My Version of the Instagram Photo Display!

Gavi
by Gavi
For about a year now I've had this one project on my mind that I really wanted to do. Love & Renovations posted their awesome project (http://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/rooms/diy-instagram-photo-display-14902364) and I've been hooked ever since!

I love pictures and with the advancement in technology the past number of years I've found myself less and less actually printing pictures, rather just saving them digitally in my phone or on my computer (I also have a small digital picture frame in our living room constantly keeping things fresh!) . This project gave me an awesome excuse to go and print some pictures and have a pretty fabulous way to display them!
First things first was a trip to the local photo store. As a relatively newly-wed, I keep a folder in my phone titled "Us" where I keep a copy of all the pictures my husband and I have taken together - from the very start of our dating to today! I picked a whole bunch of my favorites - particularly those taken in the horizontal orientation for uniformity - and had them printed. Once I got home I had to sort even more because I got a little carried away with the printing - plus I wasn't sure how many I would have room for an actually end up using.
Instead of making my own frame like they did in my inspiration post, I actually FOUND this amazing frame by the trash area in my previous apartment. It seems that it used to be a mirror which broke, but their trash became my treasure! The frame was in near perfect condition, relatively clean and quite huge without being too heavy! The size allowed for it to become the statement piece that I wanted it to be and a simple wipe down with some antibacterial cloths made it ready to bring into the house. Plus the fact that it used to be a mirror made it ready to hang on the wall since that is what it did in its previous life.
I made another stop at a local crafts store to purchase some strong string and some clips for the hanging the pictures.
I flipped my huge frame over to its back and laid it out on the floor. I got my tape measure out to plan how I would attach the string. I wanted to evenly lay the string so the space between would be equal and to make sure there would be enough room for the picture itself and the clips holding it.
I started with the first row to make sure I had a good starting point. Good thing I did so because my initial starting point wasn't actually good icon SO instead of having to re-do the whole thing, I just re-placed the first string and continued from there.


After making a mark on the side of the frame, I tide a knot in the string and used a staple gun to attach it to the wood. The knot allowed for the string not to slide through the staple and created stability and strength. It was really fun to use the staple gun! I bought it second hand from a friend a while ago with this project in mind so it felt good to help it fulfill its mission! After setting the staple on one end, I measured the distance along the frame, cut the string, tied another knot and stapled the adjacent side ensuring to add tension to the string so that it would withhold the weight of the pictures and clips I would add.
After getting the first string set, I put one picture with the clips to figure out the spacing of the rest of the rows. Getting the spacing right was actually a little more time consuming than I expected! But a little patience can go a long way! I figured it all out laying 5 rows each fitting 4 pictures for a total of 20 pictures to display.
After having cut all the string, tied all the knots and stapled them all to place, I started hanging up my pictures, using 2 clips per picture to evenly distribute the weight and ensure they would hang straight. I had thought about coloring the clips but in truth I really like the natural wood look with the darker color of the wood frame. But more importantly, I now have this really fun display of many happy memories with my husband! Since having finished the project, I find myself sometimes just sitting near it, smiling and remembering all of these fond memories! I love that Hometalk provided me with this inspiration and that I finally took the time to make this project - it is giving me tremendous joy!
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  • Hiyawatha Runager Hiyawatha Runager on Jun 23, 2017

    I love it my Great grandkids are growing so fast I have to keep changing pictures so this is a great way to change without having to change frames. I love it so much gonna find a frame my self.


    • Gavi Gavi on Jun 25, 2017
      I also fell in love with this project the first time I saw it! Enjoying watching your grandkids grow up and display those pictures with pride!
  • Emma Taylor Emma Taylor on Dec 12, 2017

    i would use pretty clips in stead of plain clothes pin it is a good idea so quick and easy to change pics out like it want to make one


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