What to Do with Extra Pictures?

I would make a growing album of each child for the child to keep. Also keep extras, sometimes they need them for projects, etc

That's a great question. I usually just save one of the extras for the album and chuck the rest. I think I'll preserve a few more for the grand-kids.

You can make them scrapbooks for when they get older and have kids of their own. They would be able to share their childhood memories with their children and remember as well.

If you are talking about wallet-size pictures, here is what I do. I go and buy baseball card sleeves and binders. I make sure each of my kids have one and us too. I put one of each pic in order in their albums with the extras behind them. When they get older and you need look back pics they will all be right there and everyone will have a set to take as they go and you will still have one too!

About 5 years ago my son(about 12 at the time) was going through his pictures as well as ours. We had a three legged table that was unstable so I decided to get rid of it. He asked if he could have the top. I said sure. He took pics of all the family members, pets, friends and some cars-we're into classic cars and made a collage on the table top. He presented it to his Dad as a birthday present. It now gets hung on the wall. When we moved it was the first thing hung up. It is heavy because of the wooden table top. I am sure that you could do it on something else that would not be so heavy. You could do collages of each child or a family one for each child and yourself as well.Check at Target, Walmart or a craft store for ideas for the collages as well as frames or things to put the pics on. Good Luck and Have fun while your making them!

My almost 2 year old LOVES to look at pictures. I take all my extra random picutres and put them in one of those inexpensive plastic 4x6 photo albums. She loves to sit and and look at the pictues. Good luck!

R.,
I purchased a photo album specifically for "professional" pictures that I have taken of my boys - and a copy of every picture since birth is in that album...I still have a ton of left overs...from when they were younger....however, what I have started doing now...I don't buy the "packages" any more...I figure out BEFORE I go in what sizes and how many of each I will need to cover grandparents, aunts, friends, their picture album, etc....and that is what I purchase...It costs a little more but like you, I cannot throw away or shred all the extras. Good Luck!
T.

IF you are certain these are leftover, that you have a copy of them alreday, I would keep one more set of them, store them away from your home if possible (in case of God forbid, fire) and I know you're going to gasp...but shred the rest.

Why do we let clutter control our lives? Mainly, for me, guilt..just in case...laziness, but I know you'll feel guilty getting rid of them but honestly, is EVERY single picture perfect? Is it blurred, off center, some headless pictures, anything like that, throw them away. There is no use in keeping all that stuff, If you have a set, make an extra set store off site, then get rid of the extra's. You can't let CHAOS control your life.

My granddad died on Good Friday & I went down & helped clean out his apartment. The man, I loved him so much, kept ALL his receipts, bank statements, bills, etc for YEARS. Left us to clean it out, through no fault of his own, but know what I mean? Do you want someone else to have to go through your things if something happened to you? Pictures are meant to be enjoyed, not become a burden.

Best of luck. I too homeschool my youngest, 11yods. I did homeschool all 5 of mine, 2 graduated from homeschooling, the younger 3 went to PS in 2005. Due to many factors we now homeschool our youngest again. We have one married, the one that graduated from PS in January, 1 is a Sophmore in High School. Time flies by. My oldest just turned 24!! So don't let clutter consume your time, those babies will be grown soon and you'd rather have memories than tons of pictures right?

God Bless.

I am a grandmom of seven grandchildren. I've made each grandchild a scrapbook. In that scrapbook are pictures and anything else to do with that child only. When they come to my house, they all love getting their scrapbooks out and sit and look at them and say, "I remember that!". I also put things in the albums that are not pictures like Flat Stanley letter, copy of their report card, school/church program with their names in the program, a lock of their hair in a zip lock in the front of the album (cut a swig when they are asleep), little notes they wrote me, pictures they drew. In the very front of each album I put the meaning of their name. Research it on the web, print it out, laminate it if you can.
For all the extra things mentioned above, I have one of those see thru pages that you can slip stuff into at the top. If you have access to a laminator, laminate stuff so it keeps and doesn't get torn. Hope this helps ya and have fun doing it. It's a great project to start. Once you have it going, it just takes a little time to put stuff into. I have a folder and put stuff in it and one day when i have time I set down and do the scrapbook. I do not do all the fancy scrapbook stuff. I just bought photo books at Walmart with refills and used that. Write their name down the side and their birthday. It looks nice in the bookcase like that. Have fun!

Hi R.!

I loved Tracey's tip about writing down the pictures you need before we go, b/c yes they do push you to buy buy buy buy when you get there! :) I also feel like I have to get every decent pose b/c they might actually throw them away! LOL

Anyway, to answer your question. I don't think you are wanting to start another project and do the scrapbooking plus it takes so much time and you are already doing a time consuming task!

So, I say (depending on the size of them) either:

A.) buy a 3 ring binder with clear slip pages and slide in all the left overs from one photo shoot into one page. Then stick a post it on to say how old they were...and who is who... if not already on the back.

B.) Buy some of those decorative boxes and throw all the leftovers in there. They are fun to dig out from time to time and look neat and cute.

c.) Pitch what you can, and if there are larger sizes put them in a file folder in the filing cabinet labeled professional photos.

Hope this helps! ;)
Amanda

Grandkids and your kids would love to have these later in life! I know I would love to have more of myself when I was little and my parents too.

The only thing I can suggest is storing them in the photo boxes you get at a craft store. As far as what to do with some of them, I put them in that child's photo album AND in their siblings album. Then, I also have an extra photo set aside of WHEN and IF I get time to make them a scrap book for when they are older. You can make a collage out of some for either their room, a hallway, or as gifts to family members. I got so sick of so many extra photos that I started taking my own pictures each year until they are in school and then just buy the small pkgs that the school offers. Those other Sears, Olan Mills, etc give you TOO many and are too pricey for what you get. I take my own photos of them outside where I want and then only print the ones I want and the amount that I want. I only have a regular digital but it takes just as good and are better looking that those studio prop pics. You can take some that are recent or even just a bit older and attach them onto cards and use them as Thank you cards for family, invites for bdays, etc Fold over card stock and glue the pic on the front, very cute and hand made!

W.

Shutterfly has lots of neat little things you can do with pictures... Photobooks are my favorite-I usually wait for them to send me an online coupon of sorts, as they're about $40 but you can about 150 pictures in them! Definitely worth a look..or Archiver's is a great place to look. They hold free classes (and classes that have small supplies fees) for all sorts of things-you can find a class schedule online for a location near you. The people that work there are a wealth of information-plus you can usually find a hardcore scrapbooker or card maker at one of those classes who LOVE to help others. Its better than just keeping them in a box. Also, my mom just started putting extra photos in a box for each of my sisters and me to give us when we graduated. Just be honest with yourself so you don't hold onto everything... I don't let myself keep any photos that don't show anything important...if its just my daughter standing there, facing away from me, I throw it away as opposed to one where I can see her whole smiling face and/or it represents what was going on at the moment (hope that makes sense!) Good luck!

Hi R.
If you're like me, I hate to throw away pics. One option is to make a collage with the leftover pics. Cutting and pasting to almost anything that could be creative. You could try your hand at scrapbooking, that way you can cut into the extra pics and not feel guilty (I would anyway)

Good luck
P.

You could put together a scrapbook for each of your children to give to them when they get older and one for yourself.. S.

I scrapbook some & save the rest for my kids. They love to do projects with them. I just hate to throw them away.

If you have access to a scanner that would be your best bet. Scan them onto a disk and place them in your safe or a safe location. I know it's hard, but you may have to toss out the photos. If everyone has what they want (make offers for more pix to everyone first)then make your child a photo album of everything for a gift later in life, then scan and toss. I know, those cute baby pictures, who could possibly throw them away?! You will have a little guilt over it, but once you realize how much more space you have you will be happy that you did it. I am :)

Buy some posterboard (whichever size you prefer), find some pretty embellishments/scrap paper and use the pictures to make a family collage. Simply cut out around whomever is in the picture, and glue them onto the posterboard, along with the embellishments, in any pattern pleasing to you. This would be a great project to involve the entire family in, and you'll end up with a beautiful and unique family heirloom worth hanging on the wall! :)

Why not digitize your photos and turn them into amazing photo collages?

You can easily use a photo collage maker like TurboCollage: http://www.turbocollage.com to make collages. It's pretty easy to use, give it a try!

If you are interested in digital scrapbooking the pictures that you want to keep, please check out my site: www.MyPhotobookStory.com. I am a consultant with Heritage Makers and the products are amazing.

This is an online system, so you don't need to worry about keeping them on your computer and your computer crashing. Plus, the templates are 100% customizable.

Watch this 5min video to give you an idea of what we are about! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irdqtq7mF6Y

For more information, please contact me at ____@____.com.

If you haven't already, start a 'memory box' for each girl. In it put photos (with names/dates -- at least mo/yr), cards they've rec'd, their birth announcement from the paper, etc. then as they get older add report cards, certificates they may receive, tickets from dances or movies, etc. and they can add whatever they want whenever they want. It can be as simple as a large (sport) shoe box or a plastic storage bin or as elaborate as a cedar hope chest or something of that nature. I think this is a better approach than making scrapbooks. I personally don't like scrapbooks unless I made it for myself! This will be easier for you, and then they decide what to add and what to do with what you've helped them save when they hit adolescence, or whenever. This will help utilize at least SOME of your extra photos/portraits!

well, as soon as i read the first few lines it popped in my head to make a lap board for the girls. in the shape of a u kind of and make a colaoge. spelled that wrong but hope you know what i mean. maybe even on for your self. the use polyurithain(sp) heavely to seal it. just a thought. i might just do that with some of the tons of pictures i have. not a bad idea. good luck. i am like you. can't throw them out. R. u

Hi R.,

I too have that problem.
I decided to try to put all my picture on a disk.
Then I either mail or give many picture to those who do not have them.

Just an idea.

You can get archival quality boxes & paper to preserve the photos:

http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/Archi...

I would save them, I bet your grand kids would love to have pix of their mom or dad from their childhood.

I also scan my kids pix & save them on disc. But I hang onto the extras. I just keep them all together, both kids all the years in chronological order. I also make sure the date is on the backs of them. 20 years from now I wont remember the ages!

P