Crafts, Home Decor, Wall Hangings

From Photocrafting to Displaying

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We all love our photos so sometimes our photocrafting project is simply the challenge of displaying our photos. We can make calendars and books but what about taking advantage of the walls in our homes? Maybe you’ve framed your favorites or maybe you’ve turned the photos into canvases or even palettes. Shel loves photos that she wants to see regularly but she has limited table space and not a lot of wall space. (She’s also determined not to have things look cluttered). Shel started with two sets of photos she wanted to put on her wall. One set was the photos of her family she loves and the other was some photos from a trip to Kauai.. How does she do it?

A straight-forward grid layout or gallery look is a familiar approach and Target even has a kit with frames and mats for 12 photos. That’s fine but Shel’s pictures are of different sizes and not enough wall space for a large layout. She knew she couldn’t go with something (a)symmetrical or very spread out like these good examples from Ideal Home.

  • Layout Example from Target
    Layout Example from Target
  • Layout Example from Ideal Home
    Layout Example from Ideal Home
  • Layout Example from Ideal Home
    Layout Example from Ideal Home
Target and Ideal Home offer both grid and asymmetrical layout options.
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Crafts, Gifts, Home Decor

Hang Up Your Photocrafting for Santa

by photocraftersb3 Comments on Hang Up Your Photocrafting for Santa
Hang Up Your Photocrafting for Santa

How cute are these Christmas stockings? What a fun way to combine photocrafting, gift-giving, and holiday decorating! I saw them and wanted to make one immediately. Then I realized almost everyone I know already has a Christmas stocking. That wouldn’t stop me! I suspected that newborns and pets might be able to use a new stocking. What about newlyweds at a family gathering? These stockings also make a darling way to present a gift — maybe to your grandmother living far away or for a collection of gifts around a theme.

I decided to make a stocking for my sister’s dog, Zoe. My sister loves Christmas and all the trappings so she actually probably already has a stocking for Zoe. But maybe she could use another? I got a couple cute pictures of Zoe to try and learned immediately that I’d need to think a bit more about the outline of the image — it has to fit nicely onto the shape of a sock. We got two photos of Zoe (not always easy) and decided on the one with Zoe facing front directly.

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Crafts, Gifts, Home Decor, Wall Hangings

Photocrafting a Pallet

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Picture of a photo pallet of a toddler walking down a road. The pallet is positioned above a chest with a basket and pottery vase.

It’s time for the holidays and maybe that means some gift-giving. Do you have a special photo of your family, of a vacation, of a fun memory that you would love to give to someone (or have for yourself?). A canvas is always wonderful but sometimes it’s nice to find something different. I came across PhotoBarn and decided to give it a try. I had a great picture of a young toddler walking down our lane dragging a stick. I was going to make a Photo Pallet for his grandmother but liked it so well, I kept it!

Photo Barn is very easy to use and follows our usual photocrafting procedures. Find an image you like, choose the specific product and size, upload your image, and make any editing corrections. Wahoo — you’re finished except for the ordering.

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Books, Crafts, Gifts, Stationery

Preserving a Church’s Beauty

by photocraftersb1 Comment on Preserving a Church’s Beauty
A picture of the chancel area in the sanctuary.

We usually talk about very personal books — one describing a year in a family or a favorite vacation. This book is certainly a very personal effort. Its focus is to recognize the beauty of a church’s physical facility while acknowledging memorials established by those who felt a spiritual call to create that beauty. The First Presbyterian Church of Arkansas City, KS, will celebrate 150 years of their heritage in 2023. Tim Harmon, a lifetime member and longtime music director of the church, and other members of the worship committee wanted to honor that heritage.

The book began with an idea to get photos of the five memorial windows at the west end of the sanctuary, interview family members for short biographies of the people memorialized, and then use the church copier to print out some type of pamphlet or booklet for the church membership.

Five beautiful stained glass memorial windows honor past members at the west end of the sanctuary.
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Cards, Crafts, Gifts, Stationery

Holiday Cards the Photocrafting Way

by photocraftersb6 Comments on Holiday Cards the Photocrafting Way
One of
An early holiday greeting!

Did you know that Louis Prang is credited with selling the first Christmas cards to the United States in 1874? I like to imagine that his image at the right could be a photo of a couple under the mistletoe. Alas it’s not an early photocrafting creation. He commissioned artists to do paintings for use in his cards.

So why are we talking about holiday cards? It’s hard to believe that it might be time to start thinking about them. But why not avoid the rush this year? Tom’s Guide: Best Photo Cards in 2020 already has a great description of ten favorite photocrafting sites for cards. We’ll add a couple more here and talk about the Five Picks for a process to create your favorites!

For an example, I wanted to make a holiday card that includes a family and photos from a vacation to France. I’ll work through our Five Picks: 1) Pick your photos, 2) Pick your site, 3) Pick a card type, 4) Pick a template, and 5) Pick your customization.

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