Snap to it

The advent of online photo-sharing sites such as Flickr and Picasa has made it a cinch to show off your photos from Joshua Tree. One thing uploading images onto the Web won’t do? Make those memories visible in your home. Rather than simply frame your collection or slide it into an album that gathers dust on your shelf, try one of these techniques to strut your stuff, Ansel.

Uploading your pictures onto a computer isn’t for naught, particularly with this option. Sign on to tabblo.com, upload six pictures from your desktop or Flickr account, and the site will arrange your photos in a template so that once you print them out you can easily fold the pics into a standing photo cube. Best of all, it’s free.

Not sure what to do with the leftover coins, train tickets, museum stubs and whatever other paraphernalia you picked up along the way? Take inspiration from Joseph Cornell and fill a shadow box with your mementos. Buy a deep frame such as IKEA’s Ribba version ($10 at IKEA, 1800 E McConnor Pkwy, 847-969-9700), a shadow box from frames-direct.com or make your own using any wooden box with a sliding lid (replace the lid with glass cut to size at a frame shop). Line the box with decorative paper. For added dimension, mount shelves by gluing in a lightweight strip of wood such as balsa, or adhere a small jewelry box with spray adhesive. Stack items on the shelf and the base of the frame, glue single pictures or a collage of images on the back of the box, or even hang trinkets from a nail and fishing wire from the top of the frame.

During your travels, snag a hardcover book from the place you’re visiting. When you get home, cut out a frame (slightly smaller than the size of your photo) in the cover of the book using an X-acto knife. Adhere photo corners ($6 at Blick Art Materials, 312-920-0300) to the inside of the book so you can slip the image in without ruining its edges with tape. Voilà, you have a frame made from a book.

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