The Tricks to Hanging a Photo Collage

I literally just realized that every apartment I’ve lived in since college (that’s 6 apartments!) has had some kind of photo collage. I suppose I just like to be surrounded by memories and familiar (awesome) faces of my friends and family.

There are a few different ways to approach the photo collage in terms of frames, art vs photos, and ultimately how you hang them, but recently I discovered a major tip to make hanging (and putting holes in the wall) MUCH easier.
So here’s the how-to…

1. Gather all your photos and frames.
I was shocked to find this Target deal for 10 frames for under $17, but the reviews check out and these look like the perfect start to any picture collage. Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and even places like Good Will are great ways to find frames for cheap. Look beyond the hideous painting and just re-purpose the frames! For picture printing, basically any drugstore has a quick photo printer or sites like SnapFish do the job well.

2. Start with a large sheet of paper - roughly the size of the wall space where you want to hang your picture collage. Tracing paper or the white side of cheap wrapping paper works. I got crafty by using 2 sheets of paper that were used to wrap breakable goods from a store where I made a recent purchase. I took all the kinks out by running a dry iron on a low heat setting over the paper (if it steams if will make a soppy mess!). Then I taped the two pieces together. Exhibit A:

3. Lay the paper in an open space on the floor or table and center all your pictures, playing around with the organization until it captures the look and the layout you want.
I typically followed this step before with all my previous collages but I could never get it to look the same once I started trying to recreate and nailing in a wall….