DIY Photo Shelves

As promised, here are the details on the DIY photoshelves / message center I made for our little hallway.  I knew I wanted to have somewhere to be able to easily display lots of photos of baby where I would see them regularly but also wanted something that was easy to change out as she grows.


Enter Ikea's Tolsby frames which were just 99 cents each.  I snatched up a bunch of those and made some simple shelves using the help of some wood glue and my brother (for the extra set of hands that required when photographing a project).

You will need: 3 pieces of wood for each shelf (I used 3 by 1/2 inch, 2 by 1/2 inch and 2x1 boards but you could make similar shelves with different combinations of wood), bulldog clips, Tolsby frames, wood glue, clamps, screws for the bulldog clamps, a 5/8 paddle bit (I only had a 3/4 so I used that instead) and a drill.

I measured and cut the wood to the desired size, drilled holes for the frames and glued it all together.  No screws or patching needed.  After the glue was dry I painted white, screwed in the bulldog clips and sat each frame into the holes.  I repeated three times, dropped my photos in and hung.  Voila!  A new message center that has my favorite person staring back at me.