I love Instagram, there's no denying it. After two straight years completing a Project 365 using Instagram and my iPhone I have plenty of photos, and I thought it was about time I printed out the memories.
Last January I ordered a batch of prints from my 2012 pics from Social Print Studio and a couple of square frames from BHS to showcase some of our memories from that year. I've had that frame displayed proudly on my wall for a year now, and so glad that I ordered two of the exact same frame - I can now make a matching frame of pics from 2013.
Picking out which pics to print from 2013 was so hard, with all the amazing places we'd visited and all the great things we'd experienced it was so hard to choose just 48 and knowing that only 36 of those would fit in my frame. The mini-square prints I ordered are roughly 2.5 inches square and my frame is roughly 15 inches square - when choosing a frame know the dimensions of your pics and be prepared to do some maths! The frame I used is no longer stocked but a similar one can be found at Habitat here.
The only equipment you'll need to frame the pics yourself are the frame itself, your printed pics and some small double-sided sticky photo mounts, my photo mounts are from Paperchase. I discarded the four aperature mount from the frame, as I didn't want to section off my pics, I wanted one large square mosaic. You'll be sticking your pics down to hold them in place using the sticky mounts, I stuck mine to the paper insert inside the frame but you can cut a separate piece of paper or card down to size instead.
I already knew the general layout my pics would take within the frame, running chronologically from January through to December and the the extra 12 prints I have were selected knowing I'd have spares and I'll make a smaller frame with those later on. I did lay out my pics into the design I wanted, here you can play around with how different pics look next to each other. When you're done with how the pics will need to look take a picture on your phone or camera so you can refer back to it as you stick your pictures down.
I don't know how many of you have ever tiled a floor or a wall, but from what I remember when my dad was tiling our bathroom floor is that you don't start from the edge - start from the middle and work your way out. Now, this means identifying the middle of the 'canvas' first - to do this I folded the paper my pics would stick to in half and made a crease towards the middle, and then in half again the other way to make a cross-shaped crease. This is where you'll start from and why using the picture you take on your phone to refer back to is helpful to know which pics will be in the centre of your frame - the crease in the paper will be covered by your pics, so you won't see it in the end.
Place two sticky photo mounts to the back of your pics in opposite corners, I don't bother sticking down all four sides - once the pics are behind the glass and held into the frame it all flattens out anyway. And, two sticky corners is much easier to peel off than four if you make a mistake!
When placing pics down be careful not to overlap the pics or have them slip underneath, try and keep them nice a flat to tight against each other. Remember to work from the middle and out, not trying to complete any rows too early otherwise you might start to go wonky. Don't worry if it's not quite perfect, my first attempt is riddled with little errors but my second one turned out so much better, the mosaic effect is not spoiled by slight overlaps or wonky edges - if you want to start with a smaller frame and different pics for practice I recommend it!
Once you've stuck down your final pic, pop the sheet of paper back in the frame and put the back on. Now you can admire your hard work! For this size frame it took me roughly an hour to complete, but go as slow and as steady as you can - the final effect will be worth it.
I recommend the Social Print Studio service, the prints are a great quality. Shipped from Asia via Fed-Ex, they come packaged securely to avoid any damage. There are lots of other print sizes and products available from Social Print Studio too - you can get ready made frames if the DIY approach isn't for you.
I hope this was helpful, I know when I wanted to find out about where to get prints and how to frame them myself there wasn't much info around. If you attempt your own DIY frame share pics with my on Twitter and Instagram.
Last January I ordered a batch of prints from my 2012 pics from Social Print Studio and a couple of square frames from BHS to showcase some of our memories from that year. I've had that frame displayed proudly on my wall for a year now, and so glad that I ordered two of the exact same frame - I can now make a matching frame of pics from 2013.
Picking out which pics to print from 2013 was so hard, with all the amazing places we'd visited and all the great things we'd experienced it was so hard to choose just 48 and knowing that only 36 of those would fit in my frame. The mini-square prints I ordered are roughly 2.5 inches square and my frame is roughly 15 inches square - when choosing a frame know the dimensions of your pics and be prepared to do some maths! The frame I used is no longer stocked but a similar one can be found at Habitat here.
The only equipment you'll need to frame the pics yourself are the frame itself, your printed pics and some small double-sided sticky photo mounts, my photo mounts are from Paperchase. I discarded the four aperature mount from the frame, as I didn't want to section off my pics, I wanted one large square mosaic. You'll be sticking your pics down to hold them in place using the sticky mounts, I stuck mine to the paper insert inside the frame but you can cut a separate piece of paper or card down to size instead.
I already knew the general layout my pics would take within the frame, running chronologically from January through to December and the the extra 12 prints I have were selected knowing I'd have spares and I'll make a smaller frame with those later on. I did lay out my pics into the design I wanted, here you can play around with how different pics look next to each other. When you're done with how the pics will need to look take a picture on your phone or camera so you can refer back to it as you stick your pictures down.
I don't know how many of you have ever tiled a floor or a wall, but from what I remember when my dad was tiling our bathroom floor is that you don't start from the edge - start from the middle and work your way out. Now, this means identifying the middle of the 'canvas' first - to do this I folded the paper my pics would stick to in half and made a crease towards the middle, and then in half again the other way to make a cross-shaped crease. This is where you'll start from and why using the picture you take on your phone to refer back to is helpful to know which pics will be in the centre of your frame - the crease in the paper will be covered by your pics, so you won't see it in the end.
Place two sticky photo mounts to the back of your pics in opposite corners, I don't bother sticking down all four sides - once the pics are behind the glass and held into the frame it all flattens out anyway. And, two sticky corners is much easier to peel off than four if you make a mistake!
When placing pics down be careful not to overlap the pics or have them slip underneath, try and keep them nice a flat to tight against each other. Remember to work from the middle and out, not trying to complete any rows too early otherwise you might start to go wonky. Don't worry if it's not quite perfect, my first attempt is riddled with little errors but my second one turned out so much better, the mosaic effect is not spoiled by slight overlaps or wonky edges - if you want to start with a smaller frame and different pics for practice I recommend it!
Once you've stuck down your final pic, pop the sheet of paper back in the frame and put the back on. Now you can admire your hard work! For this size frame it took me roughly an hour to complete, but go as slow and as steady as you can - the final effect will be worth it.
I recommend the Social Print Studio service, the prints are a great quality. Shipped from Asia via Fed-Ex, they come packaged securely to avoid any damage. There are lots of other print sizes and products available from Social Print Studio too - you can get ready made frames if the DIY approach isn't for you.
I hope this was helpful, I know when I wanted to find out about where to get prints and how to frame them myself there wasn't much info around. If you attempt your own DIY frame share pics with my on Twitter and Instagram.
I really love this idea, I'd love to do it one day!
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