fototiller.com Blog

Love these albums that Joy posted. Available at Auto.

I’m back after several months off and I’m thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter, Genevieve, born on August 19th. Time flies and now it’s a beautiful fall day here in New England. The leaves are starting to look a lot like this magnet, which I love. Ingenious use of magnetic sheeting and an exacto knife to make this Leaf Skeleton magnet. Use it to hold up a photo or alone to dress up the fridge. From Esty seller Skinny la Minx.

Make lots of cool stuff from your pics printed from your ink jet onto these shrinky sheets.

A timeless classic. Design your own keychains, jewelry, picture frames, or anything else you can imagine. Inkjet option makes these better than ever!

These cool LEGO-like frames from Pylones let you build your photos into all kinds of fun shapes. Great for kids and the boxes have storage compartments, too. Monochromatic or super-colorful – $12 for a set of three.

Saw this cool retro camera print on Decor8 and had to post. Available on John W. Golden’s Etsy site, the Lunastrella Camera print ($30).

poppy – polaroids by maditi (pictured)
oh joy – photographic inspired prints on balsa from salvor
exposure – DIY photo wall
shelterrific – turn your jpgs into gifts
alec soth blog – review santa fe and advice for emerging photographers

Urban outfitters always has some fun photo stuff to check out. The bell jar photo clip has a black base detailed with 3 black roses and a curved metal clip to hold a photo. Also cool – the old school photo album.

Issue 7 of JPG Magazine is out now AND you can now order subscriptions!

Plus, they are offering fototiller readers a special gift: A $5-off subscription coupon. Just use code FOTOTILLER or subscribe here and the discount will be automatically be included.

A great gift idea for the holidays, especially if you order the gift box subscription which comes with the JPG ultrapod and JPG stickers.

(And check out the article I wrote on DIY holiday photo gifts!)

Grab your cameras on your way to vote tomorrow and you can prticipate in the AIGA Polling Place Photo Project. Organizers of the project are hoping to collect photos of all the polling places in America.

The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that seeks to empower citizens to capture, post and share photographs of democracy in action. By documenting their local voting experience on November 7, voters can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America.

via kottke.org

photos by maditi and alison

I consider myself more of a visual person than a verbal one, but I love to play with words — I’m a huge fan of Scrabble and the Times Sunday crossword (anyone know a seven-letter word for ‘unknown’?)

So, I was very excited to come across the compound word project.

photos by gracia and kristen

The project is the brainchild of Shari; she picked compund words and then assigned each participant a single word from the compound. Not knowing their compound word, each participant took a photo to represent their single word. Then Shari matched up the photos, creating a dipytch for each compound word – and everyone tried to guess what the compound words were. Not only is it fun (and harder than it looks) to correctly guess the answers, it is pretty amazing to see how well these photos (that were taken independently of each other and by different people) complement one another.

photos by leslie and karen

Shari hopes to do another project beginning in November, so check the site for more details if you are interested. Oh, and think you know the answers? Check here to see if you’re right!

photos by tiffany and paula

[Thanks to Shari and all the photographers for permission to show their work!]

Get your submissions in for the latest JPG Magazine, issue 7. There are THREE themes to submit to this time around: big, self-portraiture and hometown. You have fourteen days to submit one pic per theme and people chosen for publication will receive $100 plus a one-year subscription to JPG.

(images from jpgmag.com)

I love my fotoclips and am currently putting together some ideas for using them to post on fototiller. In the meantime, I started a fotoclips flickr group, clip it good, to see how y’all are using your fotoclips (you do have some, right?). And here’s an idea I saw over on urban outfitters; cut out your photos with the lomo circle cutter and clip together to make cool circle curtains and room dividers.

BTW, I’m on vacation (hiking in the Rockies) this week and the beginning of next, so posting will be light – I may even take a few days off. Hope you are all having a great week!

From Ogg Studio, cool custom photo lunchboxes for your favorite back-to-schooler. Send in a pic and they’ll send you a lunchbox in a week ($35).

I’ve been loving orange and blue combos lately, like on these beautiful cards that Grace posted on. Paper Source has some lovely photo albums and supplies in two great shades, pool and poppy.

1. Photo corners in pool and poppy ($4 per pack of 240) – lots of other bright colors, too
2. Pool Luxe Kimono Flowers Album ($30)
3. Poppy Luxe Sunburst Album ($30)
4. Blank poppy three leaf frame labels ($.60 each)
5. Pool accordion book kit ($4) – make your own photo accordion book
6. Linen spiral albums in poppy and pool ($16)

I love these woodgrain photo magnétique frames! From the designers at Presse Citron, these magnet frames are hard to find in the US. But I think these would be a fun diy project using woodgrain contact paper and magnet sheets (inspired by the inventive projects with contact paper over at It’s Knot Wood). Pick your favorite woodgrain paper and stick on the magnet sheets, then cut out frame shapes with openings for you photos. Put ‘em on the fridge, or get a magnetic bulletin board in a fun color and hang anywhere you want (fridgedoor has a good selection of magnetic boards).

As someone who is in the midst of plastic toy invasion, I welcome any and all toys made of wood. So I was very happy to see this wooden toy camera for the youngest shutterbug in your family. The camera is made from walnut, oak and alder with a non-toxic oil and features moving parts and a view finder to look through. Plus it’s made by a small family-owned company in the US. Get it at Romp ($24).

If you love FOUND Magazine and you love photography, then you’ll definitely want to get the new FOUND Polaroid Book, which ships on October 1st. (Pre-order the book and get a FREE FOUND T-SHIRT!)

This threaded memo board from Crate and Barrel is a great way to keep a rotating bulletin board display of photos without damaging them with pushpins.

On sale at Red Envelope, I think this photo wall clock ($19) would look pretty cool with photos of numbers from old road signs.
Via the possibilities are endless (thanks Jessica!)

Jessica sent me a bunch of cool goods with camera designs and thank god she did! My computer died on Friday and I’m just getting fototiller back up and running – so I’m so happy to post her finds. Thanks Jessica!

(BTW – Jessica is one of the nicest bloggers around; be sure to check out her blog Funky Finds!)

1. Shutterbug tote bag – canvas bag with felt applique from iHook’s Etsy Shop ($18)
   
2. Shutter bug patch – these felt patches are $3 each at Moxie Madness’s Etsy Shop
3. Hot shot! camera ring – Fred Flare ($10)

New line of Weegee at the International Center of Photography store.

Snapshot key caddy from Chiasso…

Another modern design where simplicity breeds elegance and function. This cool caddy keeps your keys under your favorite artwork. The sleek, modern frame holds two 5″ x 7″ photos or art. Five notched pegs keep keys and such organized. Stainless steel frame and pegs with glass. $38

I’ve been loving orange and blue combos lately and I think this orange frame from MoMA would look fab with some sunprints. Also comes in white for your favorite minimalist. Made of plastic and glass, the 4 x 6 frame ($18) can be placed horizontally or vertically.

Some pretty personalized photo albums from Neiman Marcus – these would make lovely bridesmaid gifts.

The Collection has been making the blog rounds and with good reason – they have some stunning wall coverings. There’s also this set of flocked vinyl frames to stick up on the wall for your photos.

Who doesn’t love a good giant camera/giant bunny print? Spotted by Jessica over at Funky Finds, this print is on sale for $13.50.

These photobooth wedding invites (as seen in the ReadyMade love issue) are the super cool idea of designer Cindy Ferguson of Invite Delight. You can have your very own invites custom made at Invite Delight. You can also DIY them by following these instructions on the ReadyMade blog. Or use the suggestion of ReadyMade readers Margaret Cox and Aaron Swingler and buy some Envelopments, cut out a viewing square and insert a card with your two photos. They made a cute save-the-date card by taking pictures of themselves holding signs (see the latest ReadyMade).

These simple leather albums from Kate’s Paperie are great for archival storage of your wedding photos. They come in a range of colors (brown, black, cream, red and orange) with ivory pages and interleaves and are priced between $45 and $175, depending on the size.

Our little fashionista is turning three next week, and we decided to buy her a camera (her first). We went ahead and got her this little cow camera, but when I saw this Hello Kitty digital camera I almost bought it on the spot. Luckily, l took a moment to read the reviews. It sounds like it’s pretty crappy! Anyone ever use one? It’s so hard to judge a product based on Amazon reviews, but these were pretty harsh. She loves Hello Kitty (as do I) so I was really hoping it would be good. Ah well, it is fun to look at.

Another cool camera shirt from this Japanese shop – boy I wish I knew japanese!

Great posts over at poppytalk: the change-it-up fotote and albums from rag-and-bone bindery.

These re-cord photo albums are fun (and made of mostly recycled materials).
Capture your memories…eco-style! These classic photo albums are created using a vinyl record cover – with the record still in its jacket! Each record has lived a full life and was rescued from its slumber and bound with 20 pages of thick, black, acid-free and recycled paper. Re-cord pages contain the most reused and recycled content possible.

$30 CDN and ships to both Canada and the US.

There are a lot of places to get a customized bag with your favorite pic on it, but they are often oh so boring. I like these personalized denim bags from pixel girl shop for their hot color contrast stitching and the dark (washable!) denim. Send them a photo, and they’ll make it black and white and use the colors of your choosing to make a bag for $40 for or $48 for two photos. Not bad!

If June is the month of weddings, then August is the month of wedding photos – and figuring out what the heck to do with them. This month on fototiller, I’ll be featuring some products and ideas for showing off your wedding pics (plus some fun photo ideas for those of you in mad wedding planning mode). Check out the new wedding category in the weeks to come.

Since our fifth wedding anniversary is this fall and we (a) still don’t have an album for our photos and (b) don’t want to spend a ton on one, I’m going to start with some posts on albums that don’t break the bank.

I think these albums from Ecklectic are gorgeous and simple and not too girly (ok they are kinda girly with the bow and all). But I still love these, and almost all are under $100 – a great deal considering these are handmade bound albums withglassine overlays and archival paper in your choice of ivory or black.

I wrote about these really cool dry-erase quote magnets over on the photojojo blog, but I haven’t been able to find somewhere to buy them online in the US. So I decided to make some of my own – they are super easy and super fun!

Here’s how:

1. Download one of the template files I made below (you may need to right-clicking the link to save the file)
2. Print template on regular white paper
3. Stick the back of the printed paper on an adhesive magnet sheet (buy at office supply store or online here)
4. Cover design with a peel-and-stick laminating sheet. I used SelfSeal Repositionable laminate pouches. Remove the non-adhesive plastic (use it for something else). Take the adhesive laminate sheet, peel off the backing and stick to the printed design already on your magnet sheet. Tip: I cut out just enough of the laminate to cover the design; this minimizes waste of the laminate.
5. Cut out the magnet with very sharp scissors.
6. Stick it up and write away!

Template Downloads:

Magnet quotes with text -magnetquotes_text.pdf
Magnet quotes without text – magnetquotes.pdf
Note: I first tried this using ink-jet printable magnet sheets. These are just not strong enough to hold up photos.

Other ideas to try…

Create your own text bubbles by overlaying text on the template.
Use photos with a lot of white space to make magnetic dry erase boards. Just print the picture in the size you want and stick on the magnetic sheet. Then cover with a large enough piece of peel-and-stick laminate.

I’m not usually one for photo keychains, but I like these from CB2 and Plum Party.

Love these tiny color flashes that you can attach to your cellphone camera or point-and-shoot. Also a fun little mirror that you can attach to take better self-portraits. Read more over on Popgadget.

Katey found these gorgeous frames over at zakkaweb, designed by Lizet Hoevenaar. Also found them here, but alas, this site is also in Japanese.

Kind of kooky… French company YOVOP Your Own Very Old Portrait takes photos and makes them into – you guessed it – old portraits. Fun site to check out (and I love the name).

Grace posted on these cool takboards, perfect for holding your latest photos.

Photo shelfs from Wal-mart.

DIY plexi-glass photo display (a great idea for a kitchen backsplash, too).

Do you like tiny art and cameras? Then you’ll love Sean Tubridy’s little illustrations of retro cameras (above). Available for sale at $20 each, these are signed square 5 x 5 prints in a 9 x 9 mat. They are designed to fit in a square 9 x 9 frame like the Ribba ones at Ikea. He doesn’t have on online shop yet, but you can check out his website for places to buy them in Minneapolis or order by email using paypal (sales at blueoverblue dot com). Also, he has done some cool camera tees (image below, stock varies). See his flickr sets for more of his work.

Update – Sean has set up an online shop here.

Check out this post over at Modish – have a collage made from your photos over at paper relics.

I love serendipitous ipod moments…

Like just now when I discover the Japan-based site Little by Little and the shuffle spits out The Vapor’s Turning Japanese. I have never been fully convinced that my ipod does not have a mind of its own.

Anyway, found these very cool mouse trap clips. What a great idea for holding photos – imagine a whole wall with randomly placed mousetraps holding photos and artwork. Very, very cool.

Cool camera tees from Amorphia Apparel. I’m likin’ the ringer tee colors.

New from Nono Living…
XL Wallart is a collection of giant digital images that are comprised of wallpaper panels, put together they create an impacting feature for any room. Suitable for bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms or studies they will dramatically change the look and feel of a room. There are 11 different designs available, from zany giant sweets to delicate flower images, there is plenty of potential to have fun with your décor!

I’m so excited about UK-based 55 Max – I can’t believe I didn’t find them until now! 55 MAx offers affordable prints from contemporary photographers (check out the cool prints for kids) and they have an amazing bespoke interiors service with so many options, I don’t know where to start. They can put your image onto window roller blinds, ceramic wall and floor tiles, wallpaper, curtains or upholstery. And they’ll do the typical print onto canvas – and the not so typical print on aluminum (how cool!) and acrylic. Or for a really unique gift to commemorate a special event, use their photomontage service to create a collage that can then be printed onto the above options or on an awesome magnetic memoboard.

[Note: Site is a little annoying to navigate - but they do take international orders and some prices are listed in US dollars. Continue reading for some of my favorites.]

(more…)

Instructions for making your own glass and soldered photo charms.

Just saw that the D.I.Y. photo enlargement projects and instructions featured in the last issue of Blueprint are also online (via BB-Blog, a super fab blog).

The X Plane, with digital camera from I Want One Of Those comes with a mini digital camera that you can attach to the plane, and shoot pictures remotely from the ground as your camera flies overhead. Not cheap for something that has the potential to crash-land ($161) – I think I still want to try some kite aerial photography.

It’s my birthday and I’m taking the day off – yippee!

[Image altered from the 3 year old birthday badge at Plum Party]

Jen Smith is a local (western Mass) photographer and jeweler who has combined her talents to make beautiful photo jewelry. I saw some of her pendants and rings this weekend in a shop in Northampton and they are finely hand-crafted works. She also doescustom pieces if you are looking for a unique gift idea. (And check out the pics of her beautiful studio.)

I finally got around to redoing the fototiller archives so the full posts with images will display by category and by month. It was really driving me crazy to see just the excerpts and it was so easy to change, I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner!

Just saw these bittersweet genevieve wallets over at poppytalk. They’re made using found photographs – pretty cool!

Barcode frames ($9.99) from Target’s new Independent Studies line.

Also available at KarmaKiss – cool magnetic cable photo holders. A very simple, modern way to hang your photos; use the magnets attached to the cable to hold up a photo and then hang the cable from the wall or ceiling. In addition to the original sleek style (which unfortunately is out of stock right now), there are designs that kids will love – with butterfly, heart and flower magnets.

Update – you can buy the original style now from photojojo’s store!

These animal frames available at KarmaKiss.com definitely fall in the kitschy cute category. But perfect fun party favors, especially for kids.

1. Photo frame pencil toppers (set of six for $8.99)
2. Dancing animal photo key chains ($6) – pull the string and watch them dance
3. Karma Kritter frames ($8.99)
4. Rockin’ animal photo frames ($7) – the little heads on these frames bobble back and forth

The latest issue of JPG Magazine is out. The issue theme is Oops! and features the best submitted ‘mistake’ photos, along with interviews from photographers Rion Nakaya and Ryan Gallagher (who does camera toss photography). Buy it here for $19.99.

Fellow album lover Jessica reminded me about the great handbound albums over at If’n Books + Marks. I’m a big fan of illustrator Jen Corace and love her great cover on the baby album (top left). Also check out the buttonhole stitch albums and the map albums.

Want a rock-star belt buckle with a photo of your choosing? Barbie’s Basement Jewelry of Toronto will make custom versions of the above buckle as well as their other products and designs (including pendants, rings, pet tags and key rings). (They do ship to the US, too!)

Jessica posted on the recycled goods from Tiffany Tomato Designs and these frames from pop labels and candy wrappers are pretty cool. Also, cool picture envelopes from old magazines – I’ve been thinking about doing some envelopes with old photos, so now I’m excited to get crackin’ and mail me some letters.

To me, paperweights have always seemed to be of questionable utility and always ended up being just another junky item cluttering up my desk. But as I’m sitting here trying to stave off the mugginess with a super-power fan blasting me, I’m guessing I could use one of them right about now. I found these kits for making paperweights from your photos and the selection of shapes and materials is the best I’ve seen anywhere (and not too pricey, either). The weights come in glass, crystal and acrylic and some of the acrylic styles can also be used to make coasters. The site also has step-by-step instructions for making the paper weights.

I know I’ve posted on the Do frame before, but I had a lot of trouble tracking down a place to buy it. Well, it’s now available at Unica ($13). Designed by marti guixe for do create by droog design, the do frame is a roll of tape with a frame pattern on it. It can be used to hold everything from photos to poster -perfect for putting up an instant photo gallery on your wall.

Shelteriffic is one of my daily reads and today they have a post on photoboxes. (And they so kindly mentioned fototiller – thanks guys!) I thought I’d post on these boxes I saw over at Target ($20). They provide acid-free storage in colors that will most likely blend in with other stuff on your shelves and have a flip-up lid for easy access.

Kevin posted on these cool DIY US Postal Service photo postcards over at the ReadyMade Blog. You can upload your own photos and designs to make your personal postcards (and even keep an online gallery of your photos) or use their designs (see above). Then enter your message and the service will mail them out for you. Great for baby announcements, save the date, moving announcements etc.

Beautiful and beachy frames made from driftwood by Bleu Nature.

Cute little picture or postcard holders in rose, orange, light green, and blue. From Avec home design.

From the latest issue of MS Living… Instructions for these photo centerpieces are also on the MS website.

Some very cool photo mobiles from Oxo Designs. Many different styles – from the beechwood and steel tournicoti sun which holds 28 spinning pictures (above left) to the tournicoti spiral (below top left). Check out the oxo design website where you can see some of the mobiles in motion. Some styles available online from this UK shop; still looking for other places to buy these.

I love these kitsch magnet frames from umbra that Grace posted on. Perfect for holding up all those photos on the fridge.

Block print mat from Urban Outfitters – love the patterns on these mats and the simple black lacquer frames. Can be used as wall frame or table frame.

New lomo novelty camera, the Dalek Supersampler, now at Colette.

Designed by the artist, Dalek, the camera comes with a Dalek design book with photos and assorted graphic design plus a supersampler booklet.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably taken tons of photos of your kids, but maybe not as many for your kids. Growing up with a both a photographer grandfather and father, there are tons of amazing photos of my brother and I, but very few of our surroundings growing up. I would love now to see a photo of the room I had when I was 8 or my first elementary school (which was torn down shortly after we moved) or the sweet elderly woman who lived behind our house and gave us the best easter candy.

So this entry in the “school’s out” series is for a simple documentary project to create a photo time capsule of all those places and things in your child’s life that you might not otherwise photograph.
(more…)

Announcement from Martha Stewart and Kodak of a joint venture – custom photo products with Martha magic coming this fall. Could be interesting…

“The new line will feature an array of personalized photo products–including cards, stationery, invitations, Photo Books, calendars, stickers and hang tags –created by the MSLO design team under Martha Stewart’s direction and supervision. MSLO will assume significant design responsibility for products in popular categories such as holidays, weddings, invitations, thank-you notes and babies, and will be developing designs for new emerging categories, including food and gardening.”

This hanging light from ingo mauer at twentytwentyone is ridiculously expensive but the idea is an interesting one. The light comes with pre-printed and blank Japanese paper that you can customize and attach to the light. I think this could be really beautiful with abstract b&w photos printed on the paper.

Seems like the eighties are popping up all around me these days. And as someone who received her first camera during that decade, I thought I’d post a little eighties style photo thingy.

Maripolarama – This book of polaroids from Maripol captures the creative scene of the early eighties on the lower east side with images of Madonna, Basquiat, Grace Jones, and Anna Sui among many others.

Pop Star Frame – This has got to be the perfect frame for those eighties self-portraits. I’m thinking the ones I took with the Kodak disc cam – picture day-glo orange mesh top, irridescent mirror sunglasses, and rubber bracelets up to the elbow.

Polaroid Impulse – Straight from 1988, the Polaroid impulse is the epitome of eighties style. Head over to lomography.com – they’ve acquired 200 pieces of pristine, brand new Impulse deadstock, straight from the late 80’s.

Ice Frame – Reminiscent of the Rubik’s cube, these futuristic frames reflect from different angles for an effect that is totally awesome.

Joy has a great post on animal necklaces, some of which are from Fuzz Design, which also carries this great frame. Almost a work of art by itself.

A few people have written in asking where they can buy the acte-deco vinyl wall stickers. I emailed Stéphanie of Atelier Deco in France and they can ship small items like the wall stickers to the US. Send an email to contact@atelierdeco.fr to find out about shipping costs.

Little bird photo holders – I know lots of people are tired of birds, but I married into a family of them (and not the way Stephen Colbert might be thinking). Also sweet frames for a baby and some green loveliness, all from French company, Coming b.

Weird and wacky photo clocks. Photo clock and memo clock, which has little clips for your pictures. Available online from UK shop Fearless.

Everyday, there seems to be more and more custom digital printing on every surface you can think of. From customised digital ceramic tiles, wallpaper and flooring at digitile (via Chris Glass) to dinnerware sets customized with your digital photo at imagewares (via poppytalk). It’s all still pretty expensive, but gets those DIY sparks a flyin’ in my little brain. I especially love Dominic Crinson’s designs for digitile (picture above and below).

Apartment Therapy has a post on some cool picture frames by Roy Kushner.

Another entry in the school’s out for summer series…

Here’s a quick three-step photoshop tutorial to make coloring pages for your kids from any digital photo. Kids will love coloring pictures of themselves and their family (what could be more fun than giving grandpa spiky purple hair and a green beard). Other ideas – help your kid take photos of their favorite toys, friends and places in your town or neighborhood (school, library, ice cream shop) and turn them into coloring pages. They make great diversions when you’re on the road or waiting in a restaurant.

Don’t have photoshop? If you use Corel Paint Shop Pro, you can try this .pdf tutorial for making coloring pages.

Continue reading to make your own coloring book…

(more…)

Here are two cute little Sukie albums for all your road trippin’ summer pics: the winnebago and motel photo albums. Screen-printed cloth cover albums hold 5×7 photos and come with an envelope for negatives and photo corners.

LomoKikuyu is a charity project by the Lomographic Society, and it’s as easy and as useful as it can possibly get: you donate 30 or 15 Euros/USD, receive a friendly little book for yourself, and save the eyesight of a blind person in Kenya. Learn more about it here and donate your money here.

It’s also the last week to enter the LomoKikuyu Online Competition. Upload your shots regarding the topics ‘eyes’ and ‘what would you want to show somebody who has just had their eyesight restored?’ and be in for winning.

“Portaritratti” travel frame ($115) from the new online shop at the Cooper Hewitt.

There’s something so summery about vintage floral patterns – they bring to mind big old midwestern porches, sun tea and snapping green beans into my grandma’s faded apron. And this being the first day of summer, I thought I’d post on these lovely little floral photo frames – the floribunda frame ($25) and garden club frame.

A new album collection from one of my favorites, Kolo. The Cortina Collection includes four new products, the Cortina Mini (a tiny photo album), the Cortina Lux (a 7 1/2″ X 8 1/4″ square book), the Cortina CD album and the Cortina 2-Up (holds sixty 4″ x 6″ photos). Prices range from $12 – $35. Love the great two-tone color schemes.

More 3D frames – this time from Urban Outfitters. The Lego-linking cubix frame has a thin membrance that you can fill with any objects along with photos, too. You pop open the frame and put in your item, clip it back together and show it off. You can use a hair dryer to resize the plastic membrane after continued use. Each Cubix works on its own or can be snapped together Comes in two sizes: cubix large – ($20) and cubix small – ($14).

I love the Thomas Paul frames, and now there are albums, too. $40 from nonchalant mom, here’s the details:

“These beautiful Thomas Paul photo albums are one of a kind, made from remnants of the pillows. So when you order them you will get whatever I have…If you want to be picky send me an email describing the one you want, and we can take it from there! made of 100% silk fabric over a hardcover three ring binder (so theoretically you can add more pages) books come with 20 pages for four 4×6 photos/page (front & back) and measures 8.5×9.5×2 inches.”

Apartment Therapy had a post last week on Cloth UK, a company that will create custom upholstered furniture, wall hangings, pillows and blinds from your photographs. A bit on the pricey side, but great for some diy inspiration.

I’m often just throwing my naked little point-and-shoot in my bag and who knows what happens to it in there. This camera pocket from Gyms Pacific (they make some cool laptop bags, too) is the simple, inexpensive case I need to protect it from the junk in my bag.

Comes in an array of colors (black, milk grey, dark grey, tangerine, bluebell and blue). Available in three sizes: Small 3.5″ X 5.5″ x 0.5″ – $16.95, Medium 3.75″ x 5.75″ x 0.5″ – $17.95, Large 4″ x 6″ x 0.5″ – $18.95.

It’s the second installment of “school’s out for summer” and this week I’ve got some great cameras and albums for kids to capture and store all those fun-in-the-sun moments.

The Mudpuppy line from Galison has these cute little albums for kids to put all their summer trip and summer camp photos ($10 each).

MoMA has a cool album for the tweens from their Modern Kids line, available in green and purple (on sale now for $7). Kids can use the supplied artwork for the cover or slide in their own picture – album zips closed and holds 36 4×6 photos.

Get your young one started taking pictures with some film cameras that won’t break the bank (and aren’t much more than a disposable camera, another good option for little kids). From left to right – frog, chicken and cow 35mm cameras ($12 each), underwater 35mm camera ($9), and the twin view-finder easy cam ($33).

Want to go digital? Check out the Kid-Tough digital camera for preschoolers($70). Older kids will love the cool colors and sleek shape of the Oregon Scientific 3.0 megapixel ThinCam ($100). Of course, another good option is to get a used digital camera for the kids.

Finally, for the wee-est ones, instead of a real camera get these cute camera shirts ($16, size 12 months). And put together their own little photo book with the “Look at Me” animal photo book ($7), in which you can insert a photo of your tot in each animal face frame.

I wrote a piece for today’s photojojo newsletter – all about cool ways for kids to play with your photos. If you haven’t already signed up for photojojo’s newsletter, go do it now! They have lots of cool photo tips, projects, gear reviews and it really is a fun newsletter to read.

I’m having some server/wordpress issues, so the tattoo project instructions are looking funky right now. Will get that fixed as soon as I can. And, I am going on vacation this week, so posting will be light. But check back next Monday for the next installment of “school’s out…” and more fun photo finds.

Introducing a brand spankin’ new summer series of photo projects for kids. Check back every Monday for new, fun projects for kids to do with their photos – all under the “school’s out” category. All summer long – or until I run out of ideas.

Tattoo You

Kids are tough – they don’t need tattoos to prove it. But what kid wouldn’t like to sport a snazzy tattoo of their choosing (temporary, of course). Here’s a fun little project to make your own photos into the coolest temporary tattoos using your handy little ink-jet printer.

Continue reading for all the how-to fun:

(more…)

Joy finds fabulous frames wallpaper – check it out here. Use to put up a whole wall of photos!

Fototiller reader Jessica wrote in about this cool little camera bag featured on the making time blog. Made from pattern in Stitch idees – Cafe Sister 2006 Vol 3, (ISBN4529042383). Does anyone know where to get the Stitch Idees series?

I read about inspire company on the decor8 blog and was inspired by these cute vintage photo tag cards ($6). I might have to try something like this using found photos or some old family photos.

Disposable flash camera from Paul Smith (£10). Overpriced? Okay, maybe. But fun to look at nonetheless. Eye candy only for stateside dwellers as it’s not available to USA customers.

I like to pretend I’m Swedish and, having grown up clog-dancing in Little Sweden USA, I can sometimes get away with it. I have a fondness for all things Swedish – Kosta Boda snowball votives, Dala horse signs, post boxes and… Ordning & Reda. So, of course, I have to write about their photo albums. The accordian photo album and meadow album are two of my favorites. Love the bright, happy colors on yet another rainy, dreary day like today.

This works as a picture frame, vase, or photo collection box. It is a clear box and has a pocket for photos. Plop in some flowers in the vase or just admire your photo through a frame of water. From trendform.

Magnum, the amazing photography co-operative, now has video podcasts of their Magnum in Motion series. These multimedia photo essays weave brilliant photographs with engaging audio commentary, music and other graphics. I watched the Alec Soth Niagara video and found it to be very intriguing and inspiring. (So good it gave me chills!) I’m definitely signing up for the video podcast – such a great way to stay connected with the latest documentary photography.

(via the cool hunter)

The personalight is a very cool way to display your photos. These lamps let you illuminate your photos by sliding them in between a diffusion layer (to keep out those hot spots) and a clear outerlayer. You can print out your own photos on the included transparency sheets (comes with two, but you can buy refills, 5 for $5). Or if you’re not up to printing yourself, you can send them a photo and they’ll print it for you. They also have a number of photos you can download and print, if you’re stuck for ideas. Choose from the pop lite ($50), pop mini ($30) and pop nite ($20, a cute little nightlight). Curiously, it is hard to find the link to order – you can buy them here.

I really like the clean and simple design of the dossier bent plywood album, from the Umbra Plus Studio Collection. Contains 20 acid free paper pages and includes photo corners, too.

Lily Latifi, a franco-iranian designer, has some really cute felt frames and photo holders that are perfect for kids. I especially like the puzzle-shaped yek-o-yek frames and the duck photo holders. Also available: yek-o-yek photo holders, pebble photo holders, photo birth cards and felt photo frames. Felt frames are 100% felt and washable in cold water.

In between the drenching rain and caring for my stomach-flu stricken toddler, I did actually manage to get out for a few hours this weekend for some window shopping (ok, was really supposed to be food shopping). I saw these running rhino albums at a great new and used bookstore, the toadstool. The photo journal ($20) includes lined pages intermixed with photo pages. Other photo albums, pictured below, hold 36 4×6 photos ($16).

1. Celadon photo album – friends camera
2. Mocha photo album – tripod
3. Mocha photo album – beach umbrella
4. Celadon photo album – photographer

Boon, the newly launched business of Anjel and Via, is focused on creating unique paper goods using pulp-free abaca papers that are made by a paper-making program in the Phillippines, with proceeds going to local education and a women’s shelter. The designs include some lovely alternatives for holding your photos. They are just now getting retailers, so I’ll post an update on where to buy in the future.

Magnetic Picture Frames (above):
Little magnetic all handmade paper picture frames, tucked in a pouch. Tree-pulp free, they are made from grass fibers. Ribbon handle detailing. Cute, cute, and more cute!

Three-tier Picture Frames (below):
These frames are made entirely of handmade paper! Tree-pulp free, they are made from grass fibers. Lightweight, colorful and durable. A playful touch to any space.

It’s official – summer is here! Grab your sunscreen, crank up the dick dale and hit the beach with these summer-lovin’ photo accessories and gear.

1. Surf Photography of the ’60s & ’70s – signed, limited edition book by LeRoy Grannis at ICP ($400)
   
2. Frog eye lomo cam – first and only lomographic underwater camera ($75)
3. Stripes photo album – from CB2 ($9 )
4. Surf board frame – set of twelve board frames from plum party ($36)
5. Lawn chairs vacation album – at rock scissor paper ($6)
6. Surf stripe large photo album – from hable construction ($45 )

Ever wonder how to create a photo cluster? Even know what the heck a photo cluster is? (I didn’t!) The decorating divas at domino have some tips on getting your frames to look just right (with some links to buy beautiful frames).

photo from domino

More fun vinyl decal wall frame stickers, this time from French company acte-deco. You can choose from many different colors and several styles – stick ‘em on the wall and hang a photo in the center.

Still waiting to hear back from them to see if they ship to the US. (Check out their other cool wall decals, too!)

If your travels this summer include a trip to Berlin, then check out the Żak Gallery, which focuses on Eastern European photography (or see the online gallery). The gallery opens with it’s first exhibit, “Alien Sky,” on June 1st. The exhibit presents seven artists’ “version of the giant surface above us, the secrets that lay hidden behind – or what we expect from there to come. With different approaches, ranging from conceptual experiments to classic b/w photography, all displayed works play with the aesthetics and the attraction of the sky. How do aliens perceive Earth? What remains when a pin-hole camera observes the sky for over a month? Shouldn’t we all become sky watchers?”

A series of photos by Marcin Przybyłko depicts the subject’s perspective of the sliver of sky viewable from the shelter of buildings, highlighting just how “alien” the sky often seems to us. Another series titled “Waiting for the UFO,” plays on our fears of the unknown and alien in an almost whimsical fashion, with toylike objects appearing in the distant sky.

Top photos: Marcin Przybyłko| Untitled | Untitled | from the series: Windows
Bottom photos: Barbora Kuklíková | Untitled #1 | Untitled #2 | from the series: Waiting for the UFO

I love all the great finds at the Toronto-based Up to You. New to the store is an online shop and these self-adhesive vinyl wall decal frames (look for wall decals #3 in the online store). Create your own wall museum of photos with these frames from designer Inga Sempe. (Great for those of you who can’t put nails in your wall – frames can be removed from your wall so you don’t have to worry about wall damage, but can’t be reapplied.)

This glass ornament/magnet kit ($22 at wrapables) supplies all the materials you need to make three personalized venetian glass magnets or ornaments with your favorite photos, using a laser photocopy of your image to transfer onto each piece of glass. Kit includes Tilano Photo Paper; Foam Brush; Tilano Medium; Tilano Antiquing Paint; Three 2″ x 2″ Glass Ornaments; Tilano Wire; Three Magnets; and all the instructions you need.

Face cake, photo cupcakes, and now photo cookies. Who knew photography could be so yummy?

I’m a big fan of functional art displays, so this beechwood picture frame box is right up my alley. Designer Tim Parsons created this picture frame with a secret compartment for storing storing photographs or any other flat item. It’s also sized to fit print-outs of your digital pics (available in two sizes, A4 and A3). Available from thorsten van elten.

The Cabino Storage Cabinet from Umbra is a wood, glass and acrylic storage cabinet with floating photo display door where you can add in your own pics. Available at Fosters.

These 3-D frames are really cool; you can put in objects along with your pictures and the frame will conform to hold the object. Designed by Hiroshi Kajimoto, select colors are available (and on sale!) at Plum Party.

Here’s a cool gift for your favorite warhol fan – red books, a collection of 11 of warhol’s holson polaroid albums. Description from alphabets, where you can buy the set ($95):
“Red Books is a red wooden box containing 11 of Warhol’s Holson Polaroid albums. Each book contains a facsimile reproduction of Warhol’s sequence. The themes include a study of Paloma Picasso, a day trip to Montauk, Mick Jagger, the “Asshole” painting, and John and Yoko. In addition to the 11 red books, a black book is included which contains a text by François-Marie Banier explaining the significance of these albums within Warhol’s oeuvre and how they act as a visual diary of his work, offering unrivaled insight into his creative process. Essay by François Marie Banier.”

Woodsy and ropey, these frames would make a great home for your summer camping pics. Also good for a father’s day gift. Get them at Pier One.

New lavender suede album from Patina. Holds 104 4×6 photos ($14).

Bobabo creator Gabriela Cantu, another winner of Fred Flare’s next big thing, designed this very cute mini camera keychain. A camera that smiles right back at ya!

Personally, I think I am over silhouettes, but I thought I would still write about petite prints and their custom silhouette stationery and paper goods, as these would make great gifts for your relatives (I think my grandmothers’ would have loved them). You send in a profile photo and they turn it into a silhouette and print it on notecards or notepads.

Jessica wrote in about these beautiful albums from mirror mirror, handmade in England from nubuck leather.

More pinhole fun. You can download this pinhole camera template from linatree and then watch the animated guide to assemble. (via PhotographyBLOG)

Apartment therapy has some highlights from ICFF posted and I was happy to see the work of Duffy London featured. I’d seen the work of Chris Duffy over at the Hidden Art shop, but it’s always great to hear someone’s reaction after seeing it in person. Duffy does bespoke wallpaper from your digital images and his Glo range of canvases and tables with slim lights within can also be customized from your images.

FOUND magazine editor and creator Jason Bitner is one of fred flare’s next big thing winners. Check out his book of portraits from his biggest find, an archive of over 18,000 photos from a professional photographer in LaPorte, Indiana, found in a bunch of boxes in the back of a diner. Update: LaPorte, Indiana website with even more good stuff.

Cast-iron bamboo photo frames from west elm.

I just saw these beautiful, ethereal dishes in Met Home. Designed by Marina Chastenet with photographer Hélène Purcell, the designs are made from photograms (available at devinecorp.net).

Just saw these frame cards from rosebud design studio over at the always inspiring oh joy!. You can insert a photo into these die cut cards – way more fun than your typical plain vanilla photo cards.

From the pillow king, Thomas Paul, a happy little silk flower frame. Available online at doe ($14).

Obo photo frame available at amadon (a great site that I found from jessica at funky finds).

These shutter speed note cards from rock scissor paper are the coolest camera cards I’ve ever seen! Ok, they are the only camera cards I’ve seen, but still super cool. I love, love, love them. Great vintage camera designs (even a leica!). Available in mixed and single design sets (flick and flash, camera lens, film canister, and enlarger).

Simple design with a vintage look, this 3-ring binder book cloth photo album is handmade with a book cloth cover and a chrome label holder. Comes with pre-printed labels to create a title plate.

Feeling a little tired of megapixels, memory cards and battery chargers? Sometimes it’s nice to kick it old school and get back to the basics. Way back. Pinhole cameras are making a comeback with new, modern designs that you can make from kits out of cardstock. These cameras are a lot of fun to experiment with (and also great for introducing kids to photography). There is no lens in a pinhole camera, just a tiny pinhole through which light passes to expose regular 35mm film. Here are two pinhole cameras that are fun and have a great design. With the hole-on ex camera kit, you can make a modern pinhole camera (above) from the printed cardstock parts and metal pinhole aperture (assembly requires glue, ruler and pencil) for only $20. Also, check out the new p-sharan pinhole camera now available at ICP (below). This one is made of tough cardstock that assembles with no cutting or glue ($30). Of course, you can go really old school and make your own.

For all you crafty folks, take a look at these needlepoint photo album kits from AMHdesign’s etsy shop. The kits come in three very modern, simple designs (rio and rome, above and marrakech, below) and have everything you need to make your own photo album. The rio kit can be customized with an initial of your choosing.

PicPads are shopping lists and notepads with black and white images that are custom made from your photos. (via swiss miss)

Awesome camera shirt designs! Take a camera with you wherever you go.
From left to right: the unlearn camera shirt, range finder shirt, camera shirt,
100% super instamatic shirt, grinstamatic camera shirt, the quiet life’s camera dot shirt and finally the camera t-shirt from k adorable.

I love three by three designs. Their innovative use of magnets leads to products like these cool frames, the colornetic frame and the woodnetic frame. Photos can be displayed on both sides and are held up by small, powerful chromed magnets. Available at velocity art and design.

Was reminded of db clay’s camera series of very cool photo-transferred wallets while browsing design spotter. The designers have developed a new method for printing photographic images onto gaffer tape wallets. Current designs include mad deer, this sky, and parking lot. Also available online at elsewares.

So bummed that I couldn’t go to bklyn designs. Jill over at inhabitat has some highlights posted and I was especially interested in claire design, which merges photography and lighting design to create these unique pendant lights.

Spotted on design spotter, this is one strange camera. I’ll let the designers describe it. “As a response to the increased ease with which images can be transferred, this pencil case aims to create a form of unreproducable image. An onboard pinhole camera, possessing an almost infinte depth of field, is triggered every tax year by the camera itself and is uncontrollable by the user. The resultant image can only be viewed by peeking into the case’s SLR prism viewfinder, and onto the onboard LCD screen. Constructed from american black walnut, photo-etched steel, CCD and electronics.”

(images from design spotter)

This lightbox is a project I’ve been wanting to try since I saw a similar idea in readymade a while back. The one thing I was trying to figure out was how the heck to print a large transparency that wouldn’t fade with constant exposure to light. This project on apartment therapy shows how to do it using a duratrans print (still won’t last forever, but hopefully long enough to make it worth your while).

(photo from apartment therapy)

The cranky wind-up toy dances like crazy while holding your photo.

The polished pewter desktop paper clip from see jane work has a heavy base to prevent tipping, so load it up with your latest photos.

Cute posy desktop photo holder from umbra.

Retromodern has these three unique tabletop photo holders:

pinch holder – photos grow on trees with this forest of clothespin photo holders.
clipp holder – simple and sleek, this one piece steel clip holds your photo firmly in place (in small, medium and large).
miamor container/photo holder – a heart shaped container to store your small desktop items and display a single photo.(note: this piece is in the process of being discontinued and limited stock remains)

I’ve got a bunch of tabletop photo holders to post on today. This little sparrow holder with bendable brass coils from anthropologie can hold three pictures.

On the flickr blog yesterday – news of a new and improved flickr coming in the next week. New navigation, new search, new and improved organizr, a person menu for easier navigation to your buddy’s photos and more options for viewing photos (and seeing more photos). I’m especially excited to see the speedy, improved organizr. Keep an eye out for the new release!

I had to travel for business yesterday and my reward at the end of these trips is spending a frantic 90 minutes trying to take in the entire ikea store near the train station. (Yes, I have a serious ikea addiction!) I picked up some of these bright little glad dofs frame – less than $4 bucks a piece! Also saw some of the new magnetic frames in the finlir series, a great deal, too.

From left to right: The metall dutt picture holder, bubbla magnetic frame, and the finlir double and heart frames.

Finally, from the ikea PS collection, there is this foldout enkoping table with built-in picture frame. You can add your own photo or use one of the supplied pics.

Alessi’s playful designs appeal to the child within. This whimsical picture frame design adds a great splash of color to your photos. Available at unica home.

Sensing a theme today? I thought I’d post on some colorful, rainbow photo accessories in honor of pride week, up here in western mass. These are some very colorful photo storage boxes from the container store, at a great price.

From MoMA, the snap-it-up organizer is a simple holder for your desktop photos (and any other items you want to keep handy). Made of acrylic board with six colorful rubber bands.

Canvas photo album holds 60 4×6 photos that fan out for quick flipping ($37). Comes in pink, red, orange and green.

Spectrum album set ($36), available at wishing fish.
“This set of six rainbow-hued photo albums provides the perfect excuse to finally print out those great digital pics! Each colorful cloth-covered volume holds twenty of your cutest 4×6 snapshots — one image on each red, yellow, orange, green, or blue page. If you’re organized, you can designate one album per vacation, happy event, or month of your baby’s life. Or you can just throw 120 of your favorite-pictures-ever in to the books willy-nilly. Either way, the punchy little photo library looks neat and sleek in its stand-up black case. Plus, your pics will be easily accessible — and 100% safe from nasty computer viruses.”

Reflection frame from UK scandinavian shop, skandium.

Cute little felt photo albums from who else but Target! These are decorated with stitched borders and embroidered designs (flower, café and cocktail) and can hold 28 4×6 photos.

This photo mirror from chiasso let’s you add your favorite photos right in the mirror. Holds eight 4″ x 6″ images ($78).

From the DIM brush and broom project, comes this brush frame. Yes it is a little strange. But the idea behind the project is about finding new uses and designs for a product made in a traditional way. Automation of brush production was making the brushes made by skilled blind workers too expensive, so these new designs were created to expand the market for brushes made by these workers. Online at bytrico (a japanese shop, so not sure if you can actually order online).

Also from bytrico, this clever frame with a level built right in as part of the design. Hang your pics perfectly every time.

This ‘brilliantly simple’ frame from marti guixe is made from adhesive tape with golden frame pattern, enabling you to rapidly set up a personal museum. This was originally presented in the exhibit do + droog design = do. Doesn’t seem to be available any more online, but I am still checking on where to buy.

albums from environment337. ultrasuede covers with botanical photographic patterns and contrast stitching. Holds 4×6 photos with memo area.

Just read about UK shop plümo over at Oh Joy! They have some vintage looking card holders that would make great photo holders, especially for those sepia toned portraits of your ancestors.

Kolo is one of my favorite sources for high quality, archival photo albums and storage supplies. Their newest addition is the amélie album, above, which has covers wrapped in textured European upholstery fabric on the exterior and soft fine-wale bengaline on the interior. Like many albums in the Kolo collection, the amélie is a post-bound album that can accept clear pocket pages, cloth hinged scrapbook pages, and (my favorite) inkjet pages for printing digital pictures directly on the album pages.

I also love the havana storage boxes, with their clean and simple design and a single pocket for a photo to identify what is inside the boxes.

I love the sleek curve and shape of this white wooden frame ($21) from bo concept. The black frame is a good deal, too ($18). And check out the brown and black glass frames ($23).

If you live near Charlotte, NC, Boston or San Francisco, take your mom out for a portrait on mother’s day weekend. These fund-raising events provide the opportunity to have your portrait taken by some amazing local commercial and fine art photographers and support your local photography organizations.

The light factory’s shoot out portrait session($150) raises money to support their mission:

• Help a child learning English use photography to express herself when words are challenging
• Support the exhibition of innovative photography from around the country and the world
• Assist in building Charlotte’s burgeoning film community

Closer to home (for me) is Boston’s mother’s day portrait extravaganza sponsored by the photographic resource center. The PRC is a non-profit organization dedicated to photographic education and presentation and they are very supportive of emerging photographers in the northeast. Portrait sessions are $95 for groups less than three and $145 for larger groups.

Finally, we have SF Camerawork’s portrait party. This is a much pricier option (starts at $450!), but the portraits are taken (and signed) by a nationally recognized fine art photographer (see their site for the full list of photographers).

Know of some other mother’s day portrait events like these? Post ‘em here in the comments so everyone can have a look!

Another great mom’s day gift. Flexible plastic bracelet that holds a tiny photo (3cm x 2cm) and comes in aqua, black, cactus and pink. Available from urbane.

Update: you can purchase these online for shipping in the US here for $7.50.

awesome. unconventional. doesn’t want pink flowers or chocolates for mother’s day. here we go – your momma is…

… a total rocker

Smoy brooklyn photo cuff ($25) and plush home leather studded frame ($98). (Sadly, rocker mom’s will have to wait a while for the studded frame as it takes a while to ship, so print the pic and give it to her in the meantime).

… the coolest geek

Hard copy? Forget it. Digital locket holds a USB memory drive; load it up with pictures of her favorite offspring. And the digital keychain keeps pics close at hand ($40). (Note: still looking on where to purchase the digital locket, but it was too cool not to post.)

… a super hero

She can do anything. Get her the actionsampler camera ($30) to capture her action packed days. With one shot she’ll get a series of four images on one print. And she can put her super hero pics in the wonder woman album ($11 from chronicle books).

Lockets used to be cool. These days, it’s hard to find ones that stand out from the crowd. Here are some picks for mother’s day.

Clockwise from top left: anonymous heart and oval locket ($22), juicy couture queen of couture locket with two picture slots ($95), modern photo locket from iluren ($180).

From left to right:

orly baruch locket ($368), lois hill granulated locket ($356) and orly baruch double charm locket ($198), all at nordstrom. locket hook necklace (and 10% donation of sale to PETA, $50), silver and glass locket that holds two photos from uncommon goods ($42), catherine popesco locket from splendor boutique in chicago ($58).

Check out photojojo’s 5 great photo gifts for mom, written by Priya from love made visible. Some fun finds. And stay tuned to fototiller for more mother’s day gift madness today.

More camera bags that aren’t black! Or at least aren’t all black. I first read about the conico bags on shiny shiny. Conico makes all styles of camera bags to house your digital point-and-shoot. I especially like the re-ignite collection, (sampling shown here). There is a compatability chart so you can look up and see if you are lucky enough to own a camera that can wear one of these bags.

Colorful camera case from moma store. No more boring black camera bags!
“This attractive case is designed for carrying digital cameras, and roomy enough to hold keys and a card case. Two detachable straps—a wristlet and a cross-shoulder strap—make it easy to transport and leave hands free. The black and red cases are made of pebbled leather. The pink case is fashioned of a denser pebbled Italian leather. Flat magnetic closure.”

Suede albums made from photo transferred fabric patterns. In cream, above, and also green and blue.

Cool pivot frame from todd oldham for lazy boy. Rotating solid beech wood frame holds photos up to 9×9. And it’s square!

photo from todd oldham site

I first saw this great polaroid album on swiss miss. I hate how hard it is to find photo albums with precut mat openings to display your photos, so I love that you can just slide your pictures right into this album. And there is a new album for digital 4×6 prints, also with prematted sleeves. The polaroid kit is perfect for the upcoming wedding season and would make a great shower gift, too. If you already have a polaroid camera, you can also buy just the album.

Looking through foster’s site, I spotted some new umbra products now available. The alma photo album is covered in felt with exposed seam detail and looks like a cozy little home for you photos. The remix frames are from Umbra’s U+ studio line, designed by Michelle Ivanovic and Stuart Li. Silkscreened on birch plywood, and shocking pink, available in 4×6, 5×7, multi, and wall styles.

The bookend picture frame from Josh Owen in baked enamel on steel is a bargain at $12 a pair. Get it at foster’s.

Glam it up! Smoy chelsea cuffs now available in glitter.

This empress album from shanghai tang is pricey ($115), but I love the cover art. So warhol meets ming. And sometimes your photos are cyring out for some loud, colorful designs on their frames. Mix in the round enamelled frames and this enamelled cloud frame to punch up your photo displays.

Red camper bags, designed by Maura Gramzinski, are made from vintage, original slides from 1939-99. Seven styles to choose from, each with it’s own naked lady “are you paying attention” slide. Not only are slides recycled, the rubber handle is, too. Got a box of slides collecting dust? Get your own custom bag made. And if you just want to recycle your slides, you can email for info on sending them in for a new life as a bag. Available online at indie shopper, snazzy girl and etsy.

The wallter wall applications have been around for a while now, but it took me this long to figure out that the rectangular ones double as picture frames. These are a great idea for displaying photos – exchange the pictures whenever you want, they just pop right out, no glass to deal with. Got a hot date and don’t want aunt millie looking over your shoulder? Take your pictures out and you’re left with a mod wall decoration. Wallter can be painted any color and arranged in any design. Not so great for all you apartment dwellers, though, the frames stick to the wall with adhesive and may damage the surface if removed. Available at wallter and 2modern.

Thanks to Holly over at decor8 for posting about fototiller! Check out the jam-packed design blog for some great design finds and a super resource listing of design shops.

From the red hot shop, target’s photo cube radio. Holds four 3×3.5 pics and comes in white, orange, mint green or blue. Totally rocks. Literally.

Here’s a fun diy tutorial I found via poppytalk; create a single layer stencil from any color photo using photoshop.

Easy to follow instructions – the above stencil took me about 20 minutes to create and clean up from the color photo (taken by my husband) on the left. I’m probably breaking some serious stencil rules. To avoid doing that, read the instructions on how to actually make the basic stencil cut and how to deal with ‘floating islands’ of white. Feeling super ambitious? Try making some multi-layered stencils.

Picture rails from gus modern. Available at 2modern and design public.

Sleek and modern stainless steel frames from lekker home. And reasonably priced, to boot ($19-$25).

Felt foto frame. Designed by andrew schloss. Available at benza design.

Handmade, embroidered on vinyl, these are some cool little photo albums from the small object’s indie crafter, sarah neuburger. Holds 36 5×7 pics, so small enough to toss in your bag and go. Available at copacetique and the small object.

Some finds from vivre, photo cube and the freeze lucite frame.

Colorful, spiral, mudlark photo albums from wrapables.

I spent this sunday at one of my favorite places to spend a rainy afternoon, the lady killigrew cafe at the bookmill (both are must stops if you’re ever in western mass). I was admiring the huge polaroid mosaic of the cafe on the wall, made up of 90 individual polaroids! The mosaic was created by star drooker, and I just got around to looking at the artist’s other polaroid mosaics. I love the unconventional wedding polaroids; probably not how you would want your whole wedding photographed, but definitely pictures I would want to hang up on my wall. There are also several intriguing portraits, like this batman child.

These photoclips from the MoMA store are such a cool idea! I can think of so many ways to use them: room divider, etc. Unfortunately, on back order now, but I’ll see if I can find them somewhere else.

I first read about millimeter/milligram on oh joy! and have been trying to find the photo albums, especially the cool little polaroid album. No luck on that one yet, but I did find the holographic mini and double albums at doe’s online shop. yay!

Lovely spring pattern on these ultra suede floral albums, and the colors are great, too. $32 from Calliope.

Switch your snapshots whenever you want with the spring clip frame from The Museum of Useful Things. Holds a 5×7 photo.

The retro inspired multi happiness frame (in orange/green or black/white plastic coated metal) is a standing, hinged frame that can be snapped together to create a display of multiple frames. Each frame inset can hold two pics and spins around for viewing from both sides.

Simple, modern lomo bag for toting your camera (it has a hanging interior pocket that keeps it safe and easily accessible). And what a cool design!

I’m always on the lookout for baby/kid accessories that are not too precious or frilly. I love this chinese acrobatic album from china sprout; it has the perfect, playful design for a kids album. Also, a great sock monkey album from uncommon goods.

Orange tricycles and green onesies (yay! no pink and blue)! These photo mailers are on sale now at sparkability.

Another great frame find from design*sponge.

Some recycled frame suggestions in honor of earth day.

Frames from recycled oil drums (from re-found objects).

Urban tree salvage frames, made from city trees that have been removed and salvaged and lath frames, made from reclaimed building materials and (both from grass roots).

3R living frames from reclaimed boat wood.

More reclaimed boat wood frames, plus reclaimed ceiling tin frames (from uncommon goods).

And finally, recycled bike chain frames (available at uncommon goods and eco-artware).

Also, for a green-friendly framing service check out treehugger’s suggestion: green house framers. They have ready-made frames and custom framing services using only reclaimed lumber, earth friendly glues and stains and tree-free and recycled papers. Happy Earth Day!

Some more photo finds from up to you in Toronto (and available to be shipped worldwide). A fun little photo frame postcard made of high recycled content. This frame can be folded together as a free-standing single picture frame, free standing multiple picture frame, or as a single or double hanging picture frame.

Also, the presse-citron zig frame that unfolds to hold countless pictures or postcards, Smoy photo cuffs and a novelty stereoviewer card. (Thanks Dimitra!)

Some cool retro camera glasses from ICP available at their online store.

For some frames that are very ornate in design, yet modern in material, check out the polyester resin cast my Brother’s Frame ($190USD) from Harry Allen in blue, white and grey and the black, enamelled frame from Didier Chaudanson and Clotilde De Grave of presse-citron. Each frame compartment in the presse-citron frame is magnetic, so you can slip your pictures in easily (available from up to you in Toronto for $260USD, and they will ship worldwide).

Funfurde found this wave magnetic track, a clever and efficient way to display your snapshots.

I first read about the online SCAD shop on design*sponge (have I mentioned that I love that blog!?) and went back to check for photo products. I found these colorful wood grain frames.

One of my favorite design blogs, design*sponge, is having a photo contest . Send in your Brooklyn pics by next Tuesday to win some very cool brooklyn designs prizes.

On sale at Elsewares, these large albums from not neutral provide a modern home for you photos. Also available in a smaller size.

No space left on your walls for your picture frames? Let your fotos fly with these hanging frames. From left: photo mobile from exit9 , hangout mobile frame from cb2, and the photo ball, available online at quincy shop.

Photohooks for stashing your stuff. At gnr8 home.

If you’re like me, you covet cameras like Hasselblad, Leica and Zeiss. Until I can afford one of these, I may just have to do with an Optrixx trick lens. The lenses, which contain a multifaceted prism, are available in 5 cool designs of these classic cameras: Hasselblad, Kodak, Leica, Nikon and Zeiss Ikon. You can also take pics through them with your digitial camera; the resulting image displays the subject reflected hundreds of times. Hasselblad, Nikon and Kodak styles available online at mxyplyzk in the odds & ends section. Still looking for where to buy the Leica and Zeiss styles.

Some fun (and maybe just a bit on the kitschy side) camera inspired finds at fred flare. From paul frank industries, comes the snap! camera bag, available in limited quantities. Also check out the camera photo album and the paparazzi tee.

I’ve been wanting to get the gorillapod for a while now, and just haven’t gotten around to it. The folks over at photojojo have this review comparing two mini tripods for your point-and-shoot, the gorillapod and the bottle cap tripod. Check it out!

(pics from photojojo)

These albums may be just the thing to finally get me motivated to get my pics off my computer and into an album. I first saw the folk photo album from the sukie design duo way back when on wishing fish, but it has been sold out for a while now. Looks like you can order direct from the sukie site itself (if you don’t mind the shipping cost from the UK), along with these other great designs.