I wanted to do a display of family photographs, but not in the traditional way of framing each photo. I then came up with a different idea and thought I would share it. If you like the idea, and would like to make this yourself for your family photos, I have taken photographs as I went along, and written out a step by step guide on how to do it. It’s an easy project to do at home, it was fairly time consuming but it was worth the end result.
I wanted to use the concept of puzzle pieces, I then decided on polystyrene/styrofoam for the puzzle pieces. The reason being, is it’s an inexpensive material and is not heavy to hang on the wall. I also wanted the puzzle pieces themselves to be quite thick, so they would stand out more which the polystyrene/styrofoam lent itself perfectly for. I didn’t have any polystyrene/styrofoam lying around, and I also wanted the puzzle pieces to be quite precise so I got a local company who specializes in cutting just about anything out of polystyrene/styrofoam to cut them for me. I sent them the puzzle stencil and viola this was what I got.
I painted the outer edges with a dark brown acrylic paint. You may add water if you like, I didn’t need to add any water. Certain paints can eat the polystyrene/stryrofoam, so I used acrylic paint because its water based and is safe to use on the material.
I left the edges to dry, and once dried it was time to cover the puzzle pieces. I decided I would cover the puzzle pieces in scrapbook paper instead of completely painting them. This gives it a look that you can’t achieve with paint, and when it comes to scrapbooking paper, there are hundreds of designs and colours to choose from. You can go with whatever your taste is, and of course what would match with your home décor.
I traced my puzzle piece to the back side of the scrapbook paper and then cut it out.
I chose to use double sided tape to attach my paper to the puzzle piece. Some glues do eat the polystyrene, you can get a specific type of glue that is safe to use on polystyrene but I didn’t want the paper to warp so I used double sided tape. The double sided tape adheres very well, and gives it’s a smooth finish.
In my case, I needed to use more than one sheet of paper per puzzle piece, this is easily done and is hardly noticeable.
I then chose some of my favourite family photos, and used www.picknic.com to edit my them. I went with a sepia colour to complement the colours of the scrapbook paper that I chose.
I decided to attach the puzzle to a piece of ply wood, and hang it from the wall. That way it is mobile and I can move the entire piece if needs be. I attached the puzzle pieces to the wood with mounting tape.
I then placed my photos on the puzzle, also using double sided tape. For a finishing touch I wanted to spell the word ‘family’, so I bought some wooden letters and painted them with the same acrylic paint that I used on the edges of the puzzle pieces.
Once assembled it is now ready to be mounted/hung on the wall. All the hard work was completely worth it, I am now reminded of the wonderful family God has blessed me with everytime I see this display.
