorite things I’ve ever done to my room.

 

All you need is a bunch of 4×6 prints (or whatever size you’d like actually, but I prefer them to be all the same size) and some super strong tape. You can also spice up a plain dresser or your door by using this same method.

 

Pro Tip: I don’t recommend regular Scotch tape. I tried it and half of my pictures crashed down in the middle of the night. It was not fun waking up in a puddle of photo prints!

 

CLOTHES PINS

A while ago, I was on Pinterest and came across the classic twine and clothespins idea. Before purchasing any twine, I actually came across LIGHT UP CLOTHESPINS. I found these magical pieces of room decor at Typo and they’re still one of my favorite purchases to this day. 

 

These are battery operated, which is convenient because you don’t have to worry about placing them near an outlet. However, the battery pack is fairly heavy, so when hanging these up, make sure the entire line of clothespins is supported. To hang this up, I used clear Command hooks. Command Hooks are helpful because they’re strong, but they’re easy to come off the wall when you need to remove them. They’re also good for dorms or apartments because they don’t rip off any paint from the wall!

 

Pro Tip: The first time I hung up my clothespins, I used about five Command hooks — bad idea. It fell down a few days later and the pictures were completely crumpled. The next time around, I used about ten command hooks to hang it up and it has yet to fall down (hopefully it won’t). 

 

But of course, if you don’t want to go for the light up version, you can definitely go for twine and regular clothespins — classy and cute!

 

WASHI TAPE

I am obsessed with the way this looks. It’s SO easy and SO cheap! I mean, if you already have your prints, the only other thing you need is wash tape. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve already got a ton of washi tape! 

 

These are also good for dorms and apartments, because they require no drills or nails like typical frames, and washi tape is easy to take off the wall without ripping off any paint. They don’t ruin the picture either!

 

Pro Tip: I don’t really have any tips for this because it’s honestly so easy. However, in my picture, I made messy lines with the tape. If you want, you can make cleaner cuts with the tape instead. Both look super cute! 

 

BOBBY PIN ORGANIZER

Not only is this cute, but it’s easily one of the most helpful things I’ve ever come up with. 

 

For this, you’re going to get a frame that has a thick border. The thicker the better. I prefer smaller frames because I put this on my makeup table, but really, pick any size you’d like! You’re also going to need some magnetic strips and some hot glue. And if you want to decorate it, you’ll need some paint and brushes.

 

All you’re going to do is cut four magnetic strips to cover each side of the frame. Hot glue the strips down. If you aren’t digging the whole black, magnetic look, you can definitely paint the strips! Once that’s dried, pop a picture into the frame and then throw your bobby pins on the magnets. It’s a super cute way to share a photo, while still providing a practical use as an organizer! 

 

Pro Tip: You might want to take the glass out of the frame before painting. And if you really want a perfectly clean frame, tape off the sides so no paint gets there either.

 

IN A SHAPE

Again, I had way too many pictures to fit in my very few frames. So if you’ve got a blank wall, make a shape out of your pictures! I chose to do mine in a corner to make it a little more three dimensional, but the area for your picture display is entirely up to you.

 

I made mine into a shape of a heart, but I think something like a peace sign or a star would be cute too. It would be even cooler if you got smaller prints and were able to write out a short word (like “love” or “laugh”) with your pictures! 

 

Pro Tip: Just like in the first idea, I don’t recommend Scotch tape for this. Use a stronger tape to avoid any pictures falling down!

 

CREATIVE FRAMES

Plain, rectangular frames might be a little overrated (but in the best way possible!), but store-bought frames are becoming more and more creative. All of the frames in the picture above were bought at either Michaels or Target. 

 

I like frames with funky shapes, but my favorite frame is definitely my “life is good” frame. It’s hard to turn down a really cute frame!

 

Pro Tip: When I buy frames, I generally like frames that fit more than one picture. The more, the merrier!

 

BULLETIN BOARD

A good way to display pictures is on a bulletin board. Wallet sized pictures are a great addition to any bulletin board, especially because many wallets no longer have spaces for pictures like they used to. 

 

Pro Tip: I like to scatter mine allover a bulletin board, making them messy and crooked. By overlapping them, you’re able to put more pictures on the board.

 

GIANT LETTER

One of my best friends made this for me as a Christmas present last year and I absolutely adore it. I hung it on my door and it’s such a cute pieces to look at when I enter my room every day.

 

Here’s how she did it: She got a giant wooden letter from a local craft store and basically created a collage of pictures in the formation of the letter. She glued them down with Mod Podge, and then put another layer of Mod Podge on top to ensure the pictures wouldn’t come off. Plus, it was a nice, glossy texture afterwards!

 

Pro Tip: Even though I didn’t make this one, I’d highly recommend laying out your pictures before gluing them down. Make sure they’re in a nice formation, and make sure they all fit without having to cut off any faces!

 

COLLAGES

Another good way to show off pictures is in collages! Collages are so fun to make, and they hold sooooo many pictures. 

 

I bought this specific frame at Target and it’s currently hanging up in my living room. The original frame had a display of about three or four larger pictures. I decided to scrap that idea and fill up the entire frame instead. I love how it turned out!

 

Pro Tip: Another way to include more pictures is to cut them down in size. Cut excess backgrounds out of the picture, or cut them into funky shapes so you’re able to overlap without blocking out the importance of the picture. 

 

SHADOW BOX

I love my shadow box. I filled mine up with imitation Polaroids and I love it! I purchased this specific shadow box at Typo, so it came with the hooks and twine already in it. You can also throw other items in here too, such as movie tickets, cute notes, or even a meaningful piece of jewelry.

 

Pro Tip: If you want the Polaroid look without having a Polaroid camera, print out your pictures, making sure there’s extra space in between. Leave a little bit of white on the top and sides, and leave about twice the amount of white space on the bottom, essentially duplicating a Polaroid. So cute!

 

If you’re stumped on how to decorate your room, pictures are always a good solution!