I just stopped in for a sec to show you the coolest picture hanging tool that I’ve ever seen. If you’ve ever tried to line up and level multiple frames on a wall and you are like me – you either pulled out all your hair in the process or ended up with 15 holes all over your wall – you are going to LOVE this!
I just saw the commercial on TV and had to come share the news. It’s called the Hang and Level and it’s designed to help you easily line up and level multiple frames by marking exactly where your nail or hook goes. You hang your picture on the hook on the Hang and the Level. You hold it up on the wall and visually line it up and decide where you want it. Remove the picture and the tool has a button you press that will mark the wall in the exact spot where the nail goes. Why didn’t someone think of this SOONER!??
The commercial I saw is on the website but it wasn’t working last time I looked. If you watch HGTV it’s on all the time. At this time it’s only available in Canada and you can pick it up at Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Linens n Things and Home Outfitters. You really need to see the commercial to see how cool it is. Maybe it will work for some of you. It worked last time I checked a few days ago…
Did you know that if you click the SEARCH button in the gallery and type in the name of a kit or product you can view all the layouts using that product? Next time you’re looking for ideas on how to use the Peppermint Creative products in your collection try searching for them in the gallery!
Speaking of the gallery, this month it’s been packed with TONS of gorgeous pages! Here are just a FEW of my fav’s.
October is slowly creeping up on us and I’ve got some new goodies on the horizon for you. Some great Halloween stuff and lots of alpha sets too! I’ll include a few previews for you tomorrow.
Special thanks to Mary Lee for this week’s YouTube Tuesday selection. Today’s video is dedicated to all the Mom’s out there! This is a musical version of all the advice a mom says in 24 hours condensed to 2 minutes and 55 seconds and sung to the William Tell Overture by Anita Renfroe. Enjoy!
Check back tomorrow for some fabulous Member Gallery layout standouts! I’ve got some incredible pages to share.
Have a great day!
Hee hee! I just think this picture is so cute – had to share.
Yesterday I blogged a little bit about printing. I prefer to print at home when I can but many people like to or have to have their prints done professionally. The whole thing can be pretty overwhelming as there are just so many options out there sometimes it’s hard to know where to start! You have your prints done online and sent to you or you can take them to a local print house. Both options are quite popular among digital scrappers. Some popular online printers include Winkflash, Snapfish and Shutterfly. All of which are very reputable companies who (I am told) deliver quality prints.
Shutterfly has the largerst selection and a great variety of products specifically for us digital scrappers including 12×12 scrapbook prints and 12×12, 8×8 and 8.5×11 photo books. Party invitations, mugs, calendars, posters, frames, DVD’s, the list goes on and on. You should definitely check them out for specialty gift items.
Locally, places like Kinkos or Costco are pretty popular choices though Ive never tried either. Mary Lee recently emailed about printing. She has her pages done at Costco and wondered what the rest of us were doing. So I ask you – what are the rest of you doing?
For the record, Mary Lee is really happy with her Costco prints and the matte finish that they use. She was told by a Costco employee that if you create a 12×36 file in Photoshop, then save three 12×12 LO in a row, you can print them as a panoramic for about $5 USD and cut them apart at home later, however, not all Costco locations have the right equipment to do this.
She also wanted to know what you guys thought about wide format printers. I’ve never had one or even used one but I can’t imagine that it would be too cost effective plus those things are huge! I’ve never even seen any 12×12 paper in the store. So I’m asking you for your opinions on this one!
If you’ve got a collection of layouts collecting digital dust in a folder on your desktop then this post is for you. It’s time to take those pages off the computer and bring them into your home where they can be showcased and enjoyed without having to gather your guests around your laptop at your next dinner party (admit it – you know you’ve done this at least once. If it helps, I am a repeat offender).
I’m hoping that some of my ideas will inspire you to start printing, framing and creating. I welcome you to post your creative ideas for showcasing your layouts in the comments section below. I look forward to learning a few new tricks!
Okie dokie. So after a few too many family get-together’s which involved me trying to explain what digital scrapbooking is and what a layout is to people who don’t know how to send email attachments (no offense) I realized that having some layouts with me would help illustrate what I’ve been up to. I knew it was time to start printing my pages. I glanced over at the huge monstrosity that is my 12×12 scrapbook album from my short lived paper scrapping days and cringed. Who wants to lug that around?
And then it hit me (cue music) – I will create an 8×8 album!
Let me tell you why an 8×8 album will be your new best friend. It’s small enough to stash in your purse (or a small tote bag) but it’s big enough to see every detail and read all your journaling. It’s easy to pass around a table and for people to view without having to find a place to set it down. Plus (and this is a big plus) if you have a decent printer you can do all your printing at home.
I chose a simple album; a black post bound album from Pioneer but note that they are widely available in a variety of colors and patterns from many different companies. A post bound album gives you the ability to add more pages as needed and I like that flexibility. You can buy extra plastic sleeves as you need them.
As you can see the result is a beautiful and sophisticated way to showcase all your layouts that you can easily take with you wherever you go.
I have the Canon Pixma i4300 and prefer to use Kodak Premium Photo Paper in Gloss but I also like Satin which has a slight sheen to it.
I still scrap all my pages in 12×12 and when it’s time to print I make a copy (image>duplicate) and flatten that file and resize it to 8×8 (image>image size). My little tip is that any time I have to shrink a layout be it for print or web I always apply a slight sharpen filter to it (filter>sharpen) and then (edit>fade sharpen) to really crisp up the image. It makes a massive difference. Just don’t get overzealous with the sharpening tool because things will start to look funky.
Beyond an album, I also like to display a few of my favorite pages around the house. Now that my fridge has been filled with my little minty magnets, I’ve moved on to frames! I picked up an inexpensive shadow box style frame from Ikea. You can use it with the photo matte or print a photo that takes up the entire frame. Personally, I like the visual impact of the smaller photo with the white matte around it.
I shrunk my layout to 12cm x 12cm (Ikea loves their centimeters) gave it a little sharpen action and printed it out. I was able to easily fit two to a page. These great little frames can stand on a shelf or be hung on a wall and can very easily be changed so feel free to change up your layouts as often as you’d like. I was really impressed with how they turned out. In this case, due to the size of the image in the frame it is best to chose a layout that does not contain massive amounts of journaling. Of course you can pick any size frame you can find!
You could hang a set of 4 on the wall in a block shape or even 2 or 3 side by side. What a great way to showcase your work! Check back tomorrow for more on printing…this post is getting too long! Before I go I’ll leave you with a picture of Abby who decided to munch on the faux flowers I took off the shelf to take the pictures I posted above. Little bugger!!!
I wonder if you realize how much I LOVE the Member Gallery! I can’t even explain to you how much joy I get out of seeing my kits/products in action! I just wanted to say a big huge thank you to everyone who posts there, whether it be regularly or from time to time – I really appreciate it. It’s wonderful for me and it’s also really helpful and inspring for other scrappers. Check out some of the great pages the Mint Chicks created with the new Twinkle Toes Freebie Kit and then scroll down for some super gallery stand outs!
