Keep a couple of things in mind before making your decision: digital format stores nicely and is convenient; however digital formats have changed greatly over the past few years and are expected to continue to change... think about those irreplaceable -and unreplaceable- Polaroids. If you do go digital, wrap the original photos in acid-free paper and then vacuum-pack so your great-grandkid has a chance to see them. Which is another thing, if you don't want these and your kids don't want these; maybe they aren't worth keeping under any circumstance -especially if they are out-of-focus or photos of your cousin's first dog. But if you do keep a few photos, be sure they (each and every one) are well-labeled and dated. DH has albums with pictures of many, many relatives -- some are marked 'Uncle Joe' or 'Mom's Aunt Sue'... no one now alive has the vaguest idea who these folks were, and although I've heard that Uncle Joe's real name was Donald I don't know his last name, and none of the cousins today know who was the "Mom" that had an Aunt Sue. Now me, I have no photos of any relatives, because mum was sure no one would ever be interested in the past -- and when I was in my twenties and thirties, I surely was not interested. So mum disposed of everything before she passed on. Nowadays, I would dearly love to have at least one picture of my parents or grandparents. And the last thought: If the group pictures are dated and you know the details (where, why, when the pic was taken), you may find an organization that would like to have them. Genealogical societies may interested if the people are well identified; and there are historical sites that collect dated photos of the world around us.

I didn't get to mess with the picture today like I wanted but hopefully tomorrow. I honestly really don't love the picture anymore either. Its one of those "until I find something I love to take it's place." I had planned to do a makeover ever since I bought it but didn't get around to it. Natal - Good point. I'll start with that first. Lazygardens - Another good point about flipping the mat. I actually think the colors in the picture and frame clash with the mat (greens). Rock - I didn't even think about Rub N Buff. I currently only have the gold and patina but have been wanting to get the copper one for a long time. Dlm - I didn't even think about craft paints. I do have a quart of SW Antique White I figured I'd also take a look at. It's good to know other people do paint mats. Cheap fix. :) Ratherbesewing - It looks like this was professionaly framed. How was your picture/frame held together? I have another double mat framed picture I took apart once. The picture fell down and I just used tape to move it back up. It was so long ago I don't remember how it was together. I was crossing my fingers I could figure out the one above. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cut paper or cardboard the size of the frames and test them out on the wall in the arrangements you are considering. Vertical, row or grid are probably ‘cleaner ‘ and more modern arrangements, but it ultimately depends on how it looks. If you do go with grid, they should be spaced more closely than shown in the photograph so they ‘read’ as one object. My personal preference is to use images that mean something to me, whether prints or photos, but that’s entirely up to you. Black and white photos, close ups of flowers, different cities, doors,..browse the art sites for ideas. Have some fun, and good luck!

Craft store usually has them in the 8x10 size. In our area of N TX, Hobby Lobby typically has them in stock with sale prices of $2-4.00 and usually not that much higher even when not on sale. These usually consist of a sized piece of glass, a thin backing board and four spring clips which hold the whole thing together after you stack the glass, picture and backing board. Each clip is made so that there is a hole at the upper edge that will easily slide over a small nail, straight pin or whatever you usually use to hang your pictures (we typically use a stout straight pin such as used when sewing fabrics).