Just signed on for the first time in a few weeks...way too busy lately! Finally found a few extra minutes to update my "Intriguing stuff" post about Aunt Alice and the picture of her fiance, the locket, etc...But, then I saw this thread, and got sidetracked! What a pleasant surprise to learn I insprired it. (Thanks Alisande-Love that pic of your grandfather!) I love this stuff, and I'm glad to see that other people do also. I especially love old family photos that contain a picture of something that has been handed down through the generations-like Lorin's great grandmother and the vase...love it! Found another one of my own like that...In trying to solve the Aunt Alice mystery, I was going through some more old family photos. I found a picture of my grandparents, and a bunch of other relatives, in front of the fireplace in my grandparents home. On the mantel, is a pair of Brass CandleSticks that were made my great grandfather. The picture was taken in the 1930's, and I think the candlesticks would have been made around 1865-1885. I have the candlesticks. I've not had any success scanning pic's with my all in one printer. Quality just not good. Any tips on that, Linda? Dee.

If the photos are REALLY stuck - try heating them up with a hair dryer on a low setting. Sometimes that will loosen the "goo" on the pages and let you scrape the picture off without too much damage. Many of those old pages had loads of acid in the adheasive, so get those pictures out as soon as possible.

I just did one...beautiful... :) Anyway...this is what we did so it can be ever changing should we want it to be.....my hubby cut a piece of backing from thin stock he had that was slightly bigger than the glass but did not extend past the wooden frame. We attached it with mirrow clips so it will come easily off and one and then painted it black on the inside....then you don't have to worry about pictures solidly on it, you can let randome black areas show through for effect..quite stunning. I think you could also do this with black foam posterboard if you did not want to mess with woodbacking..but beware it will easily bend and the black is not quite as rich as the paint it..but would still work. Either way, you can then "scrapbook" as usual..however you usually attach your pictures...glue stick, glue tabs, adhesive machine...whatever your usual method will work with this... A added bonues is also the look it gives when the pictures are behind the glass with depth between the glass and pictures rather than ON the glass..nice depth. One more thing tho..I did paint the inside lip or the glazing lip of the window the same black as the backer board so it was a smooth transition. It nicely frames everything.

I found this older article by Joanne Furio for the San Francisco Chronical. It sums up my feelings pretty well with regard to photos as decor. I couldn't abide every surface (or just too many surfaces) in a home being dedicated to family photographs. People will argue with this view and many more couldn't imagine not being surrounding by pictures of those they love..... but here are some other thoughts. "As a powerful purveyor of middle-class style, Pottery Barn is a formidable player in the development of trends, and a savvy observer. That's why I took notice at an unusual spread in the company's spring catalog. In a dining-room vignette, hanging on the walls and propped against a sideboard and leaning wall shelves, were gigantic photos of children and their parents, the occupants of this imaginary family's home. The largest was a poster-size image of a cherubic boy. Another, maybe 2 feet square, was of two young children. All of the images were in black frames that matched the sideboard and shelves. To me, this seemingly innocuous decor represented the height of narcissism, the self-absorption of a generation more interested in turning the camera on themselves than outward. Picking up on what's already happening in homes across America, Pottery Barn seemed to confirm that the traditional ways of displaying family photos -- once relegated to the hallway or the mantel -- are no longer enough for the modern family. We must be surrounded by darling -- and colossal -- images of ourselves. Family photos have taken center stage, taken on a more important role in decorating and, perhaps, taken over. Not so, say Bay Area decorators, who consider over-the-top displays to be offensive and to actually detract from the decor. Exhibiting family shots in an artful manner requires the right place, creative framing and, just as important, discretion. "Narcissism can go to the extreme," says Greenbrae interior designer Jean Larette, who once visited a Malibu hairdresser whose home was adorned with life-size images of his former Playmate wife. That experience led her to one of her decorating no-nos: Don't display images of your ex in your home. "It makes people uncomfortable," she says. "Family photographs are wonderful," Larette adds, "if they are carefully chosen and beautifully displayed." Here, local designers offer suggestions on what, where and how to display or hang your family photos with finesse. Edit carefully: "Don't fill every corner of your house with family photos," says Jan York of Jan York & Associates Interior Design in San Francisco. Because framed photos will be displayed for quite some time, choosing a complementary selection is vital. Maybe it's important to represent both sides of the family in an intergenerational assemblage. Sheila Gleeson of San Francisco, one of York's clients, narrowed her selection to her immediate family, which includes her husband and two sons. From there, they selected "only fun pictures that represent special times and places they have been as a family," Gleeson says. York likes creating sepia-toned photographs from color images, which have "a warm look and feel." Both she and Larette expressed a penchant for black-and-whites, which have a graphic quality. Gleeson chose to use color shots in her arrangement because they made up the majority of her family shots. Be sensitive to subject matter: Although it may seem obvious, Larette advises against placing naked pictures of yourself in the powder room (a phenomenon she has also seen) "unless you look like Elle Macpherson." And, if you are or were a model or actress, your framed head shot should not be on display. "People may wonder if perhaps you may be soliciting work from your dinner guests," Larette says. Larette also frowns upon pasting photos of yourself in thinner days on the refrigerator door for inspiration. That's a case of making a highly personal subject -- your weight -- public. Choose an appropriate spot: As for displaying large images of yourself and your children (a la Pottery Barn), San Francisco designer Shelly Amoroso of Amoroso Design says it's all right as long as "you're a great photographer and you've taken great shots of your kids." The dining room, however, is not the right place. Amoroso also cautions: "A shot of you and your college buddies at a kegger party is not appropriate for the dining room." Such a room is more formal and demands more serious subject matter. Ditto for the living room, says Haruko Yoshida, the interior designer behind Integrafika Design Studio of San Francisco and Tokyo. She doesn't believe photos of family or friends should be there. "They're too personal," she says. What areas did the designers agree were appropriate for a more casual approach to photographic displays? The family room, den, home theater or playroom. They also like hallways and stairways, traditionally the spot for a family gallery, because they are intermediary spaces that "don't interfere with the decor," explains York. She and Gleeson ultimately chose the stairway to the second floor as the place to hang Gleeson's family photographs. If you have a large assortment of snapshots, Amoroso recommends displaying an edited selection on the back wall of a built-in desk, or on a framed corkboard above a desk. She also likes displaying snapshots on a kitchen wall covered with cork, where invitations and other family papers can hang. For a teen's bedroom, she recently created a prettier alternative by upholstering closet doors with fabric and crisscrossed ribbon, where snapshots are tucked in. In general, avoid overkill and underkill. Larette frowns upon covering a grand piano with photos; Amoroso doesn't like a lone photo on the mantel. Instead, photos should be clustered into small groups, whether they are on the mantel, piano, tabletop or wall. Framing and matting: These materials tie together the disparate images. Keeping the style of the house and the decor in mind, the designers recommend that frames be related, though not necessarily identical. "You need to have some continuity," York says. For a "crisp and elegant look," Larette suggests silver frames of various sizes grouped together. York likes to mix up finishes within a category, such as an antique silver frame with one that's more modern. Not recommended: mixing metal and wood frames. As for mats, the designers suggest using the same color or same size around each photo. For Lis and Misha Petkevich, Larette used black frames with ivory mats to finish off photos of the couple and their three children. Larette then evenly spaced them on a wall in their Presidio Terrace family room. Because displays of family photographs are subject to change, the design experts recommend using frames or mats that are readily available. If you've created a wall, leave room so you can expand in the future, York says. Or replace older shots with newer ones."