How do you display your famil photos?
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
United States
September 6, 2008 12:29pm CST
My sister's and I just cleaned out our Granny's home. I got possession of all the family photos. What do you do with all if your family photos? How do you display them? Do you hide them in a closet or a drawer? My friend has them in a book that is in one bathroom over a toilet. IF we have one good earthquake into the tank they go. Heehee.
I know who most of the people are in the photos and who I do not know I am going to take to my mom and ask her. These photos date back to the early 1930's to recent. I have a long hall way wall that I want to hang these photos on and when I went to hang them I was at a loss of how to do it. Do I put them all in a row? Do I put them in a circle? Do I stand them on their heads? Heck what I do with my family they will never know most of them are dead. ( at least the older ones)
I milled it around for days and have come up with an idea. I have not done this yet and when I get it done I will take a photo for you all. I have bought brown paint and paint brushes and am going to paint a tree on the wall and start hanging the photos from the tree. I am not going to hang them in any order I am going to hang them where ever I want. I have several of my children, several of my mom when she was growing up. I also have several of me and my sisters when we where growing up. What does not fit on the wall will then be put in a book. The photos that are framed I wrote on the back of the frame who they are and something I remember about them. I am trying to find their date of births and date of deaths so I can have that for the frames.
Has anyone else painted a tree on their wall to hang their photos from?
Are your families allowed out to be seen or are they banned to a drawer, shelf or book to never been seen or heard from again?
5 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 Sep 08
That idea of painting a tree and displaying the photos like a family tree sounds really brilliant...great idea. 
Gee, my family photos go back even further...I have old glass and tin type photos that look like they come from the Civil War period and no doubt photos of my great=great grandmother.
Nope most of my photos say early photos of my great-grandparents, grandparents parents and me growing up are all stored in boxes. I too would like to organize them better..but maybe in my case photo albums....I have too many photos, several hundred to hang on any walls.
Gee, my family photos go back even further...I have old glass and tin type photos that look like they come from the Civil War period and no doubt photos of my great=great grandmother.
Nope most of my photos say early photos of my great-grandparents, grandparents parents and me growing up are all stored in boxes. I too would like to organize them better..but maybe in my case photo albums....I have too many photos, several hundred to hang on any walls.1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
7 Sep 08
You being a professional photographer you have thousands of photos I would also. I am going to make a scrap book for my nephew of all the photos that my sister has been sending me of him. I will give it to him when he becomes an adult. Maybe when he gets married. I think his wife would love something like that. I bought the scrap book paper and some sticker the other day. I have loads of photos I have been collecting. The book is expandable. I will be writing or typing and gluing in little things I want to tell him. This is from Aunties heart. He is a miracle baby and such a loved one.
I find when I give a gift any more I tend to make them especially for close friends. This way my friends know it is from my heart.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
8 Sep 08
That's a beautiful idea there ....homemade crafts as gifts really do come from the heart..Well besides the hundreds of old photos of my family, the number of photos I've personally taken is.....drumroll......21,049 color slides and an estimated 15,000 black and white images...I haven't even gotten around to scanning many of my photos to digitize...sheesh
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
8 Sep 08
Scanning all the photos would take for ever and ever pye. let me know if you need help. heehee
@jfeets726 (775)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I love your tree idea. It sounds so neat.
You kind of mentioned it above, but I would recommend scanning your photographs. I know it can take a while, but it sounds like you have some great "treasures," with older photographs. I would at least scan some of the older ones or the photographs in which you know who everyone is.
I like to scrapbook lol although I am not very good at it. I started with my daugthers first year. I am behind a few years, but I have started making single scrapbook pages, as opposed to just an ablum. I frame them and hang them in the house. They are just like a picture frame, but the embellishments and backgrounds make the picture frame and pictures look a lot nice, in my view.
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
14 Sep 08
My printer/scanner does not work. MY printer part works but the scanner does not, it says I need to down load the cd and I have done that already. I do not know what to do next.
I have done some scrap booking techniques when I mat cross stitching pictures. I have added lettering and stickers. I say so myself they have turned out well. With time your pictures will get better and better. I like your idea of framing the pictures with scrap booking stuff.
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
8 Sep 08
The tree is a very good idea... even the small info you will put at the back of each frame... seems like you have a lot of work ahead of you... but when you are finish with everything... i am sure you will like the result...
My apartment is quite small... so i have no place to put the picture frames... and the last time i did... my daughter broke it... so i just stick the pictures on the fridge... but when i have my own home... i will make it a point to have a shelf just for the pictures...
Good luck on your project...
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Tomorrow I will be doing the tree. I do things slowly and in my own time. I will be drawing the tree and I might paint it or just live with the pencil tree first to see if that is the one I want first.
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
6 Sep 08
The tree sounds like a great idea, and a wonderful project to do. I have many family photos on my wall, and on shelves. I also keep all my photo ablums on the bottom shelf of my coffee table where people can see them.
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
7 Sep 08
My coffee table does not have a shelf and if it did my one cat would own it. She loves to beat up the legs of the coffee table. Good thing the table is brass and not wood she would have it all scratched up.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
7 Sep 08
Wow tea! That is a terrific idea! I really think that is
wonderfully creative! I wish I could draw then maybe I
would think about doing that too! Unfortunately, I am
ashamed to say that I do keep them hidden in the closet.
I take them out from time to time to show a friend here
and there. They make me smile sometimes, but they also
make me sad too. I don't even have them in a photo album.
I do have to at least get around to organizing them and
putting them together into one so that I can display them
that way. I have some pictures out, but not too many. As I
said most of my pictures make me sad. My brother past away
at the age of 32, that was 21 years ago. When I look at
his picture I get upset still to this day. The same with
my maternal grandparents. I was extremely close to my
grandmother and I lost her when I was only 13. So all I
have is the pictures and memories. I'm so glad you have
that wonderful idea and the photos. I'm sure it will be
a beautiful tree for you and your family to enjoy for a
very long time.
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
8 Sep 08
I do not draw very well either. I wish I know someone who could look at a picture and can then free hand it. I am not that good. Once it is outlined I can paint it. I will have to use pencil on the wall first then paint over my mistakes that will not erase or wash off. I was looking at frames today. I now need to start buying frames to fit all the photos in. I have 100's of photos and need to slowly buy frames to fit them all. I might buy smaller frames and cut the photos down to size.
