Home Decor ideas for photos

Scrapbook layouts are wonderful ways of preserving photos and memories, but how about showing off those photos in your home? We've asked several design team members to share ideas for combining their Fiskars tools + photos to create unique home decor items. Any of these would be great for a gift or displaying in your home, and the options are endless!

Designer: Patti Milazzo
With this whimsically wired photo block you can interchange your photos whenever you like.  The 4” wood block can fit several coiled wires yet is still compact enough to sit on any desktop or bookshelf.  Also, the coiled thread wrapped floral wire is gentle on photos and makes it easy to slide photos in and out quickly.  And it’s a great way to show off the many wallet size photos you might normally have tucked away in your purse. 

I started with lightly sanding and then painting the wood block.  Once that dried, I used the Hand Drill to create 6 holes - 5 for photos and 1 for a cute Heidi Grace quote about families.  With the Needle Nose Pliers, I created a flat coil on one end of each piece of floral wire and then wrapped the rest unevenly around a narrow wood dowel.  I wrapped the wire around the dowel tighter and/or looser to slightly vary the height of the back 4 wires.  For the front shorter wires, I trimmed 3” off the floral wire before starting then repeated the same process of wrapping the wire around the dowel.  I left the bottom 2 ½” straight so that this end could be inserted into the wood block.  

I applied Fiskars Glue into each of the holes and inserted the wires with the taller wires arranged in the back.  I embellished the sides of the blocks with Heidi Grace patterned paper, stickers and alpha stickers.  I also used the Medium Round ‘n Round Squeeze Punch for the heart sticker and created the orange trim with the Apron Lace Border Punch.  Then, I cut fabric strips and tied them on each wire stem trimming the fabric ends with Pinking Shears.  The final piece was the circle with the family quote.  I cut my circles with the Ultra ShapeXpress and Circle Shape Template, layered them and embellished with flower stickers.  I applied the sticker quote onto light colored pattern paper and trimmed with the Micro-Tip Scissors. 
Once the project is assembled, slip the embellished circle into one of the shorter front wires.  Select 5 wallet sized photos and use the ¼” Round the Corner to soften the edges of each photo and slip into the remaining coils.  Adjust the wires as needed to best show the photos and the photo block is ready to display.  Interchange photos any time and enjoy!

Designer: Kelly Purkey
I like to keep the decor in my scrap room nice and cheerful, so when I bought a plain old bulletin board I knew it had to be dressed up a bit.  This fun fruit fabric did the trick for the background and it was quick & easy to embellish up to hold photos. 

I started by measuring and cutting ribbons, then stapled them on the backside of the board.  Pull them tight so photos can slip under and be held in place. I continued adding some more fun fruit shapes on top of the ribbons using Fiskars squeeze punches.  Each of the areas where the ribbons crossed received a white circle punched with Round 'n Round L.  Then I added a heart shape to each of the white circles. 

Some of them are just small white hearts punched with That's Amore M, but others take on the fruit shapes.  I used That's Amore XL to create the pear shapes and put another little That's Amore M heart inside.  The apples were punched with Funky Heart L and have a little Pop-Up Punch heart inside of them.  All the leaves were easily done with Mint Condition M. 

Designer: Lisa Falduto
I love to create cute things for my daughter's princess bedroom and recently she has wanted her own box of tissues in her room. 

I decided to alter a box that I picked up at the local craft store just for the small square boxes of tissue using photos from our recent Disney vacation.  She loves seeing the photos after our trips and this is a great way to always have them on display without having to pull out an album. 

On the front of the box I used my Fiskars Ultra Shapexpress and the Windows Template to create the window piece.  Once I had the main template shape cut from my orange paper I just simply cut around the outside edge leaving a border all the way around.  Next I filled in the windows with cropped wallet sized photos and a printed title in the upper portion of the window.  I used the Effervecense Border punch and the Scallop Sentiment border punch to create the little awning on top of the window.   I filled the box with easter grass and small sequin flowers on top of wire which I cut using my Fiskars Wire cutters. 

On the other sides of the box I created more simple layouts. It is amazing what you can do with the Fiskars Fingertip craft knife on large patterns on paper. I used the Heidi Grace Sweetest Bug line, accented with some solid colors from the Cloud 9 Designs Bay Blossoms collection for this project. The top of the box was quick and easy since the Heidi Grace Sweetest Bug Clear Overlay shapes had a shape that was a perfect fit.  I simply laid it on, traced around the oval with a fine permanent marker and then cut it out using my Fiskars No. 5 Micro-tip scissors. 

If you want a display that easily changes just adhere clear pockets where you want to slip a photo in and out so it is simple to change.  I would love to see what you come up with in your own home!

Designer: Becky Novacek
This is a project that i've had in my head for literally years! I attempted it a couple of years ago, but gave up when I couldn't get the layers perfectly aligned and trimmed. It occurred to me as I was deciding on what project to do for this article, that I could definitely make it work now because of the incredibly awesome Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife. Probably one of my favorite tools of all time! If you've tried to use a craft knife in the past and failed, you need to try the Fingertip Knife. It makes precision cutting so easy.

I used my Fiskars Desktop Trimmer to cut 8-5"x7" pieces of chipboard. I also cut 8-5"x7" photos. This Desktop Trimmer is the only trimmer i've ever used that cuts straight! Even so, for a precision project like this, it was good to be able to trim away even the smallest bit of excess, so that the edges are perfectly matched up.

For the backside of the accordian, I simply used a temporary adhesive to adhere the Heidi Grace Pattern Paper to the chipboard and then trimmed it out using the Fingertip Craft Knife. I layered a photo, then a piece of chipboard and then pattern paper, making sure that the pieces matched up perfectly. Trimming any slight difference is easily done with the Fingertip Craft Knife.

I took the photos and pattern paper pieces off the chipboard and put the accordian chipboard base together, using bookbinding tape. I alternated placing the tape on the front side and then on the backside, so that the accordian would bend in the right direction as it sits on a tabletop. After assembling the base, I glued the photos all on one side and the pattern papers on the backside.

DESIGNER: Susan Weinroth
To say that I take a “lot” of photos is kind of an understatement.  (insert laugh!)  I take a TON of pics and from that bunch I print a “lot”, scrapbook some, and then want to display the best of the rest around my house.  I find myself growing bored with framed images (and usually reserve my all-time favorite shots for frames), and like to switch up the photos that I keep out in my home.  The best way that I have found to do this is with photo-clips.  I created this “Flowerpot Full of Photos” as a tabletop springtime display for my living room.  It’s the perfect combination of fabric, photos and the modern-vintage look that I love so much in my house.

To make a similar display, simply gather the materials I’ve noted below and start by creating 3 large and 3 small fabric yo-yo’s.  Yo-Yo’s are started with a large fabric circle – I used the 6 inch Super-Sized Circle Template for the large yo-yo, and the 5 inch Super-Sized Circle Template for the small yo-yo.  Trace your circle on the backside of your fabric and trim using Microtip No.5 Scissors.  Look for a yo-yo tutorial online if you aren’t familiar with making yo-yo’s.  The basic concept is to have your fabric circle right side down on your working surface – fold up the edge of the circle (about ¼ of an inch) and use a basic straight stitch around the circumference of your circle.  When you reach the point you started stitching at, pull the thread so that the circle “gathers” up around the edge (at your stitches) and creates the “yo-yo”.  Stitch and knot to secure.

Once your 3 large and 3 small yo-yo’s are complete, sew a button to the center of each small yo-yo and then use fabric glue to layer small yo-yo on large yo-yo.  Glue an alligator clip to the end of each piece of paper wire stem, then glue your fabric yo-yo flower to each clip.  Arrange floral foam in flowerpot and use Titanium Nitride Ultimate Craft Scissors to trim wire stems to desired length, then placing in foam.  Top with Spanish moss.  Tie scrap strips of fabric around each “stem” as “leaves”.  Use Pinking Shears to trim strips of coordinating fabric and wrap around flowerpot and tie.

We hope you've enjoyed these ideas and enjoy making photo decor a part of your home!

By Fiskars Design Team