Filed under: Fun Stuff, Crafts & Projects
Lights, camera, flashback! Incorporating the beloved retro film into your decor is a snap with these ideas.Polaroid is on the brink of re-releasing its Classic Instant camera, a fun new spin on the boxy vintage model featuring sleek curves, bright colors and the kind of instant gratification digital cams have spoiled us with. Thanks to the collaborative dream team of Urban Outfitters and The Impossible Project, Polaroid's production plant for Integral Instant film has not only been saved but is on deck for a full revival by the year's end (featuring Lady Gaga as Creative Director). In the meantime, whether you decide to dust off your older Polaroid and give it life with a new pack of instant film or pre-order the newer model due out late 2010, here are five things you can do the minute you get snapping.
Start documenting
Forget Facebook, forget Twitter, forget your blog (at least for the moment). Start creating things that actually exist in a tangible world. Look to filmmaker Jamie Livingston's "Photo of the Day" Project as an inspiring chronology of 18 years dedicated to shooting a daily Polaroid, right up until his death in 1997.
Photo: Papermash, Trend Hunter
Did you know you can send a Polaroid in the mail the same as a postcard? Just make sure it's stamped and marked with a legible address and get mailing. For inspiration, check out Trendhunter magazine's cheeky takes on Polaroid postcards or Papermash's très Français collection.
Get personal
I wouldn't typically endorse a photo mug or season-by-season vanity calendar, but when it's done with Polaroids, the concept suddenly feels cool. These 70s inspired Polaroid coasters prove that personalized products no longer belong exclusively on grandparents gear and "baby's first" apparel, but on your coffee table -- today. Polaroid studio helps you get going.
Photo: Flickr, Seventime
Create wall art
Since most landlords have restrictions on painting and putting holes in the walls of rented spaces, a Polaroid art display is a great solution to creating walls with personality. When applied with easy peel adhesives, there will be no renter's remorse.
Retro-shape your digitals
For those who can't bare to not go digital, applications like Poladroid transform digital images into Polaroid-like pictures, making it look like you were snapping with style when everyone else was freaking out about where to get actual Polaroid film in 2008.
And above all: Shake it...like a Polaroid picture. Ok, so this may or may not involve actual Polaroid film, but at least it will produce a camera-ready grin.
Need more design inspiration? Check out our story on Fashion Designers' closets.