Old photographs have always held a certain appeal, a single snapshot in time that could be the basis of a thousand stories and more. Sometime it can be fun to look at old photographs, especially candid shots, and wonder what happened in the moments before and after it was taken.
Instead of throwing these storytellers out, why not make use of them instead and enjoy them for many more years to come? Instant, developed or digital: there is a use for all of them.
1 Turn old digital snaps in calendars
You could scan and upload too, if your photographs are not of a digital nature. Turning old pictures into something usable like this can really brighten up the room, and can make great seasonal gifts too.
It really isn’t that difficult and you can do it yourself with this simple guide from MacWorld.
2 Canvas prints
Have you ever looked at one of your photographs and thought “That would make a great picture for the wall”? With the help of a company like The Canvas Factory, you can make that thought a reality.
Candid shots of the kids and even posed photos can make for beautiful wall art. Old photographs of the street that you grew up in, photograph’s of farmland that is now office blocks… The opportunities are limitless.
3 Cake art
You have probably seen this elsewhere, like a local supermarket, but the the process always required a digital photo and there was only one size: Big & Blurred. By using sugar paper and special edible ink for your printer, you can make your own cake toppers.
The part is that they can be any size, meaning that you can make toppers for fairy cakes or full on family sized sponge cakes.
4 Wrapping paper
For a novelty gift that nobody is going to forget, you can just use thin paper and make your own personalised paper for that special someone in your life.
This kind of repurposing can be great for a small childs birthday, opening presents wrapped with paper decorated with montages of themselves and their favourite cartoon characters.
5 Birthday cards
In fact, any kind of card. Personalised cards are even better if you have basic editing skills, so you can make your own humorous cards guaranteed to put a smile on any grouches face.
There a ton of fun things that you can do with old photographs, even having them printed onto the backs of playing cards for poker night! The important thing is to have fun with your images – that’s what they are there for.
As a bonus tip, have you considered making photo stories? If you have lots of photographs of the same people, that could have been taking from comic book frames then you could make a book out of them. Failing that, how about expanding on the idea from the first paragraph? Every picture tells a story, they say.
Image credit: Pixabay