Gift Ideas

I mentioned before about gift giving and now would be a good time to be thinking about it since the holidays are fast approaching. I have made a list of ideas to include some of your photos:

Post photo and telephone number on pinboard
Put photo on clock
Dressing Table Set: tray, pill box, powder box, oval frame, brooch, locket, gilt casket,
Tissue box, trinket box, plain lampshade
Height Chart: Mount yardstick to wall, cut picture to a point. Or put photos in small
frames and cut cardboard to a point to mark child’s height
Key Rack: personalized peg rack
Souvenir Frame: glue assorted objects to frame and spray paint gold
Old Printer’s Tray
Cutlery Drawers
Collage: a composition made from many images
Decoupage: decorating with pictures
Decorated Tray
Letter Rack
Cigar Box: from tobacconist
Jigsaw Puzzles
Duplicate Pictures: Play Memory
Bookmarks
Calendars
Greeting cards: Use photos, doilies, pictures cut from magazines,
stickers, strings, ribbons
Handmade Paper: torn rather that cut
Handmade Gift Tags: put picture of giver and recipient on tag
Cover Books and Boxes with brown paper and decorate with sepia photos
Memory Boxes: Decorate with acrylic paints, fabrics, ribbons,
buttons, charms, decorative papers
File photos on CDs and tape voices of relatives to be included

You can probably come up with your own ideas to fit the occasion.

Requested Album

A request was received from one of my sister's friends:

"I would like to order an album of the photos that you took on your last trip to Chicago.......All my doggy photos, and party photos . . . "

Pictures were taken with a digital camera when I visited my sister in January and June of this year. Two simple flip 4" x 6" photo albums holding different quantities were filled with pictures developed from the memory card. I gave these albums to my sister as a 'Thank You" gift to help her remember the fun times we had.

This request gave me the opportunity to show you how to pick out albums. First, decide about how many photos will be included in the album. Next, your goal will be to determine the purpose of your album. Will it be for a gift, updating your family history, class reunion, etc? Armed with this information can help you to select an album. There are numerous types of albums:

Type: 3 ring binder, Post bound, Spiral bound, Strap hinged, Stitch bound, Artist's Pad

Sizes in Most Albums: 4” x 6”, 5" x 7”, 8" x 8", 8 ½” x 11", 12” x 12”, 12” x 15”

Criteria to consider: Archival safe and durable, add and remove pages, fit budget,protective covers, does it lie flat?, page dimensions suitable.

Choose an album or a scrapbook that suits your style, personality and individuality.

I purchase most of my albums from Hallmark, JoAnn Fabrics and Michaels. Sometimes I can find unique albums online through such outfits as Ebay.com and Amazon.com. There are many outlets that carry photograph albums and scrapbooks. My sister found some beautiful ones at Papyrus in Chicago. Check out your local scrapbook stores - they may have just what you are looking for.

Gift Albums

The holiday season will be upon us before you know it. One of the neat things to do with the photos is to include a few in a gift. Something given from the past can be so meaningful to individuals. Many times photographers have duplicates made when the film is developed and gift-giving would be an excellent way to make use of the duplicates. We have fallen on hard economic times when budgets are tight and this would be an excellent idea to make use of what you already have. I have been going to garage sales and thrift stores to find unique albums and special frames to fill with my photos. Gift albums also make wonderful and thoughtful thank you presents for parents, teachers, professors, college roommates, counselors, bridesmaids, groomsmen, siblings, nurses, doctors, children, firefighters, police officers, husbands, and coworkers

Labor Day Week

If you organize 100 more pictures, you will be up to 700! Wow! Isn't this fun! By doing a little at a time, the task doesn't seem so overwhelming and you will be more likely to stick with it. It is time to sit back and look at what you have accomplished. I try to give myself a little break at this point and do something else. I feel more refreshed when I get back into the project. Almost two months have passed and you can begin to feel that you have lost valuable time if you don't break. This is Labor Day week so this calls for a time of celebrating!