Things to make - photo holder

Things to make - Photo holder

These photo holders can be used to display a favorite photograph or another type of picture. They can be placed on just about any flat level surface such as a desk top or bureau. The measurements given in the instructions are about right for a 3 by 5 inch picture. Change the measurements for larger or smaller pictures. If the pictures are on thin paper you may want to mount them on cardboard or thick paper before placing them it the holder. Two designs are described here.

For the first design start with a 5 inch high by 6 inch wide piece of thin cardboard from a cereal box, shoe box or other source. On that piece draw the lines shown in the diagram. Cut along the lines and fold down the center and crease the fold. Thin cardboard can be creased by sliding the bowl of a spoon along the folded edge while you push down on the bowl with your thumb. If you use corrugated cardboard, make a crease before you fold it. Use the thin straight edge of a ruler or similar object to push firmly against the cardboard where you want the fold. Or do the same thing with something that has a somewhat sharp corner such as a cutting board. If nothing with a good edge is available put the cardboard on the edge of a table and bend it using the table's edge to make the fold straight and neat looking. This type of holder can also be made from the foam sheet plastic that is used to make restaurant take home boxes, supermarket meat trays and disposable plates. If you use a meat tray wash it with soap and water first. Foam plastic tends to want to unfold so it may bend whatever picture you place in the holder. That can be avoided by placing the picture on a piece of cardboard first and placing that cardboard in the holder. You may need to make the slits in the holder a little wider so the cardboard will fit in them. marks for easel shape

vertical fold

photo in slots

Another type of holder can be made from the wire of a clotheshanger. You will need a pair of pliers. Untwist the wire where it is joined together and straighten out the bends that were the corners of the hanger. Don't bother straightening the twisted sections, they won't be used. Start by making two 90 degree bends about 1 3/4 inches apart near the center of the wire to make the wire into an U shape. Then make a 180 degree bend about 3/8 inch away from one of the 90 degree bends. The 3/8 is measure from the 90 degree bend out away from the wire's middle. Make another 180 bend out from the other 90 degree bend. Anything anywhere close to 3/8 inch is fine but the holder will look better(I think) if both 180 degree bends are very close to the same distance from the 90 degree bends. Measure out about 3 3/4 inches from the last bend and make another bend of about 45 degrees. Measure out 3 3/4 inches from the other 180 degree bend and make another 45 degree bend. Here again the important thing is to get each bend at the same distance. Measure out another 3 3/4 inches and make 90 degree bends on each side. Cut the wire so the ends meet or are a little apart. Slide the wire ends into a piece of plastic tubing about 1 5/8 inches long. If no tubing is available use wide tape or wrap and glue paper around the wire ends. Or make the ends long enough to overlap the ends and tie them together by winding string around them. square bottom U

180 bends are parallel

If you want to make corner holders for photos, one way is to cut paper to make a square about 3/4 inch on each side. Fold diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner. Fold again between the two remaining corners. Cut out one of the triangles formed by the fold creases. Fold the paper, place it on a corner of the picture along with 3 other corner holders and glue them in place. Lay a magazine or some other weight over the glued corners until the glue dries. Placing a sheet of plastic over the corners first before putting the weight in place will help keep excess glue that oozes out from gluing the weight to everything else. Hopefully you will be able to pull the plastic off a lot easier than pulling away a stuck magazine. If you want to be able to remove the photo later, make sure you do not use so much glue that it oozes onto the photo. You may want to wrap the photo in plastic just in case and then remove the plastic after the glue dries.

For a super easy photoholder, just use a paper clip to attach the photo to the top edge of an empty tin can. The can then can be used to store pens and pencils.

:
printed photo clipped to can

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For the first design start with a 5 inch high by 6 inch wide piece of thin cardboard from a cereal box, shoe box or other source. On that piece draw the lines shown in the diagram. Cut along the lines and fold down the center and crease the fold. Thin cardboard can be creased by sliding the bowl of a spoon along the folded edge while you push down on the bowl with your thumb. If you use corrugated cardboard, make a crease before you fold it. Use the thin straight edge of a ruler or similar object to push firmly against the cardboard where you want the fold. Or do the same thing with something that has a somewhat sharp corner such as a cutting board. If nothing with a good edge is available put the cardboard on the edge of a table and bend it using the table's edge to make the fold straight and neat looking. This type of holder can also be made from the foam sheet plastic that is used to make restaurant take home boxes, supermarket meat trays and disposable plates. If you use a meat tray wash it with soap and water first. Foam plastic tends to want to unfold so it may bend whatever picture you place in the holder. That can be avoided by placing the picture on a piece of cardboard first and placing that cardboard in the holder. You may need to make the slits in the holder a little wider so the cardboard will fit in them.