Baby Photos: From Forgotten To Fabulous

The fate of many a baby photo is to be relegated to an empty shoebox. For super-organized families, photos may find their way into a photo album, to collect dust upon a shelf. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to forget precious baby photos when they're hidden out of sight.

With the coming-of-age of digital photography, many more possibilities now exist for those precious baby photos. So before you tuck them away where they'll sit, unorganized and unseen, consider a few great ways to make your beloved photos a part of your daily life.

Many photo shops offer services beyond just transforming your annual family portrait into a personalized Christmas card. Now options include calendars created from a selection of photographs, or transforming your photos into mousepads and mugs. For those families who have gone digital, or who have a scanner available to scan photos onto your computer, many of these items (and much more) can be ordered online at sites such as Snapfish or Cafepress. It's simple, too. Upload a photo -- or photos -- of your choice, and choose the items you wish to buy. The choices range from wooden boxes to Christmas ornaments, from sweatshirts to tote bags.

For the more adventurous among us, there are many creative, do-it-yourself prospects for those charming baby pics as well. Craft stores and even office supply stores have large selections of special photo papers these days

You can buy canvas that can actually be run through a home printer, for example. With simple, commercial photo editing software on a home computer, special effects can transform your photograph into a striking watercolor. With a few clicks, you can print it out on canvas and hang it right in your home. And what a great holiday gift for grandparents!

Another idea is using transfer paper, also usable on a home printer. With only a hot iron and a towel, you can transfer your pictures to tote bags or tee-shirts, or to any other item made of a cotton-based fabric. It's a fun and easy way to bring your favorite baby photos to life.

For those technophiles among us, why not upload a selection of baby pictures to a photo-sharing website. A quick search on your favorite search engine should turn up a whole bunch. It's a great, inexpensive way to share photos with friends and family all over the world?

Some photo editing software packages also have a slideshow option that allows photos to be viewed as a slideshow on your monitor. Slideshows can often be emailed as well, allowing others the benefit of your photos. And by all means, set them up as a screensaver. The screensaver can be updated and changed as you take new photos.

These days, the options for enjoying photos of your child are as boundless as your imagination. So keep those photos out of that old shoebox. Instead, transform them into something wonderful, something to be enjoyed on a regular basis.

Marie Christianson is a senior business analyst at http://FamilyDetails.com. Visit the http://FamilyDetails.com Family Reunion Resource Center for guides, activities, games, invitations and checklists for planning a family reunion.