How many of us have boxes or albums filled with old family photos gathering dust somewhere at home? Or maybe you’re the kind who takes a ton of pictures but never prints them out. As a result, you have lots of storage devices and cloud spaces filled with memories no one gets to see.
Whether in physical or digital format, family photos must be proudly displayed. They are precious memories that remind you of the good times every day of the year. The good news is that you can breathe new life into these pictures and give them a purpose.
For instance, you can transform those cherished photographs into themed workbooks for your little ones, puzzle books for game nights, or even unique decorations bound to be conversation-starters.
Plus, you can turn all these into fun DIY projects and get the entire family involved. We have a few ideas for you if you want to know more.
Selection Phase: Choose the Best Pictures for Your Project(s)
One key factor when going through your physical or digital albums is deciding on a theme. Do you want this workbook or puzzle book primarily educational? Or should it lean towards memory-jogging fun game nights?
Next, consider the quality of the picture. Whether it’s an old vacation shot against the setting sun or candid laughter imbued with family love and warmth – you’ll need clear visuals. Grainy snapshots might seem nostalgic but can detract from overall product quality, so keep an eye out for sharp and well-lit photos!
That being said, don’t disregard all imperfect snaps just yet. Some can still be salvaged with photo editing software (even if you’re not a skilled editor).
Project 1: Make a Workbook
Workbooks can be great educational tools for kids, but adults can enjoy them as well. So first you have to decide on the type. For instance, let’s say you want to make an activity book and use pictures of the kids to describe the activities.
Start by choosing the theme – this can be anything from photos at the beach to photos from your last family trip. Anything that fits the overall theme of the workbook goes. Next, select the pictures and arrange them in the order you want them to go in the book.
Once you have a general idea of the book’s format (we suggest writing down what you want to place on each page), you have a decision to make. You can either turn this into a 100% DIY project (in which case you should check the steps here) or have the book done by a specialized service.
If you choose the second option, look for education photo books online and decide on a format you like. Once you decide on a format, all you have to do is send out the digital pictures and what you want on each page, and you should receive the finished product in the mail in a couple of weeks.
Project 2: Make a Puzzle Book
Again, everything starts with choosing the right images. In this case, you need photos rich in details, like color-loaded birthday parties or group snaps taken during large family gatherings. The more elements in a picture, the better (just make sure everything is clear).
Next, decide on what kind of puzzles you want to design. The easiest ones to create would be search puzzles, where players must identify an object in the given photo. You can also play memory games and try to see if everyone remembers the names of the people depicted in the photos.
If you want to take it one step further, you can turn some of your most high-quality photos into jigsaw puzzles. Again, this can be a fun DIY project, or you can find a service to do it for you.
Wrap Up
Your old family photos are more than digital bits of information gathering virtual dust on some SD card or cloud. They hold the potential to be tools for learning and entertainment in captivatingly stimulating manners no digital platform can fully capture.
Through making workbooks and puzzles with these snapshots, you breathe new life into them while rekindling nostalgia among young and older ones alike.
