I bought some magnetic photo ropes from Photojojo.com a couple of months ago. I ran across them while searching for a simple way to display photographs on a wall - I wanted a method of hanging my pictures in a quick way and also being able to swap and move them around quickly. I really like these magnetic photo ropes because they are simple, sleek, modern and a great alternative to photo frames. However, even though they are simple, they still cost $12 each (the price goes down per unit when you buy more of them at once). It might not seem too expensive at first but I think they're a bit pricey, especially when you consider that they are made only out of a metal rope, 8 little magnets and a weight at the end of the rope.

So I came up with my very own DIY photo rope that costs almost nothing - you most likely already have most of the materials and even if you have to buy them, making a DIY photo rope will set you back $9 for about 20 ropes!

What you need (materials):
- a twine or a string (approximately $5) - I used a brown twine that I had at home unused for years;
- wood clothespins - $3 for a pack of 50
- a push pin - $1.30 for a pack of 50 (or a nail, depending how hard/soft are your walls)
- a small weight - this can be anything that you can attach at the end of the rope, I used a metal nut ($0.26)

Now the very 'complicated' part:

Step I - cut the twine at the length you want your photo rope to be

Step II - tie the weight (for example a metal nut) at one end of the rope

Step III - insert the push pin into your wall and tie the other end of the twine around the push pin

DIY Photo Rope - tie the twine around the push pin

Step V - use clothespins to attach pictures to the rope

DIY Photo Rope - use clothespins to attach the picture to the rope

This DIY photo rope is unfortunately not perfect - the clothespins will most likely leave a mark on the prints after some time so please keep that in mind. It's not a problem for me because I can always reprint these photographs on my photo printer at home and the cost of printing such small photographs is very low (even if you print them at a print shop).

My DIY photo rope doesn't look modern, but it looks traditional - I think it would be perfect for a room with wooden furniture.

(Almost) Free DIY Photo Rope

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