How To Make A Photo Collage Poster – 10 Unique Ideas To Create This Historic Party Decor

If you create a photo collage poster as a centerpiece decoration for your next special occasion, it will be the talk of the party. Here are 10 easy tips and tricks for making this memory-filled tribute in pictures.

Join Basics

1. Start with a large piece of construction paper in the color of your choice. This will be the background of your collage. Cut the card stock, if needed, to fit a large, standard-size frame. You can check typical frame dimensions at local stores to ensure it is trimmed to a compatible size.

2. Select photos and make COPIES of them. It is important to keep the original photographs. This is especially true with old images that can be difficult to replace. Ask all party guests to contribute snapshots of the guest of honor, so you have a good selection.

3. Decide on the theme or layout of the collage and arrange the photos. When it finally looks the way you want it to look, take a digital photo of your design. In this way, you can recreate the composition, if something is disturbed by pasting.

4. Paste each photo on the cardstock. Glue sticks or rubber cement are good options.

5. Finish your collage. You may want to use a sealer like Mod Podge. You can add embellishments such as stickers, ribbons, feathers, beads, fabric, artificial flowers, or anything else that is complementary. Put in a frame, if you like.

Collage Layout Ideas

Of course, you can paste your photos randomly all over the card stock and it will make a nice tribute to the guest of honor. But it’s just as easy to create a truly unique party collage that stands out.

6. Convert it to a number. If the celebration is for a birthday, arrange your photos in the form of the age of the guest of honor. For example, for an 80th birthday, you would draw a large 80 on the poster board. It doesn’t have to be perfect because you’re just using it as a guide. Place your photos evenly over the eight and zero you wrote on the board. This works for any age and is also great for a 50th anniversary.

7. Create a shape. Draw a big heart on your background, then cut and paste your images to fit the shape. Overlap slightly so you don’t see the pencil marks. This is especially nice for a wedding, anniversary, or sweet 16th birthday, but can be adapted for other occasions. You can even decorate it using cardstock or foam core in gold or silver. Any simple shape can be used for this idea.

8. Make it about the memories. Enlarge a photo of the guest of honor and cut out the background. Place the image in one corner of the poster. Draw a large cartoon thought bubble above the celebrant’s head to indicate that these are his thoughts. Fill the cartoon bubble with pictures that represent your memories of him.

9. Focus on your favorite things. Expand the concept of photography to show images of your interests and hobbies. What food, sports teams, music, movies, places do you prefer? Are you a hiking, skydiving, skiing guy or are you a couch potato glued to your remote? What is it known for? Find clip art from places like Google Images that represent your personality and hobbies and include them in this tribute.

10. Make it like a timeline. You can create a poster with columns showing different years or decades. Or, you can make individual posters that focus on a particular time in the person’s life or marriage. For example, if you were doing this exhibit for someone turning 50, you would have a section with photos of them in the 1960s, followed by one dedicated to the 1970s, then the 1980s, and so on. In each category, write captions with dates that highlight that person’s milestones in that decade. You may also want to include interesting or important dates in world history to include in the timeline.

It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a big birthday party, a golden wedding anniversary, or any special occasion. A photo collage poster is a wonderful way to pay tribute to the celebrant and inspire memories in guests. It’s fun and easy to do. And everyone will love it.