Photo Printing DIY Tutorial: Hanging Photo Gallery

Aaaaand…

We are back with another DIY tutorial!

This tutorial is based on the one from here, but we’re going to explore some different colour/ style options and ideas!

So this is what it’s supposed to look like:

diy photo wall hanging originalSource: homeohmy

Chic and minimalist yar?

In the name of the environment and the 3Rs, and also for the sake of people who love the rustic feel (me me me!) and even, those who love colours, let’s try something different!

So I looked through the list of materials in the tutorial and immediately had question marks in my head… what is a “wood dowel”??? Apparently, it is something you can get from a art/craft store, but I decided to work with what I have instead! Which are…

lolly sticks

… some long lolly sticks! But you could really use anything you can find though, that is sturdy enough. Maybe a few pairs of wooden chopsticks glued/tied together, or even, cardboard? Let your imagination and creativity take flight ~

For this DIY, I ended up only getting super glue, which you probably already have at home, so you can pretty much do this for free?!

free! gifSource: giphy

The original DIY uses clay for the decorative weights hanging below, but I was slightly intimidated by the idea of baking clay at home, so I decided to try out using cardboard to achieve a similar idea! (psst, got the cardboard for free from popular, but you can easily find some from cold storage or ntuc, just make sure they’re dry and plain and not torn)

Sooooo… let’s get started!


Things you need:

  • lolly sticks / anything long thin and sturdy (eg. wooden chopsticks)
  • super glue / any strong glue suitable for wood
  • string / twine
  • cardstock / thicker paper
  • ruler and pencil
  • scissors
  • cardboard
  • pen knife / cutter
  • washi tape
  • photos!!! Small square prints are used in the DIY.

To make things simpler, we can split this project into three parts: the structure, the decorative weights and the photos.

First off, let’s build the structure!

lolly sticks and super glue

First, pick three sticks that look nice together.
Then, glue two together by the edges (on the side) and leave to dry.
Then, glue another on top and in the middle of the two.

Do two of those (as shown in pic above), then get another stick to connect the two sticks from behind.

lolly sticks illustration

gluing lolly sticks together

(using excess cardboard as a mess platform hehe)

tying the knot

Tie 3 long-enough pieces of string/twine equally spaced out on the structure. I just tied one in the middle, and the other two around 4cm from the end of the structure.

For those who need some numbers, I’m guessing the length is around 50cm or so? But I had quite a bit of excess length, so it’s good to roughly measure and gauge the space with your photos first.

I secured the strings in place with a few drops of super glue, so it wouldn’t run along the structure.

tying the knot 2

Then, for the string to hang the structure, roughly cut a piece that is not too long but still hangs at an angle, then loop-knot it on the two ends. I didn’t glue this piece of string down, so it will be easier to adjust the length of the hanging as and when needed.

knots tied

If you’d like, you can cut off the excess string sticking out, but I think it gives it a handmade feel and I kind of like it 🙂

OKAY.

Structure, done!

Alternatively, you can use our wooden hanger (30cm) for the structure.


Now, let’s work on the decorative weights! First, draw out one equilateral triangle and one isosceles triangles (same base length as the equilateral but with two longer equal sides) on the cardstock and cut them out.

These will serve as the template for you to cut out the cardboard pieces!

cutting the cardboard

Use a good penknife (don’t use scissors!!! I tried and it tore :'( ) to slice out the shapes and then trim off any rough/hairy edges with scissors.

cardboard cutout

Then, I add washi tape to cover the ugly/hairy edges so it looks cleaner on the whole. It also gives the whole project a pop of colour!

washi tape cardboard

Oh yassss, mint is so pleasing to the eyes…

YAY, decorative weights also done!


Now, for the photos! Get them printed in squares (or whichever size you like really, but squares look good!) and roughly plan out how you want to arrange them.

Then, washi tape them (neatly spaced!) onto the strings.
(You can change them according to mood or season, since they’re super easy to change!)

arrange the photos

Add the decorative weights below…

stick down the weights

(I added some tape very close to the top edge of the triangles afterwards, they look nicer like that!)

… and VOILA, it’s ready to hang!!!

hung on the wall

Find a nice spot in your house, somewhere with a blank wall and either tape it or hang it there with a small hook!

It’s like a mini instagram gallery hanging on the wall! Another look you could try is using mini tree stumps as the structure instead:

Small Square Print


Photo printing can be a fun and creative time especially using it for your DIY projects. Plus, with photo printing as part of the crafting process, it would make your DIY projects more memorable. There’s many ways you can go about doing this project, do experiment with the colours, themes of the photos, and materials you use! Whatever you create, it will be truly unique and yours to keep.

Ready? Go let those creativity juices flowwww ~

Start off by printing some photos on our website!

Happy crafting, friends! <3