Easy DIY Framing of National Parks

Before summer officially started we took a family vacation down to The Grand Canyon.  It was a first for all of us.  It was....grand for sure.  We traveled all over the park for a week and really enjoyed the spectacular views.

On our last day there, my husband and oldest son went into a small museum/gift shop to look around, while I stayed in the cool car with the two sleeping little ones.

I was surprised when they returned with a small brown envelope.

Inside the envelope were five postcards of the five National Parks we had been to as a family.

I love these postcards.  They are such beautiful, colorful, works of art and are a perfect reminder for my family of the wonderful fun we've had visiting each National Park.

Once we were home I did a little research to try to read up on why these posters were created and what the background was.  I learned that after the great depression, as part of President FDR's New Deal-- trying to put America back to work-- He commissioned the Works Progress Administration and part of the budget was put towards art projects.  And some of that was put towards printing over two million posters meant to excite people to want to travel and for education, however today only 2,000 posters have survived.  

It says a bit on each postcard's back-- most of the artists were unknown:

If you'd like to read more visit Ranger Doug.com there you can read about the posters and view other posters that are available . 

As you know we've been moving across the country and these things take time.  Well, finally a couple days ago I was able to finally put these postcards into a frame. 

 We already had the frame-- so this was a no expense project. I took out the photos I originally had in the frame. I was excited to switch things up, and get these vibrant postcards inside. 

I really love the pop of color they add and their art deco look.

Currently they're residing on a shelf above our TV, but they are going to be moved soon as our home continues to be put together.  I've got other plans for that shelf. But for now, I'm enjoying them there.