Archive for January, 2009

Family photos are one of the home’s most treasured items. Why not add beauty and value throughout your living space by choosing to decorate with family photos? Here are 4 great ways that you can turn your home into a work of art using your snapshots, a little handy work, and a lot of imagination. Enjoy!

1.In the Hallway
Hallways are like blank canvases, ready to be turned into a masterpiece. To add some flair to your hallway, consider enlarging one of your family photos and have it mounted on canvas to be hung in a unique frame above a small decorative table.

2.In the Living Room
In the living room, adding a coffee table book can make all the difference for your visitors. Instead of an interesting book of photography, consider making a unique Photo Album to set out for guests to view during your next occasion.

3.In the Playroom
Kids will love it when you turn their favorite photographs into a colorful mobile using string, clothespins, a plastic circle, and a whole lot of imagination! Make it with your child for an extra special activity.

4.In the Bedroom
Turn an empty wall into a gallery space by installing several shelves of varying sizes and placing framed photographs, vases, or other decorative items on them to add character and to create ambiance.

In a recent New York Times article by Noam Cohen, readers discovered the magic of Flickr and how it has greatly impacted the future of photographic archiving.

A little over a year ago, the Library of Congress started adding photographs with no known restrictions to a Flickr service called the Commons. Starting with 3,500 photos, this gallery has since grown with additions of about 50 per week. In a report assessing the project, the library detailed the information that had been gleaned from Flickr users, rendering the project a complete success. This move just goes to show the importance of preserving historic photographic memories using future technology. Yes, it is possible to blend the two successfully!

“Flickr is to photography what the Pacific Ocean is to water, what Times Square is to humanity,” the cultural critic Luc Sante wrote in an essay for the January-February 2008 issue of Photograph magazine. “Flickr is a great leveler, sweeping away distinctions between amateurism and expertise, art and record-keeping.”

While your home may not be the setting of a pivotal historic event, it’s no less important. To start preserving your photographic memories, blend a bit of old and new by using digital photographs and traditional Photo Albums from StorePhotos.com. Trust us, these memories will last a lifetime as a result!

As 2009 rolls in, isn’t it important to reflect on all of the changes that have impacted your life? Change, like many things, can teach you new lessons every day both big and small. However, more often than not, people overlook the small changes in their lives that they could have drawn valuable experience from for the New Year. Today, challenge yourself to look back on all that has happened over the past year. Did you notice changes?

Looking at family photos is one way that you can start to develop a better sense of what 2008 has brought to your life. For example, while going through family snapshots, notice how your appearance has changed; how your children have grown; the special moments that made 2008 a better year than the last. Taking these things into account, you can be sure to develop your own resolutions on how to make the most of your fresh start to a new year.

Go ahead, break out those
Family Photo Albums and start reflecting!

Being part of a sorority can be a defining moment in any college student’s life. You provide civil service to the community through volunteering, you get a cool house to live in, and you form bonds that span generations and last a lifetime. But in order to become part of a sorority, you must become part of a pledge class, which will require you to complete certain tasks, by yourself and with your pledge classmates, to prove your dedication. One of those tasks, which can be the most important, is to complete a pledge class project that will be presented to your older sisters.

The pledge class project could make or break your admittance into the sorority. In many cases you need to work together to accomplish this, and the project you present is for the class to decide. This could lead to many great ideas, but you have to keep in mind that you have a limited time to complete this project and you still have classes to attend. So if you’re stuck on what to do, here are a few suggestions to help you decide.

– Put on a play – If you really want to wow your sorority sisters, you and your sisters can write and act in a play. This wouldn’t take too much time if the work is divided properly. You can divide the class into teams – who could write the play, build the set, and make the costumes. Since time is limited, you all could participate in the production and entertain your sisters.

– Sing a song – Many sororities incorporate original songs and sayings into their mantra. If you and your pledge class create a song that celebrates your sorority’s rich legacy, this song could be incorporated into the sorority’s tradition and sung for years to come.

– Commemorate the sorority’s history – This may take some time, but chronicling your sorority’s history not only helps you learn more about them, but shows how much you care. You’ll need to sift through old photos and make copies of them in order to preserve the originals. You can compile them in a stylish Scrapbook or Photo Album to present to your older sisters.