If the only framing that’s been done in your family in a while is sibling versus sibling (“He did it!” “No, she did it!”), then you’re missing a great opportunity to add some warmth and smiles to your home for the upcoming holidays. Photos, memorabilia, kids’ art…it’s all fair game. Here’s how to have some fun.
Create a real family tree. Snip a suitably sturdy and decorative branch from a bush or tree in your yard. Stick the base in a piece of Styrofoam, bury it in a decorative pot, then hang little photos of family members on it. Gramps and Grandma go at the top, you and your siblings in the middle, and the kids down below. In the spring, you can do the same with budded branches in a vase of water and see your family bloom.
Make a spectacle of someone. Old eyeglasses are empty frames waiting to be filled. For example, if you saved your son’s first pair, paste little photos of him at that age over the lenses. Likewise with your great-grandma’s reading glasses or eccentric Uncle Chester’s monocle. Scatter on a memorabilia shelf or counter as interesting bric-a-brac.
Fill up a few bottles. Decorative bottles of different shapes and sizes can look great on mantles and shelves. Make them even more interesting by rolling up photos and dropping them inside to unfurl.
Recycle your Yanni CDs. We know you have them so don’t deny it. Old CDs or DVDs make eye-catching picture frames. Just cut out the photo you want to use—maybe that one of you singing karaoke on the cruise—in a circular shape and glue it to the disk.
Cast some shadow-box memories. You can usually find old, inexpensive shadow boxes at yard sales and antique shops. Instead of filling them with knickknacks, put in a mixture of photos and memorabilia. We have a friend who created a separate one for each member of her family.
Play a digital slide show. When you think about it, traditional picture frames are pretty old-fashioned. Why just display one photo when you can scroll through dozens? Digital picture frames do exactly that. In fact, they’re hypnotic. Put one on your desk at work or on your kitchen counter. Prices of quality models are dropping. (In fact, they’re nearly equivalent to what it costs to mat and frame one large piece of art.) Make sure to get one with a resolution of 640-by-480 or greater. That way, your special memories will be even more vivid.
Decadent (yet smart!) desserts
