On my vacation week I accomplished a goal that has been years in the making. Printing and framing all of the pictures we have amassed digitally to my little heart's content.
I wanted to share with you lovely peeps in case this is one of your goals too. And hopefully, it will save you some time {and money}!
First, you're going to need pictures... LOTS of them... YEARS of them... in my case.
If you are able to do a bit of long term planning and have at least one week or so to get your photos by mail, you can stalk Shutterfly and Snapfish for their deals. Usually, both sites will do FREE or even penny 4x6 print promotions, so you are basically just paying shipping for decent quality photos. Larger size prints usually don't go on sale, but joining their email lists will get your 30-50% coupons periodically...
I also really love the concept behind GrooveBook. They allow you to upload your pictures straight from your phone and print them into a photo book with perforated edges for easy removal.
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| Cute books for safe keeping or tear out for framing... |
You subscribe to the service for only $2.99 per month, and get a photo book each month. Sadly, I wasn't very impressed with the quality of my prints. They are not high glossy photos and the clarity isn't too great. I'm kind of a picture snob now...lol
But I think it is a great option for someone who has a ton of pictures that they don't necessarily want to frame. Or for someone who doesn't want to risk losing their digital pictures if phones, photo sites, etc ever crashed on us one day :GASP: Of note, your photos print out on paper that is a little bit larger than standard 4x6 photos, so you may have to do some trimming if you choose to frame.
If instant gratification is your thing, you can send your prints straight to your neighborhood CVS, Walmart, or Walgreens. These spots will usually have prints done within an hour. The frugalista in me has gotten into a habit of googling and searching my email for coupons anywhere I buy. I was able to score some great deals on larger one hour-photo prints too!
In addition to photos, I discovered now a lot of people are using printables online to add flair to walls as well. I found the cutest FREE printable for Isabelle's room, sent it to Walgreens for printing, and it turned out great!
Next, you're going to need frames. I have pretty decent-sized empty walls all over so I wanted lots of pictures in each display.
- I used a lot of frames we already had, of course, but also found some cheap frames I could buy in bulk on Amazon.
- I was able to find more collage frames - one in particular was a steal from Walmart and holds 21 photos...More bang for your buck, right?
- I looked to Pinterest to get collage wall inspiration, but ultimately, I played around with my frames taking pictures of different layouts for some displays.
- For our stairs, I have to give the hubs all the credit. His engineer mind went to town photo-grid style and I was in loooove.
- Over my vacation week, I was able to dedicate intermittent time over a couple of days to get things set up and ready for Nate to hang when he got home from work...haha
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| Front Hall |
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| Kitchen-Breakfast Nook Wall |
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| Stairs |
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| Upstairs Hall |
Look out for more decorating posts...because I'm totally inspired!
I want you all to get in on the fun too, so try Groovebook and Snapfish for yourself! Here is a coupon for a free GrooveBook and for 40% off your order at Snapfish. Enjoy!
