Framing our Travel Photos


It’s been a while since we chatted about the frames in our hallway and I’m hoping after today it’s even longer until we chat about them again. Allow me to explain.

board and batten hallway

Here’s the long story short(er): This hallway has come a long way over the past year. Last Spring, my dad and I attempted our first board &  batten project by installing this board and batten for around $100 <– best $100 I have ever spent.

Frames Hallway Board and Batten

I always knew I wanted frames running down the hall, but first wanted to live with the new board & batten look before I jumped right into choosing frames. So there it sat for about 6 months (longer than expected) until I finally splurged on frames. I waited until the frames were half off at Michaels and bought 9 of them to line the hallway with. Then… more wait time.

Frames Hallway Board and Batten

I wasn’t sure what to put in the frames. I spent hours at 1/2 priced books, researched affordable art, stalked Pinterest and literally wracked my brain trying to figure out what I loved enough to add to all 9 frames. I came up with nothing. Like literally n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Then Christmas rolled around and I thought, “why not get some of our home’s Christmas memories framed?” <– at least that way the frames wouldn’t be empty and our guests won’t think I’m completely crazy (at least not on behalf of the hallway)

Enter 9 developed, 10×11 prints of Christmas photos from Walgreens. GENIUS!! Once I framed these bad boys, I was smitten and totally diggin’ the extra Christmas touch in our home for the holidays. Fast forward to January and I was still looking at holiday photos. I really loved them (and still love them!)… but obviously, they couldn’t stay up past the holidays. Back to square one.

Framing our Travel Photos

Bike Riding Across the Golden Gate Bridge // San Francisco, CA

February rolled around and I finalllyyyyy decided that I HAD to change out these frames ASAP… at least with a “filler” until I finally came across that brilliant idea I was searching for. Framing photos worked once, why not try again? So I went through the photos I have taken from Matt and my travels over the past few years and chose some of our favorites. Looking back at the photos instantly brought back amazing memories and was just what the doctor ordered to get us motivated to plan our next vacation!

Lunch in Salsaulito, CA on the water

Exploring San Francisco‘s amazing colors

Matt and I chose 9 photos from our travels (seen in this post), and I sent them to Walgreens to get developed (with a 50% off coupon, of course). I picked them up an hour later, stuck them in the frames (over the Christmas ones that we plan to display again next season) and stood back to quickly realize…. THIS is what I’ve been hoping for since I hung the original frames 6 months ago!!!

Bike Riding through Sausalito, CA

Drinking wine in Sonoma, CA for Casey’s Bachelorette Party

I LOVED it. Everything about these photos– the colors, the memories, the places, our travels together — all of it made me realize that these memories are exactly what needed to be in these frames since day one. They are a part of our story, actually some of the best parts of our story, and I am so incredibly excited to look at them each day and think back at such great memories surrounded by such beauty.

Driving down the Oregon Coast

We have a few travel plans over the course of the year and I’m so excited to continue to update these 9 frames with photos we take at each of these places! A daily reminder of the importance of exploring, traveling together, and making happy memories… why didn’t I think of this sooner?!

Eating fish under Seattle’s ferris Wheel on this amazing trip

So there you have it– my hallway frame mystery has been solved… hopefully once and for all. Apparently, sometimes it takes awhile for that idea lightbulb to finally flicker on, huh?! And sorry… that wasn’t such a “short version” of the story after all. But like I said earlier, I hope it’s a long time before we chat about these hallway frames again on the blog because I don’t anticipate these travel photos going anywhere anytime soon (unless it’s to add more!!).

Checking out the Red Rock Concert venue in Colorado

Rookie Tip: After I posted about framing some of these photos on our Instagram, our friend Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! reached out to share her hint about printing travel photos. She said to increase the saturation (color intensity) of your photos in order for these photos to really “pop” after they’ve been framed! <– From a hall-of-famer like her, we took notes and wanted to share her tip with you guys too! Just an “FYI” if you’re looking to frame your own travel photos.

Bridget


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.