DIY Photo Collage..on the cheap

I'll be the first to admit that I take a lot of photographs and our chidren's lifes are very well documented. However life often gets in the way and I am not very prompt about changing our displayed pictures.  Like many photographers, I have a huge selection on the hard drive but current pictures of us..ummm..that's a different story.

In an attempt to revamp our walls with current smiles, I ordered a bunch of my loved photos from a favorite lab of mine..Persnickety Prints.   After receiving my collection of 12x12  prints and knowing I had a couple of large walls in mind, I came up with a plan. 

I purchased a 36x24 plain canvas from Hobby Lobby and a large white foam board (yep..foam board) when I couldn't find a large enough canvas.  I set both boards on the dining room table and just played around with the photos and eventually created two pieces.  I wasn't sure how well the photos were going to adhere to the canvas or the foam board but it turned out to be an unnecessary concern.

canvas of 6 12x12's

Our Living Room "canvas"  is a combination of 6  12x12's and I  lined them up and adhered the photos with double sided tape..literally complete in minutes.   I can tell you that everyone who comments on it, is shocked that it's not a printed on canvas itself but rather a collection of photographs adhered to the canvas.  And down the line how easy will it be to change the photographs for more recent ones?  Nice!

The hallway collage took a little more time because it is larger and I wanted to go more with a random placement of photographs.  After I committed to the layout (the longest part of the process),I started to cut the photos and adhere them in place with again, the double sided scrapbooking tape.

foam board collage

hello wall of happiness

I bought the prints on sale and with a Hobby Lobby coupon, I think I spent less than $50 for both of these displays which would of otherwise cost me hundreds of dollars.  They have hung perfectly and honestly the foam board looks as nice as the canvas so unless you want the depth of the canvas, the foam board is perfect and definitely the cheaper of the two.  I was so happy to get these done and hung..now I need to get to that rest of the pile to update our bedrooms.

Have a great weekend!