[Weekly Mojo Series] Hybrid Project Feature: Lori Pickens

Design House Digital Decorator Lori Pickens recently shared this project in our DHD forums, and I couldn't resist sharing it with all of you. It's a great way to take digital scrapbooking products and create some amazing home decor projects.

This is a 30x40 canvas that Lori has hanging above the bed in her master bedroom. The wood background was created using a wood paper from a digital kit. She used Gennifer Bursett's shadows and a few other things to make the letters look more like paint.
Persnickety can print a silver halide photographic 30x40 print + mount it on 3/8" foam for less than $100!

 This is a piece of wall art that Lori has hanging in the entryway of their house. The background (printed from a piece of DHD paper) is printed on mat board, and the quote is printed on a canvas to help give it some additional depth.
Persnickety vacuum seal heat press mounting is an affordable solution for this type of project. Gallery Blocks work great as a dimensional stand out option.

Until next week, keep the mojo flowin'!

[Weekly Mojo Series] Displaying Your Favorite Photos

Just a quick eye candy post today -- how about some fantastic ways to display your favorite photos in your home?

(a variety of options for displaying your favorite Instagram photos from Elsie Larson)

(I've always adored this large canvas, paired with an interesting crop.)

(Just one of many awesome ideas for displaying family photos in your home).

(a regular picture frame mounted on top of painted and distressed wood)

(use wooden clothes hangers instead of traditional frames)

(find ways to combine multiple photos into one frame)

(multiple frames, a square of wallpaper, and a larger frame to contain it all)

Check out the Persnickety Pinterest Board for more inspiration. 

Until next week, keep the mojo flowin'!

[Weekly Mojo Series] All You Need to Know About Instagram

When it comes to using your smartphone to capture everyday moments, Apple wasn't lying when they said, "There's an app for that." Photo apps abound, but by far, the most popular has to be Instagram. Part social network, part photo filtering application, this easy-to-use app lets you snap photos, add filters, and share with friends, all with just a few easy screen taps.

I've gathered some great Instagram resources to share with you -- just about everything is covered in these posts, from getting started to displaying your Instagram photos. Enjoy!

This is probably the most organized and thorough of the bunch, divided into Parts 1, 2, and 3.

Mashable offers a great Beginner's Guide to Instagram that walks you through the whole process of getting started.

Whippy Cake offers some great tips on composing photos for Instagram.

Jason Hudson's series Instagrammar School (Post 1, Post 2) is extremely well-written. Although it's targeted toward the professional blogger, there's plenty of information that hobby Instagrammars can use.

Stephanie Howell provides an overview of her Instagram process, as well as her favorite apps.

Elisa Blaha Cripes shares her own tips and tricks here; I particularly love the daily Blurb book she created while her husband was deployed.

Of course, we at Persnickety can print instagrams for you in so many different ways! Check out our entire page dedicated to printing instagrams.

Until next week, keep the mojo flowin'!

Free Fall Kit | Birds of a Feather

FRIEND.

There are many definitions to the word, friend.

 Friends are loyal, supportive, reliable, understanding... the list can go on. 

A friend can be a teacher, a pet, a co-worker, spouse, and if you've ever seen the movie; Lars and the Real Girl, starring none other than the beautiful Ryan Gosling... a friend could even be a plastic life size doll!

Regardless of who our friend may be; we need one.

With 3 little boys and a husband, my girlfriends are a major necessity!
This new kit, Birds of a Feather, goes out to all of my great friends. You know who you are.

-Chari

Rather than charge for our digital designs, we offer them for Free to our customers. Not our customer? You should be!

Download here:

• Elements
• Papers

[Weekly Mojo Series] Photo Organization

Last week, I shared Laura Kurz' thought process on which photos to display or scrap versus which photos to put in storage, and this week's post expands on that topic a bit. I came across a great article a few months ago in Real Simple, which focused on getting your photos off of your phone or camera and getting them into your albums or onto your walls. I jotted down their suggested 6-step process, and I'm sharing it with you today, along with some great inspiration from Liz Tamanaha of Paislee Press Designs on getting your photos out of shoebox storage.

1. Download your photos from your camera or phone. It's best to funnel them directly into a photo-organizing program if possible.

2. Edit, edit, edit. Delete duplicate photos or poor quality shots. If you have a lot of photos to go through, break this step down into 15- to 20-minute increments until it's completed.

 (source)

3. Make folders to store your photos. You can choose to sort them in chronological or thematic order, or use a combination of both (begin with chronological folders and then create sub-folders by theme).

4. Rename and file your photos. This is a great place to take care of any basic edits (cropping, fixing red-eye, etc).

(source)

5. Back up your files, using TWO of the following options: an external hard drive, a online storage service, or prints. The article suggests using CDs or DVDs ONLY if they are archival-rated, but be warned that these can be pricey.

6. Delete the original files from your camera or phone.

Until next week, keep the mojo flowin'!

7 Ingredients to Low Fat Peach Ice Cream

Yes, we are "persnickety" about print, but we love food too! 

Have some ice cream with those prints...

I love traditions. 

Growing up, my mom always made the best homemade fresh ice cream. I remember watching the ice cream maker churn outside on the back porch.

I like to keep this tradition in our home, mostly because I love it myself!

 I like my ice cream with chunky bits of peaches. 

It takes about 10-15 minutes to throw together, and about 45 minutes to churn. 

Follow your ice cream mixer's instruction for churn time. You may need rock salt!

>>>>> ^ <<<<<

We have created a 4x6 printable recipe card for you to quickly print off.

Enjoy!

Organize your Photos with an Online Class

Do you have thousands of photos on your computer, and you're not sure where to start when it comes to organizing them?

Well known instructor, Patty Debowski (Digital Scrapbook Teacher) can help!

Her photo organizing class using Photoshop Elements Organizer starts Tuesday, September 4th! You don't want to miss out.

 

This class will show you how to organize your photos so that you can find them by:

• Event
• People in the Photo
• Date
• Your Favorites

You will also learn ways to protect your photos from a hard drive failure or other disaster!

This class is priceless, and only $40! Sign up here 

GIVEAWAY (closed)
Persnickety Prints is giving away one seat in this online course.

• To Enter: comment below with an estimate of how many digital photos you *think* you have on your hard drive year-to-date. (January 2012- today)

• Contest Ends: Monday September 3, 2012 10pm MST. Winner will be chosen at random & posted here.

>>> WINNER: comment #28- Terry L!

Terry, you didn't include your email address. Please email us to claim your prize!