Pre-baby organization challenge #4: Framing moments

Project #1: Paint can clean-up, Project #2: Lining up the table linens, Project #3: Marking up the craft boxes

From this…                                                             to this…

Now that a new baby is almost here, I’ve been wanting to turn the big girl’s room more kid-centric and less babyish, without spending much money. I’m still finishing things up, but a big piece of it was updating the art in her room, especially in ways to capture my favorite little moments from the last year and a half. It turned into three separate projects…

1. Instagram pics: I think it’s because these pictures are all snapped ad hoc on my phone that they seem so much more casual and spontaneous then formal photos shoots or any other picture taken with a proper camera. I love them and all the memories they bring. I pulled my favorite 24 and made them into a poster in Adobe Illustrator – each photo is 3″ x 3″ – and had it printed for super cheap (under $10) at Costco.

2. Shadowboxes: Next up, some of my favorite mementos. I usually think of shadowboxes as being pretty outdated and cheesy, but by keeping them really simple with Ikea basic white frames, they create a much more modern and fun set of cool finds. Little labels on the back will help a few years down the line when we can’t quite remember what something is for. Eventually I think I’ll make an entire shadowbox wall.

3. Canvas prints: To fill up a bigger space, I turned a few favorite pictures into black and white prints and had them printed on canvas, again, at Costco. These, too, could easily turn into a full wall of memories – the hard part is choosing which pictures to use.