yesterday i showed you the basic sketch i was using for my framed photo collages, and today i'm sharing one of the finished ones with you. and i'm sort of crossing my fingers that haley's mom doesn't see this on my blog. i know she reads it, but i'm not sure how often. it's all for the sake of the blog readers ;) lol!
i love how this turned out (click on it to see it a little bigger). i went through all the photos i've taken of haley over the last 3 years, and choose some of my favorites. i love that it shows her over the years, starting when she was just about 3 months old. shows how much she's changed, and yet how much she's stayed the same. i'm so grateful that we've been a part of it all :)
now, for how i got this result.
the first thing i did was create my canvas at 10.5 x 13.5 inches. this is everything that will show in the opening of my frame. and then when i was totally done, i placed this on an 11x14 canvas to have printed. if you're going to try this, make sure and double check your frame opening. just in case it's different then mine. then i simply pulled up 16 of my favorite photos. a few of these were horizontal, but i was able to crop what i wanted just fine. but most of them were vertical shots. i cropped each one to 2.1 x 2.7 inches, and then copy and pasted them onto my blank canvas. i used the "move" tool to move them around, into a pattern i liked. those four extra spots are going to be for pattern paper, but could easily be filled with more photos. or you could add in some vertical photos that are 4.2 x 2.7 inches (taking up two spots). HERE is a post i did about making photo collages in photoshop.
i knew i wanted to do the photos in black and white. i love color photos, and i'm totally ok with all the color going on in the above collage. but i wanted to keep this simple and clean, since it's going to be hanging on a wall. i could have changed each photo to black and white individually, but i'm all about taking short cuts when i can. i've learned that i can arrange all the photos, flatten the layers, and then turn the entire collage to black and white in one step. genious, i know! i use an action in photoshop cs2 that i got ages ago for all my black and white photos. so i really can't explain how to do that. i simply press my one action button and it's magically done for me. sorry, that was sort of like sticking my tonque out at you, wasn't it? lol!
this shows the digital papers and brush that i added. the black line around the edge is just there to make it stand out on the blog, so that doesn't actually print on the actual photo. keep in mind, i'm not a digital scrapper. so this is super basic. and i'm ok with that. the papers are from jen allyson (who is the digital spotlight artist right now and her stuff is 25% off), the digikit - urban chic boutique solid papers. i'm not very knowledgable about digital products or digital scrapbooking. i think i just happen to see this paper kit on a 2peas newsletter or something. it caught my eye, so i got it. the "looking through the lens" is from the photography hand drawn brushes from ali edwards.
that is the final collage. i flattened all my layers and saved it. then i copied and pasted it onto an 11x14 canvas, placing it right in the middle. i uploaded that to costco to order, and picked it up an hour later.
then i took that printed collage, and added a few real life embellishments to it.
a few flowers (making memories and hero arts). a few rhinestones and pearl accents (michaels, and hero arts). a foam letter sticker (american crafts). a sticker (making memories). some ribbon (adornit). wasn't thought out, but just whatever caught my eye first.
and now that i've made this one for haley, i better get to work on one for nikolas ;)
Haley's Mom will love it! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!
Posted by: Melinda | December 17, 2009 at 02:48 PM
Shoot friend, I only made my family a photo ornament of Cayden...lol This is fantastic!!
Posted by: shemaine smith | December 17, 2009 at 03:14 PM
So beautiful, I'm sure she'll love it!
Posted by: Lynn | December 17, 2009 at 03:14 PM
OMG, OMG Laura! This is amazingly awesome! I can't believe my eyes...this is so wonderful! Any mother would love a gift like this. And thank you so much for taking the time to put together this tutorial!
OK, I know this sounds corny but my eyes got a little teared up when I saw this. Its just so special!
Posted by: Carla | December 17, 2009 at 03:20 PM
Adorable! I love how simple it is and how everything is perfectly placed! It really shows off the pictures well!
Posted by: Ashley M | December 17, 2009 at 03:42 PM
Laura, this is GORGEOUS!!!! You have inspired me, maybe I'll do one of these for each of my boys. I'm bookmarking this page for future reference! Thanks for sharing this.
Posted by: Erika | December 17, 2009 at 03:55 PM
what a wonderful gift! gorgeous!
Posted by: Heather Ruwe | December 17, 2009 at 04:34 PM
get outta town! this is beautiful. I'm thinking of moving to California just so you can be my kids' daycare provider and you can make me pretty things, okay?
Posted by: kristan martin | December 17, 2009 at 04:42 PM
what a gorgeous gift!
Posted by: Jodie | December 17, 2009 at 05:02 PM
Very cool! She will love it!
I haven't uploaded to Costco before, but I should- usually I just take my memory stick and shop while they are processing them. It usually takes less than an hour.
Will you share all of them after Christmas?
Posted by: Marissa | December 17, 2009 at 05:45 PM
Wow! This is stunning. I'm sure that Haley's mom is going to be absolutely thrilled! I'm going to have to try this for my boys! Wow! wow! wow!
Posted by: Lynn | December 17, 2009 at 06:29 PM
That is so thoughtful of you. I know she is going to love it! They sure are lucky to have you. :o)
Posted by: erin terrell clarkson | December 17, 2009 at 06:32 PM
This is out of this world! I'm going to save this idea and try it for grandparents gifts on Valentine's Day. Thanks for the inspiration and have a wonderful Christmas.
Posted by: Leslie Murphy | December 17, 2009 at 06:42 PM
You are so inspiring! I love your ideas; the simplicity, the details and the way it all comes together so perfectly. FABULOUS!
Posted by: Carolyn | December 17, 2009 at 06:46 PM
This is such a cool project. My grandson just turned 3 and his mom would love something like this. I will have to get to work on it. Thanks for sharing. You may think this is so simple, but sometimes simple is all that is necessary. The focus really is on the adorable little girl, just the way it should be. Thanks you again for sharing.
Posted by: Jackie | December 17, 2009 at 06:59 PM
Laura it looks great here on the blog but I have to say it looks more amazing in real life LOL! I think I need to send you my girls so I could get my very own laura original LOL!
Posted by: Deneen | December 17, 2009 at 07:07 PM
So beautiful - thank you for taking the time to share!
Posted by: NancyC | December 17, 2009 at 07:45 PM
this is STUNNING laura!!! i want one! ;)
Posted by: susan weinroth | December 17, 2009 at 08:05 PM
gahhh laura! this is FABULOUS!!!!
Posted by: kimbermcgray | December 17, 2009 at 08:08 PM
hey i luv the project. she is so cute. u should do 1 of niko now. you are a gr8 mom. hope you have fun doing more projects. lol. remember im here 4u.
Posted by: sarah vegas | December 17, 2009 at 08:13 PM
wow!!! love the idea. thanks for letting us know how to make a collage.
Posted by: kelly | December 17, 2009 at 08:22 PM
she is so cute!!! You are so awesome!!!
Posted by: Alyssa Dezell | December 17, 2009 at 08:53 PM
I LOVE IT!! I LOVE IT!! I LOVE IT!!! So wishing I had time to make something like this for my VERY hard to buy for F-I-L!! Heck I'd love to make one for ME!! LOL!! This is such a thoughtful, beautiful gift! Hailey's mom will LOVE & treasure this gift! You're AMAZING!!
Posted by: Sara Rossi | December 17, 2009 at 09:01 PM
Simple and Beautiful. LOVE your style!
Haileys Mom is so lucky!
Posted by: Sandra L | December 17, 2009 at 09:04 PM
I love love love love this. and is the perfect thing to do for my mil!!! You are a genius!! :o)
Posted by: Megan Renfree | December 17, 2009 at 11:51 PM