weekend creative : photo type case

Type1

[ project featured in my book Life Artist ]

This project is right up there at the top of my all-time favorite projects list. It has photos + words + re-purposes something old giving it a new life. Lovely.

Here's the really simple how-to:

Type2

1. Find an old type case.

I purchased both of mine from antique stores/tag sales
for between $20 and $40 depending on quality and size. This one above
was $30. Both of the cases I have measure right around 32 inches x 16.5 inches. I would also recommend checking ebay or simply google "type drawers" or "type cases" (while looking up some sources I found that they are actually called cases rather than drawers).

I did a renegade cleaning of mine by spraying it with the hose on a hot summer day to loosen the dirt and grime that had accumulated. I am guessing it was probably not the best way to clean old wood, but it worked. After it dried I was ready to play.

Type3

2. Fill it with stuff.

The case above was filled with photos and embellishments. I measured the squares (this one had even sized squares vs. the empty one above has a variety of different sized rectangles) and they ended up being pretty much 2 inches x 2 inches. I re-sized a bunch of our favorite photos in Photoshop, printed them here at home, and trimmed them down to fit.

To adhere the photos and embellishments onto the wood I went with 3D foam squares. If you are wondering about the sticking power, this entire thing was wrapped + shipped to Utah to be photographed for the book and made it back in one piece and has been hanging on our wall ever since.

For variety and depth, I added more than one foam square behind some of the photos. This means that some of them stick out farther within the squares than others.

Type4

As for additional embellishments I pretty much went through my stash and grabbed elements that had a bit of meaning and were just waiting to be used in something (don't we all have those things that you are just waiting to use on the "perfect" project). I also tended towards circle embellishments for a nice break from all those square photos.

These Scenic Route chipboard circles would work great. As would these Love, Elsie Soft Charms or these stacked layer stickers from K&Company or those classic Making Memories metal charmed quotes.

The compartments are also a nice place to store personal mementos. My Mom has a drawer hanging in the house I grew up in that is filled not with photos but little bits and pieces of things she has collected along her journey. Many of those little things relate to this or that event and are significant to us as a family. It is a treasure.

Type5

3. Display.

Our case hangs on a wall in our dining room. I hung it with picture-hanging wire and screws screwed into the sides of the wood. They would also look great on a bureau or dresser.

Dottedline_2

The prompt for the weekend is this: What can you do to "live with" your photos other than having them inside your computer, in boxes under the bed, hidden away in photo albums, or placed among decorations in your scrapbooks? Maybe a type case or shadow box is in your future...

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132 thoughts

  1. Anne says…
    05/30/2008

    What a great idea! Back in the day, I was a journalism major and we had to learn to hand-set type as part of our education. (I know, I know. . . too primitive!) But these cases were called California Job Cases. I don't know why. Your project brings back so many memories of so many ink-stained hands. FYI - type is set upside down and backwards. Which explains a lot about my thinking process. . . I think.

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  2. Liz Ness says…
    05/30/2008

    What a great idea!

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  3. Candi Tardio says…
    05/30/2008

    i remember when i read about your type set drawer in your life artist book...i ran out and got one, LOVED the awesome idea...still need to fill my drawer with photos!!! some day i will get it finished :)
    have a great weekend!!!

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  4. Meg says…
    05/30/2008

    I love this case, Ali, so many little peaks into your memories! I have seen one at a house on 11th that has a garage sale every weekend (on the corner of Monroe, I think? I see it on the way home from the library.) I may have to actually stop there today and see if they still have it!

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  5. Michelle B says…
    05/30/2008

    I have noticed this treasure in your flickr pictures and in your book and I love it! I really think I am going to try do something similar. Thanks for letting me steal your ideas! My husband asks me if I get ALL my ideas from AE and I tell him - "she wouldn't put direction how to make it if she didn't want people to copy her!". Great stuff Ali!

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  6. Jennifer P says…
    05/30/2008

    Yea, that's pretty much awesome. Now I must find one.

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  7. vinnie says…
    05/30/2008

    OMG !
    It's amazing...
    Thanks for sharing such a good idea
    à bientôt

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  8. Terri Porter says…
    05/30/2008

    Ali, you have me jumping for joy with this idea! I have an old type tray that I got from an antique store over 30 years ago. At the time, I collected matchbooks and displayed them in the type tray. I had a piece of glass cut exactly the same size as the whole type case and attached it with brass corners. It has been stored in my basement and collecting dust for sometime. Don't know why I never thought to use it for photos, but it is going to be unearthed TODAY and used on this project. I'm so excited because I always loved the look of this hanging on the wall but the matchbooks no longer interested me. Thank you SO MUCH for this idea!

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  9. jennifer says…
    05/30/2008

    You seriously read my mind! I just went to an antique store yesterday hoping to find a tray or something interesting - but no such luck. I love this idea. Maybe I'll find something else to fill this weekend. Thanks.

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  10. Candice Summers says…
    05/30/2008

    I LOVE THAT!!! My grandfather was a typesetter and I was a third generation printer, before I became the mommy of 2 lovely children on the spectrum and 2 neurotypicals. Whenever I see a type case I just think of my grandma and his vintage printing press and the smell of ink. LOVE IT.

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  11. stacy says…
    05/30/2008

    WOW Ali! This is amazing! I just love it. I take so many images of my family that I would love to have dispayed EVERYDAY..but feel that I just don't have enough room for them all. This is a beautiful way to do just that! Thanks...can't wait to find/create my own!

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  12. Shell says…
    05/30/2008

    OMG - thanks for the typecase link. I am going to London in August - and I now WILL be going to their shop! - or their stall at Covent Garden or Portobello Road.
    WOO HOO - even more excited now than I was!

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  13. Amber says…
    05/30/2008

    WOW! That is the coolest idea ever.
    I am SO doing that!
    Thanks for the inspiration, Ali!

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  14. AllisonK says…
    05/30/2008

    Seriously a very awesome project!

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  15. Spazzymommy says…
    05/30/2008

    Wow. You've got a new subscriber to your block. How fun and inspiring!
    I want to get my pictures off my PC and out from under my bed...and this is a beautiful way to kill two birds with one stone! :)

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  16. Jessica Turner says…
    05/30/2008

    Ali, when I received your book right after it released, I went CRAZY for this project. I went to the flea market two weeks later and was able to nab one for $15! I haven't put pictures in it yet, as we are expecting a baby soon and I want him to be a part of it, but I LOVE this project. So glad you posted it to your blog.

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  17. Rachel Smith says…
    05/30/2008

    I have the exact same tray with the odd sizes as the empty one you showed. I remembered seeing this project in your book, but I think the compartments are just too small for photos. What else might you suggest? I really want to do something special with it.

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  18. Shelly Kettell says…
    05/30/2008

    What a great project!!! It is awesome! as are you!

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  19. Lisa in WA says…
    05/30/2008

    Best project I have seen in ages, thank you!! I am definitely inspired to make my own, I love the antique look in my home.

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  20. Jana Beck says…
    05/30/2008

    This is fabulous! Have you filled the one with a variety of shapes that is pictured? I would love to see what you came up with...
    Thanks so much for sharing your creativity!

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  21. Rhonda Steed says…
    05/30/2008

    my dad just bought me a whole type case cabinet and i don't have enough little tidbits to fill the drawers (I only fill about 3 of the 17) so I think I might be taking one and making something like yours. (Mine are the uneven sized kind too)

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  22. kelly rae says…
    05/30/2008

    ali edwards, this is the coolest photo display ever! i can't wait to do this. my mom is going to love this, too. forwarding to her now...
    xox

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  23. Chels says…
    05/30/2008

    Cool Project!

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  24. Jan C. says…
    05/30/2008

    Dang! I gave my type case away years ago after having it around and never doing anything creative with it.
    I have to admit when I first glanced at the opening picture, I thought, "OMG, Ali has scrapped herself a head board for her bed!" Thank goodness you had other frames nearby for scale. But it makes me wonder if a person actually could put several type cases together and make a twin-size headboard for a kids' bed--something that would just be attached to the wall over the bed and not actually attached to the bed itself. You could put all the child's most favorite people and things in the little boxes, and they would never have to be afraid of falling asleep alone again!

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  25. asnipofgoodness says…
    05/30/2008

    I adore this project, and will begin my search for a "type case" imediately!!! I really love your style, and your blog has always been a fav! recently it has been even more awesome. I love all the projects, and practical help!

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