Friday, December 18, 2009

Build A Photo Box

Photo boxes can be relatively expensive and impersonal. To avoid this problem, make a photo box that is customized. This box will have a filing system built in so that your photos do not slide around or end up shuffled.


Instructions


1. Find a box that fits the width and height of the photos that are going to be inside. Make sure that the box has a lid that fits and that the opening allows you to access the photos by flipping through them like a stack of files.


2. Cut squares out of manila folders to form squares the size of the pictures. Sticking out above the squares should be the tabs of the manila folders. These newly cut pieces will be used as dividers between the photos. Think about the categories for each divider and estimate the amount of room that is required for each category.


3. Mark the estimated space required for each divider (if you want permanent divider locations). At the desired locations, tape the dividers in place with a tape hinge. Make the tape hinge by taping the divider the long way along the bottom edge of the divider. The tape should be half on the divider and half on the inside bottom of the box. This will keep the photos upright and packed in, preventing sliding/mixing.


4. Decorate the box inside and out. Ideas include covering the box with contact paper, gluing on artificial flowers, painting, collage work with pictures or copies of photos and gluing on cloth to the outside of the box.


5. Label each of the sections created by dividers. Put in the pictures so that they all face the same direction and are in the proper category.







Tags: each divider, manila folders, required each, tape hinge, that fits