Wanna know something crazy? In a few short months Trey and I are going to be celebrating our one-year anniversary. Does it make me old/cliche if I say, “Where does all the time go?!”
But seriously. Where does all the time go?
You’d think I would have plastered the walls of our home with all sorts of wedding photo projects by now. But actually, I haven’t. I did put together a wedding album, two mother’s albums, and a wood transfer that is displayed on our bedroom dresser. But other than that we really don’t have any wedding photos hanging up in our home. Missed opportunity, don’t you think? Time to remedy the situation.
I really wanted to create a little display that incorporated two of my loves: photos and crystals. I love these pretty green (calcite) crystals I found on Etsy. I highly recommend shopping for crystals online or at a mineral trade show to find colors you love. If crystals just aren’t your thing, you could totally create a similar display using favorite found rocks. Go on a hike and see what you find! This project is in collaboration with Canon USA. I used our MG7120 to print my wedding photos.
But first, let’s make our display. You really don’t need me to tell you how to make this. It’s pretty obvious. But I do have a couple of tips for you. First, use an odd number of crystals/rocks. This will make it easier for you to layer them in front of each other. Second, you’ll want needle-nose pliers for this project. You don’t want your cut wire ends to stick out too much. Needle-nose pliers will allow you to bend the wire in on itself much more than you’ll be able to if you’re just working with your hands.
Create loops at the top of the wire to hold a photo. Easy!
I used small 3″ x 4″ scrapbooking cards to help me plan my display. I didn’t want to use photos while I was still planning out my design because I didn’t want to damage my photos while I was still figuring out how high or tight my wires needed to be.
Once I had a display I was happy with, I knew I could use these papers to cut out my photos, filling in the space exactly how I wanted.
I printed multiple photos onto one sheet of photo paper. I decided to use all black and white wedding photos to keep the display feeling cohesive and draw more attention to the emerald color of my crystals.
As I cut out my photos, I decided to add rounded edges. Just for fun. Are rounded edges still cool? (Don’t answer that. Just go with it.) This project was super simple and probably took about 15 minutes once I had all my supplies.
I love how it turned out, and I can’t wait to use this display in my home for years to come. But, if I do get tired of it ,I can always just remove the wire and still have access to my pretty crystals. 🙂 Thanks for letting me share. xo. Emma
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman, Photos by: Sarah Rhodes and Emma Chapman. Photos edited with Color Pop of the Signature Collection.
48 Comments
This is so pretty. A perfect mother’s day gift too! 🙂
Beautiful! What Etsy shop did you use to buy your crystals? Love the color!
I need to go out and buy myself some crystals, because this is just too pretty not to do myself. I love the combination of the black and white photos with the colour of the crystals, I will definitely have this in my home.
I love this. I too have an affinity for crystals and this is a neat way to incorporate them into your decor rather than just sitting on a shelf. Thanks for the idea!
How cuuuuuuuute is that! I have a bunch of amethyst around– I would love to do something like this!
http://cuddlyasacactus.wordpress.com/
Love the colors of those crystals, along with the gold wire. Thanks for an easy DIY! I love it!
Hey I remember I used to have a photo holder like this when I was a kid! It was so much fun to change pictures all the time 🙂 Can’t wait to give this a go!
http://everydayingrace.blogspot.ca/
really love it and also with colors thanks for this..
I love this idea, it would also work well for table labels at an event or a wedding. xxx
This is so cute! I saw this idea not too long ago and I’ve been wanting to do this on my mantle!
this looks so nice 🙂 great idea!
xo, cheyenne
I love to make jewelry using gemstones and rough druzy quarts- these would be some awesome inspiration for my office! I love it!
Oh these are beautiful! Such a lovely idea.
http://erstwhilefelicity.blogspot.co.uk/
These are so fantastic! I was just looking for a way to display photos that aren’t with a frame or clothespins… I love how design-y these are.
Cute idea in theory, but I would like it better if the metal wasn’t wrapped around the stone—is there a way to drill through the stones so the metal would be through the middle instead? Just a thought:)
What kind of wire did you use and where did you buy it?
I love this. I am going to have to do it with my wedding photos that i have no idea what to do with.
thekeyingredient.wordpress.com
Love this idea great DIY item. mywhiteT.com
I absolutely love this! Such a gorgeous and out-of-the-box photo display! Stunning!
xoxo
Taylor
I actually collect crystals and use crystal healing in my everyday life. I love that you thought of something like this. Genius!
Love and Luck,
Laurali Star
http://www.thesecretsurprisinista.com
Beautiful, simple, and elegant. Excellent idea, thanks!
xo
That’s a great idea! I hadn’t even thought of that.
-Emma
Bliss Crystals.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlissCrystals?ref=l2-shop-info-name
-Emma
Agree. Especially if you got to keep your crystal after the event. I’m sure that could get a little pricey, but I would totally keep my crystal and display it in my home.
-Emma
I’m not sure. I’ve never drilled into a crystal before. I know they do make drill bits that could handle that, but I wonder if it would crack the crystal.
Any other readers tried this before?
-Emma
such a cute idea! I got married in August and still have not put up any pictures – I am also trying to think of good ways to display without overpowering our apartment with everything wedding! I love this solution!
This is soooo adorable and glam all at the same time!!!
This is such a great idea. I have a small collection of interesting rocks that I’ve collected on hikes and camping trips with my boyfriend. I’ve been trying to figure out how to display them and I think this is a great idea!
I love love crystals and this looks so amazing. I have to do this! I’m moving next month into my new home with my boy and the house is getting an ABM complete DIY makeover!!!
http://www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com
Awesome idea!! I love it! My 33rd wedding anniversary will be coming up in June, I will have to remember this project to try.
What photo pAper do you use?
I love this project!! I have so many pictures that I need to get out on display and I don’t want to have to put them all in frames. I might do a display to put on my dresser after we move into the new house next month, beautiful!!
Woah!! This is such a cool project…I never would have thought to use minerals/crystals for photo display. Two of my favorite things! I’m definitely going to put all of my crystals and photos on display like this and hope my cats don’t knock them down 😉 …thank you all so much for sharing this!
xoxo,
Morgan
http://wanderingrush.wordpress.com/
This is absolutely genius!! My birthday is in February so I am a crazy huge fan of amethyst– I am goin to make this with amethyst!
XOXO
Olivia
http://www.wintermoonblog.com
Those crystals are so beautiful and glam! And I love the alternative way of displaying photos or table setting name tags. Thanks for this great idea!
@shopwhiteplum
What a sweet little project! Great idea Emma!
This is so cute! Can’t wait to print out some black and white photos of my boyfriend and I and do this.
Which size rocks did you get from the Nature Made Crystals Etsy site? Thanks! 🙂
http://1800colette.com
The rocks are a mixture of sizes between 1″ and 1.2″ 🙂
Love this idea! What gauge of wire did you use? (Sorry if I missed that in the post!)
How perfect!!! I always come home from vacation with rocks and other pretty things i’ve picked up, and they always end up getting thrown in my garden cause I don’t have anything else to do with them. Well now I do! Keep up with the amazing ideas 🙂
it’s looks simple to try. I pined this DIY on my board. gonna do this DIY by myself. thank you for sharing
Love this idea! Going to use it for my wedding coming up, could you tell me what gauge wire you used? Thank you! 🙂
This is such a beautiful and easy to achieve idea Emma. I love it and would love to try it!
Love from Germany,
Elisa
I love these!!! This is a definite must try!!
Thanks!!
I love this project idea, and your crystals are so beautiful!
Emma, gorgeous! I’m in the same boat, have hardly put up any wedding photos after almost two years.
Question – how thick does the wire need to be? Any guidance on picking the proper wire would be great!
Thanks lots,
Tess
http://www.tessobrien.com
Beautiful! What kind of wire did you use? Thanks!
What kind of wire did you use ?