Ditch The Scrapbook: Turn Your Photos Into Useable Items & Awesome Art Instead

updated Jul 17, 2020
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(Image credit: Sincerely Kinsey)

If you’re like me, all of your photos are probably trapped on your phone and computer—including those great shots you captured during your summer travels. It’s time to free your photos from their digital dungeon and set them loose around your house. These simple DIY projects put photos on pillows, wall art, a headboard, and more. Whatever you make, these projects will help you savor the summer memories all year long.

Above: This map of travel memories is the ideal project for photos taken during a road trip. Learn how to craft your own on Sincerely Kinsey.

(Image credit: eHow)

When your summer vacation photos are too awesome to be contained in a frame, try transferring them to a slice of wood, following the tutorial on eHow.

(Image credit: The Crafted Life)

After your trip, go through your Instagram and turn your favorite shots into wall tiles. The ones above were created by The Crafted Life using wood blocks, decoupage medium, and some craft paint.

(Image credit: BHG)

Transfer a landscape photo to a ceramic vase so you can keep your vacation memories on display year-round. BHG used an image of a tree for their project, but photos of flowers or the beach would also work well.

To make the pillows above, the editors at Martha Stewart Living printed images directly onto linen. If you don’t want to sew your own pillow, you can also stitch the image onto a store-bought cover.

(Image credit: A Beautiful Mess)

The secret behind these cotton and leather photo pouches? Iron-on transfer sheets. Head over to A Beautiful Mess to get the full how-to and watch a helpful video tutorial.

(Image credit: Fellow Fellow)

If you photographed any castles, famous buildings, or monuments during your summer travels, print out these images and turn them into wrap-around candle votives. Find everything you need to know on Fellow Fellow.

(Image credit: Brigitte)

Embellish beloved family photos with hand-stitched details. Translate the directions from Brigitte, or follow this tutorial from The Glamorous Housewife.

(Image credit: The Merrythought)

Panoramic shots of landscapes and scenery are perfect for this headboard project from The Merrythought.

(Image credit: Photojojo)

You may already know about inexpensive engineering prints (check out our guide here to learn more), but Photojojo takes them one step further by decorating them with glitter, artificial flowers, and crayon drawings.

(Image credit: Most Lovely Things)

One more idea for those remarkably cheap engineering prints: Use them as gift wrap. The images above where taken by Annie of Most Lovely Things during trips to France and Florida.

Want to learn how to snap better photos to use for these projects? Check out 100 photography tips from LA street photographer Eric Kim.