I love the look of a grid of photos, so I decided to print them out in the same format as I would arrange them if I were to stick them into a page protector full of squares. I then went a step further and altered the collage to give it a little more depth than just a sheet of paper. As a girl that never does digital scrapbooking, this was a fun way to create a hybrid page of digital work and tactile work to get something I was happy with.
To keep it simple, I chose to use only Instagram photos so I didn’t have to think about cropping and resizing my DSLR into squares. I went to my Instagram page on my laptop and clicked on each individual photo that I wanted to incorporate into this page. Then I took a screen grab and opened it up in Photoshop. I hit the crop icon and went up to the top bar to make sure the 1:1 ratio was set to get a square crop. Then I cropped my screen grab so that I was only getting the square photo. I knew I wanted to print onto an 8.5″ x 11″ photo sheet, so I adjusted the image size of each photo to be 2.7 inches wide (and subsequently high) and saved it. I repeated this process for all twelve of the images I thought I’d like to use.
Next, I created a new image in Photoshop that was 8.5″ x 11″ to mimic the size of my photo paper. I then clicked on my first photo, hit ‘Select All’, then hit ‘Copy’, and then clicked on my new image and hit ‘Paste’. I moved it to one corner and then created a new layer for the next image I wanted to add. I brought each image over and played around with the placement until I was happy. Then I merged my layers. Then I printed it out and cropped my edges so that I had an even amount of white on all four sides.
I liked how it looked but wanted to give it more depth, so I cut out three photos that I was okay with losing. If you’re thinking ahead on this part, you could just leave those sections blank in the first place. Use an X-Acto knife and ruler to get crisp edges.
Then I filled in those squares with patterned cards in two sections and used a stamp to create a pattern in the center square. For even more dimension, I cut out a felt heart using the ABM wool felt and stapled a plastic alpha onto another square so that they overlapped the squares just a bit. Then I added a few stickers on top of other squares as well as some journaling. My page was complete! This will go in a page protector but you could also leave room on your edge for a hole punch if you like to keep some pages out in the open.
I did the same thing with this page but with larger photo sizes. These Instagram images were sized to 3.75″ square and then printed out. I didn’t do as much to these because I wanted the colors to stand out. I just cut the photo collage so that there were no white edges and adhered it onto another piece of scrapbook paper. I used the chipboard from January’s Messy Box for my title and added a little journaling with a Sharpie for a bolder look. It was super easy and a great way to get more of my images from my phone printed off and into my album.
It’s so fun to always experiment with new ways to create a layout, but I also like sticking to some tried and true layouts to keep the process enjoyable. This was kind of the best of both worlds for me. Happy scrapbooking! –Rachel
Credits//Author and Photography: Rachel Denbow. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
20 Comments
This is amazing!
Http://www.llindatt.blogspot.com
Hi Rachel! This is such a nice layout. ! I love the grids and how they portray an interesting variety of family events and favorites, and those large black and white letters make a ‘fun’ bold statement!
Loved it !! Thanks a ton 🙂
Absolutely love this idea! I’ve been keeping a scrapbook of favourite moments and will try this layout next time x
Jess | www.itsthattimefor.com
These are super cute!! Thanks for the inspiration! <3
Am I the only one that sees a big C K F U
ThIs is a great idea Rachel! I have so many photos I need to print and I think this would work really well for them – thanks for the inspiration!!
What a lovely and fun thing to do, great idea.
Jodie, A Textile Perspective x
Lovely post! Scrapbooks are so fun and beautiful 🙂
What a feel-good piece of wall art!
waaaaw so inspiring. love the results NEW POST : DAILY BASIC BEAUTY SET | YOUTUBE CHANNEL
I love the different ways you layout your pages every week, this reminds me of Instagram, just way more personal and creative!
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Love it! http://www.hannamarielei.com
Fab inspiration, love this post!
love this 🙂
I really like this clean(er) look of scrapbooking and love the way you used the 9×12 Messy Box papers in combination to photo collage. Great inspiration, thanks!
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– IVA http://cosyhippie.blogspot.com/
Love your collages!
http://soldenochedecocrochet.blogspot.com.ar/
I’m just getting into the scrapbooking world and I LOVE your style! This post is so inspiring! 🙂
https://midwestmeanderings.wordpress.com/
Adorable and easy DIY!
This is such a cool idea!
Trudy // TrudyJohanna