14 DIY Ways to Display Photos with Recycled Materials

Got a stack of your favorite images that you want to show off? Try one of these fourteen cool, recycled ways to display photos.

Got a stack of your favorite images that you want to show off? Try one of these fourteen cool, recycled ways to display photos.

My husband and I just discovered a bunch of old family photos. Some of these go back to his childhood, and there were a couple of sonograms from when I was pregnant with our son in the mix! We have been talking about how to showcase them in our house, so I’ve been looking up different ways to display photos.

Some of the ideas below would work best for a few photos, maybe arranged in a pretty cluster. Others seem ideal for transforming a bunch of photos into one, cohesive design piece. I’m leaning toward the latter, but we will see!

1. Refinished Frame – I like the idea of thrifting a bunch of eclectic frames, then refinishing them with paint and fabric to make them look a little bit more uniform.

2. Candy Wrapper Frame – This might be cute for displaying childhood photos. I love how colorful this frame is!

3. Chalkboard Frame – My son (he’s four) would be so into this one. I bet he’d love decorating and re-decorating these chalkboard frames over and over.

4. Mason Jar Lid – This would be a cool option for some of the smaller images.

5. Pallet Wood Frame – Instead of displaying the originals, this upcycled photo display uses a transfer technique.

6. Cardboard Fridge Frames – Well this tutorial is making me want to dig into the sentimental stash of my kid’s art that I’ve been hoarding.

7. Thread Spool Picture Holder – How cute would a bunch of these be on a mantle?

8. Vintage Camera – If you score a vintage camera at the thrift, it makes a surprisingly beautiful way to display photos!

9. Clip Collage – This tutorial is originally intended for displaying square Instagram photos and it calls for foam board, but you could totally use different shaped images and an upcycled, painted piece of cardboard instead.

10. Old Crib Display – How cool is this?? Turn the spring base from an old crib into a photo display!

11. Photo Coasters – Hit the ReStore for some second hand tile (or maybe you have some in a closet, left from an old renovation?), and make yourself some photo tiles!

12. Photo Blocks – Off-cut pieces of wood would be perfect for this technique!

13. Wall Picture Display – This simple way to display photos uses stained wood, picture wire, and clips. This is another project that you could totally source from the ReStore.

14. Geometric Twine – Grab yourself some hemp twine, and get creative with this cool photo display idea!

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