How to Display Pictures from Your Cruise

You might not mount your vacation photos in an album when you get home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to display them. Here, some fun ideas on how to share your favorite images: 

1. Slideshow

This tiny projector is a much more comfortable option than having your friends and family crowd around your computer.

This is the 2014 version of those clunky old slide projectors. Head to Projecteo, sign in with your Instragram account, and choose nine — or more — of your favorite vacation photos. Then wait for your totally adorable miniature slide projector to arrive in the mail. (Plan a party at which you can run the slides all night.)

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Map Photo Mat

Add some flair to your frames with a photo mat.

This is so simple we can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner. Bring home maps from your trip and trim some to the size of a picture frame mat. Affix the map to the mat, slide in a photo from that destination, and presto! You have a customized picture frame. For real pop factor, you could also wrap a wide frame in a map. You can make one for each place you visited and group them on a wall.

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Personalized Tablet/Phone Covers

Personalized covers emphasize the "i" in iPad.

Forget desktop wallpapers: Did you know you can buy heat transfer iPad cases? Pick one up, then select your favorite pictures, and create a collage using free software. (Picasa is a personal favorite). Print the collage onto transfer paper, get a really hot iron to affix the collage to the cover, and you’ve got yourself an iPad cover starring your best travel memories. (You can find step-by-step instructions on many websites).

Difficulty Level: Moderate

4. Mounted Display

After this kind of project, regular old frames will feel lazy.

Create a big, bold timeline of your trip with this do-it-yourself photo display inspired by artist Kristen Solecki. Start with five matte 5-by-7-inch photos. Stain or paint a 1-by-8-inch piece of wood that’s at least 3 feet long, and superglue five bulldog clips — flat-backed cousins of the binder clip, available at office supply stores — to the wood, allowing a couple inches between the photos’ edges. If you’re going to hang the display, buy a picture mounting kit, and if you’re worried about the weight of the wood, use screws instead of nails to attach it. Or take the easy route and prop it up on a mantel.

Difficulty Level: Moderate

5. Display Blocks 

You can even paint the blocks to give them a personal touch.

We love the photo blocks from Artifact Uprising. But you can make your own if you buy a block of wood and know someone with a miter saw. Take a block that’s about 4 inches square and score it on a slight angle with a cut about ¾ inch deep. Then print your photos on heavy card stock and slide them in. Make one block for each port day and line them up on a shelf.

Difficulty Level: Hard