Polaroid Picture Project

I love to take photos. It’s something you’ve probably guessed if you’ve followed my blog for a while, or follow me on Instagram! So, when a lovely lady from Ocean Loans contacted me and asked me if I would like to join in with their summer Polaroid picture project, I jumped at the chance. She kindly sent me a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 camera and asked me to take a few shots of some of my favourite parts of my home and garden.

I love the idea of a Polaroid camera. These days, with modern technology, we capture thousands of photos on our phones and digital cameras, but certainly in my case, these photos often stay hidden in the depths of our computers. I really do miss the days of taking your film to Boots, waiting a week or so, and then being really excited to flick through your snaps to see which ones turned out OK. I think that’s why I love Polaroids – they’re quick, simple and instant. Yes, you can’t preview the photo you’re taking, and sometimes you end up cutting someone’s head off! But you get to watch your photo develop and, when it’s done, can use it for a whole range of things including scrapbooking or sticking to the fridge.

So, I popped my film in my camera and set about taking photos around my house. It took me a while to decide what to snap, but the fact the sun was shining made it a lot easier to find sunny places with good light.

My first picture was of our brand new fireplace that was literally put in the day before! We’ve been having our lounge redecorated, and my parents have wanted a wood-burning stove for as long as I can remember, so now we have it in time for the winter. We’ve had wood flooring put in, the walls have been painted in a fairly neutral theme and warm coloured bricks and an oak mantelpiece surround the wood burner.

The second picture was taken in my parents’ bedroom, which has also been redecorated recently. They went for a lovely turquoise colour scheme, with light wood flooring and a giant king-size bed. I particularly love the wallpaper behind their bed, which has a touch of glitter on the pattern.

I couldn’t resist taking a quick snap of my sister, Bekkah, and I while I was carrying out my task. I think Polaroid selfies are so cute, and perfect for popping on your wall or around your mirror. In this particular selfie, we were in my bedroom in front of my wallpaper, which I absolutely love.

As the sun was shining, I decided to head out into our garden for a picture or two. We’ve done a lot of work on our garden over the last few years, and it’s finally at a place where we enjoy spending time in it. I remember as a child, we had a swing set and climbing frame out there, and one of my favourite things to do was sit on my swing and sing (my poor neighbours!) Sadly we no longer have a swing, but we do have lots of beautiful flowers and a seating area that catches the sun – bliss.

While I was doing this project, we happened to be rabbit sitting my brother and sister-in-law’s bunny, Benjie, while they were on their honeymoon. I couldn’t not try and capture a picture of him while he enjoyed some time in his run! He is seriously the most gorgeous rabbit I have ever met – so soft and friendly. I was sad to see him go, although I think the dogs are happy, as they can now run round the garden again!

I also decided to take a photo of some of the beautiful flowers we have in our garden. My Mum and I really enjoy going to local garden centres, or even Waitrose, to look at their plants and try to decide what would look good in our flowerbeds. We’ve got a whole range of plants and flowers, from bleeding heart to foxglove and from lupin to clematis.

I knew I wanted to take a photo of our kitchen, as it’s one of my favourite rooms in our house. A few years ago, it was a dark, gloomy room that we only really used to cook. But then we had an extension, and our kitchen transformed into a light and airy family room that we love to spend time in socialising and preparing yummy food.

My last photo was of my desk, which is where I do the majority of my blogging and YouTube video editing. It’s a bit of a mess at the moment and I haven’t got it quite as I’d like it (thanks to all the amazing ideas on Pinterest that will probably never happen!) but it is a nice place to sit and write. Unfortunately, as my room is in our attic conversion, my walls are sloped, so I can’t really put things on the walls. I have all these dreams of having my own office one day and what it will look like, again, mainly thanks to Pinterest!

So, that is all of the photos I took around my house with my Polaroid! I had a lot of fun taking part in this project – any excuse to take photos! I’m really excited to take more photos of special moments, and perhaps it will give me a push to start doing some more scrapbooking.

Do you have a Polaroid camera? What are your favourite things about your home?

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