A Photo Proect

by Terri

If you have followed us here at Focusing on Life for long, you probably know my favorite photographic subjects are cactus blooms. Their colors and intricacy just amaze me and when I have one (or several) in bloom, I have to photograph them from every angle. But what to do with all the cactus photos I’ve taken?

I recently saw the idea online that I’m going to share with you. The idea was to upload your photos and they would print them and mount them on foam core to hang on your wall. I thought about ordering them but, as any good crafter will tell you, the first thought that came to me was, “I can make that!”

So I sat down and went through my photos and selected several to print. I decided on an 8x8 size because that is what fit best in the space I planned to hang these photos. You could go larger or smaller if desired.

When I’m displaying photos, I like to use a matte paper to avoid glare. My printer is an Epson and my favorite paper is Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte. However, I'm sure whatever brand of printer you have, there is a matte paper made to be used with it.  Once my selected photos were printed, I moved on to the next step.

Probably the most important item besides the photos is the foam core. It comes in all colors and thicknesses but I chose a ¾” thick black foam core. It is available at most hobby/craft stores and you can even ask them to cut the large sheet to size for you, in my case several 8x8 pieces.

Once my photos were printed, the next step was to attach each photo to an 8x8 piece of foam core. I used Elmer’s Craft Bond spray adhesive. The trick here is to not allow the overspray of adhesive to get on anything surrounding your project. Just laying the photo on a piece of newspaper wasn’t adequate so I took a cardboard box and laid my photo face down inside the box and then sprayed. The box contains the overspray. 

Next I carefully lifted my photo out of the box and lined it up with a piece of foam core, sticking it down.  Before putting your next photo in to spray it, make sure the adhesive inside the box is good and dry or, better yet, put a piece of paper down inside it so that you don’t end up sticking your photo to the bottom of the box!

Next you will want to spray your photo with a protective sealer. I used ModPodge Matte Clear Acrylic Sealer . This will protect it from scratches when it is handled and also from any moisture in the air.  

When the sealer is good and dry, I applied some sticky squares to the back. If you want to be able to move the pictures around or change them out later, try some temporary adhesive squares.  I know I tend to get bored with the same photos after a while and this lets me change them out for something else without damaging my walls. 

And then it’s time to hang them. I ended up with three photos and could have chosen to hang them side by side horizontally or vertically. I chose to hang them vertically because of the shape of the wall where I wanted to hang them.  And here’s the finished project:

This little wall is between the cabinets in my kitchen and the archway into the family room and just needed a little “something”. I love the bright pop of color but more than that, I think printing your photos and living with your art is important. I know it makes me happy to see photos I have taken gracing my walls. This method is quick, easy and inexpensive and no frames are required. They are easily moveable and changeable to suit the season or your whim.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and will give it a try but whether you try this idea or not, I urge you to print your photos. Photos that stay on your hard drive are not enjoyed by anyone. We need to get them out of the dark and onto our walls, into scrapbooks or frames.  If you do try this project, be sure to let me know and share a photo of the completed project in the Flickr gallery. We’d all love to see it! Of course, if you have any questions, be sure to let me know.