My William Morris beauty and usefulness project this week…
When I wrote my list of goals for my home in 2012 I included my goal of organizing some of the thousands (without exaggeration) of photos we inherited from my husband’s parents.
There were sepia rectangular photos and sepia squares. Those gave way to black and whites with deckled edges and then black and white with straight edges. The black and white blossomed to muted color squares. These were replaced with 1960s versions with rounded corners and an overall rusty brown hue and progressed to longer more rectangular versions in the same tones. On and on the evolution continued until finally there is a boatload of 4 x 6 matte finish snapshots that capture the lifetimes of my own children.
I was delighted to have the photos. The boxes include some real treasures. Both family history and American history is documented. Great grandparents, a surprising number of nuns and priests, WWII soldiers in Japan. It is an amazing array to be sure. I did not want to simply stick the photos away so I have been searching for some unique ways to put them on display in my home.
The old ladder I hung in the mudroom now holds a three tiered copper basket that is filled with shots, each tier holding a different era.
A copper pot sits on an old school desk in the sunroom holding many of the WWII shots.
The black and white straight edged photos are some of my very favorite. These show my husband and his twin brother as little boys in the first half of the 1960s. They are adorable. I feel happy just looking at them so I wanted them very visible. I decided to create a “family tree” using these photographs.
I clipped branches from the yard and stuck them in a vase. I used landscaping rocks to anchor the branches and to give the vase weight so the entire display would not be top heavy.
Using glue dots I stuck two photos back to back. I folded a short bit of grosgrain ribbon (approx. 1.5 inches) in half to form a loop around the branch and secured it between the photos with the glue dots. I scattered photos around the branches until I had a look I liked.
Then I put the arrangement near the couch where I can sit and enjoy the pictures as I relax.
Also sharing at the Hepworth’s, Feathered Nest Fridays, Whipperberry, Chic on a Shoestring, The Shabby Nest , Funky Junk Interiors, Between Naps on the Porch and Topsy Turvy Tuesday.
Very unique…I love the glimpses of your home–very inviting and yet elegant.
Thanks. You put a grin on my face when you used the word elegant. In my own mind I am as down-home, simple girl as it gets!
Cute idea!
Thanks
What a great idea! My husband got out one of his boxes of mementos from college last night and you couldn’t tear our 4 kids away from it! Now I’ve been asked to put it all in scrapbooks so it’s more accessible to them. I just might use one of your ideas. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hope you have some fun with it and then post so I can see!
I love old photos . . . what a fun way to display them!
Glad you liked it!
Finding a way to enjoy all those photos must be so rewarding! Way to go. I love the use of actual branches in your ‘tree’!
It was a fun project.
What a fun “family tree”, and such a unique idea! I love looking through my family’s old photos.
It is interesting the things you see, connections and inherited traits. I love it.
THAT HARP! I love, love, love musical instruments in the home. And I love your paint colors, too. I love your family tree idea. That really invites people to come and look at your history. Apparently I love a lot of things about your home. Sheesh. Time for a new adjective!
(My mom has that vase, too. It’s a very nice vase.)
The harp is my daughter’s. She is off at college and it has been far too quiet lately.
Do you remember when Betty Crocker products used to have points you could clip? That is how I got the vase….and set of Fiesta…and stemware! Oh, I miss those Betty Crocker points!
For a second I thought you were going to say that you got the harp from your Betty Crocker points.
Love your dark walls. Nice project and so nice that everyone can appreciate the photos.
lol. No, to get the harp we had to go to the actual Lyon and Healy factory in Chicago. An awesome experience. You get to tour the factory and see how they are made. No photos are allowed though as a competing harp builder sent in spies or so we were told. Exciting folks, those harpists!
What a lovely idea with the old photos, I have so many of my folks, I’ve made one scrapbook for my dad–but I have tons of pictures of my mom that I need to do something with and I think she’d love the tree branch–just may do something like that, but I’m thinking in a scrapbook–put the pictures on tree branches (a picture of tree branches of course–but it would look cool to have a whole book made just that way–I think I finally have an idea, thanks for the inspiration. I also love the shots of your house–you have a beautiful home and it just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy!! The first thing I noticed was the harp–that is awesome and how cool to get to go to the factory– fun.
I want to see pictures of that photo album when you get it done. I already have a picture in my mind’s eye. Love to see how our thoughts match up.
I LOVE the idea of the “family tree”!! Such an interesting piece for a country style home as yours seems to be. It fits right in there!
Fun, quick, inexpensive ideas like this always find their way into my Pinterest… but never back out into real life. If only I could find that 25th hour to my day
I am old enough that I keep pinning stuff and thinking maybe when I am retired! After all that is only like 15 yrs from now! I am just sure I will still want to tackle all these projects then!