Photos Languishing on Your Hard Drive? Here’s What to Do With Them
Photos used to be something you would have to get developed, or else you wouldn’t get to know how they turned out. But now that most photos are taken digitally, and often with a phone, your results are instantaneous. So your photos will often end up sitting on your phone or hard drive for months or even years without you even looking at them. It’s a shame, when you could have some treasured shots in there. Whether you take photos of your children, your dog, or your favorite landscapes, don’t just let them stay an intangible thing. Do something with them so they can be out in the world.
Print and Frame Them
You don’t have to get too inventive with what you do with your photos. We used to frame them or put them into albums all the time, so why stop now? It doesn’t take much to print out your favorites, and put them in some snazzy frames. You can even print them yourself, with the right printer, ink and paper. But if you want a professional finish, you might want to get them printed properly. You can even have a photo printed on canvas, which makes it look like a proper work of art. Alternatively, if you don’t want to print anything, some people like digital photo frames. You can choose a selection of photos for your frame to cycle through instead of having one static image.
Create a Collage
Feel like doing something a bit more creative with your photos? If you want to make use of some different images, creating a collage is a fun idea. There are two ways you can put your images together: digitally or the old-fashioned way, by cutting and sticking. Either method is good, so pick whatever you feel comfortable with. If you make a digital image, you can print it as one smooth image. If you choose to cut out the shapes you want, you’ll need to have a background the right size to glue them on, although you could scan your image if you wanted to make it digital too.
Do Some Scrapbooking
Another long-standing craft tradition, the scrapbook is a great choice if you want to do something with your photos. It’s a bit like making a collage, but you get to fill a whole book with lots of collages. You don’t have to cut up any of your photos if you don’t want to. You can use colorful ink, glitter, ribbons and anything else you feel like to make embellishments in your scrapbook. Use it to tell a story and perhaps give it to someone as a gift. Scrapbooking is a fun activity if you want something to concentrate on and help you forget about everything else.
Get Them Printed in/on Things
There are so many things you can have your photos printed on that you could easily fill your whole home with personalized items. In addition to creating books, cards, and other paper and card items, you can print photos onto mugs, cushions, blankets and much more. If you want to use your photos to personalize some items, grab some Shutterfly discounts to get money off your purchases. Their website has everything from Christmas decorations to wedding invites, and you can put your personal touch on all of them. They make excellent gifts, or you can just have something made for yourself. There are ways to make some of these on your own too, but it’s often better to get them done professionally.
Create a Coloring Book
Coloring books are great fun for both children and adults. They’re relaxing and therapeutic, and a way to be creative without really having to have that much artistic talent. Of course, you can just buy an already existing coloring book, but where would be the fun in that? If you’re wondering what to do with some of your photos, you could use them to create a personal coloring book. And you don’t even have to pay anyone else to do it! Using Photoshop or a similar program, you can edit your photos so that they have a sketch style in black and white. Then you can print them out and color them as individual sheets or turn them into a book.
Get a 3D Model or Figurine Made
It’s not just flat objects you can create with your photos. Another creative thing you can do with them is have models or figurines made with the faces of people you know. Use a service like My 3D Selfie, who will take a photo and print a figurine however you want it. You can create models in different sizes and shapes. You might want some cake toppers for your wedding, or just a fun gift to give someone on a special occasion. You could even have your pet turned into a figurine.
Bake With Them
What could be better than printing your photos on something? How about printing them on edible things? There are several ways to get your photos on something tasting, including cakes, cookies, and even marshmallows. If you want a cake with your photo on it, you can ask at a local bakery. But if they can’t do it, you can also order online, whether you want just the photo sheet or the cake too. You can do the same thing for cookies, and companies like Boomf will make you special marshmallows with your photos on them.
Do Some Decoupage
If you want to do some cutting and sticking but you’d like to make it a bit more 3D, decoupage is ideal. Basically, you cut out shapes, stick them to whatever you want, and cover them with varnish. Using this method, you can put your photos on pretty much anything. It could be as small as a jewelry box or as big as a table or bench.
There are so many things you can do with your photos, so don’t just leave them as digital files. Make something more out of them so they don’t go to waste.
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