Today is another *snow day* for us, so I finally had a chance to finish this years collage. You may remember my 2009 collage (below). I used THIS free template from Oscraps to create a mosaic of 2010 memories. I printed last years template 12×12″ and it’s hanging on our wall. The photos ended up being a little over an inch square so they are big enough to see pretty clearly. There are 81 squares in the template so I can pack in lots of images. My kids love looking at last years collage. It’s kind of like a year-at-a-glance. I’m hoping to make one every year! By the way, there is a template for Photoshop and PS Elements. Check it out!
Amanda - This is awesome! such fun
I’m looking forward to making one, thanks for the inspiration and link!
Abby P. - Ohhhhhh, very, very nice!
kris - Just love love love it! Maybe I should do that….I know I will never get the 571 pictures printed off of my camera…yikes!
Jani - This is a fun way to remember moments. It should be very interesting to see what Elle has to say about how she has changed so much in a year.
Rachael - I love this idea! I’m gonna have to do this too, although my photos aren’t nearly as spectacular as yours. Yours are breathtaking!!
Dayna - What a wonderful idea! Love all the little snapshots from the year. Thanks for sharing!
Gabi - The collage is fantastic!! LOVE it!
Rachael - I forgot to ask where you found the awesome square frame for this? I would love to know.
Melissa - Thanks all! Rachel- I bought this frame at Target quite a while ago. I was one of those frames that has a pre-cut mat for a collage of pics already inside. I had my collage printed on double weight matboard (@ Mpix) and attached the the matted photo onto the mat board that can with the frame. It looks great even though it’s a bit rigged up. I’m not sure if Target still sells these. I’ll be on the hunt for another frame so I’ll let you know what I find.
aimee - Did you have any problems printing this? I chose wolf camera, and it kept cutting off the bottom! Any suggestions?!
Melissa - Aimee- Is your file 12×12″ @ 300dpi (or whatever dimension you want your final output to be). I print mine through Mpix.com . I have it mounted on double weight mat board and printed 12×12″. The nice thing abot Mpix is that you get a preview of exactly how your image will print. They are very reasonable too. If you actually go to Wolf to drop off your file I would tell them exactly what you want. HTH!
michelle s. - What a great idea! I just found your blog and would love to subscribe but I don’t see an RSS feed button.
Kristen - Amazon seems to sell 12×12 frames.
Michele H. - Oh…I love this Melissa. Thanks so much for the link. I started yesterday and finally finished. Hoping to have it printed and hung by the days end. So LOVE this ideas!
Susan Roberts - This is such a fabulous idea! Looks wonderful. You have inspired me to do the same (if you don’t mind
).
Amy Tolbert - I found your site through Ali Edwards’s blog. You have so many great ideas! I really like this collage idea and I’m going to try it myself. I already have the template, but I was wondering if you can tell me what you used for the numbers. Is that a font you downloaded or did you buy the numbers somewhere? I’d appreciate any help!
Melissa - Thanks Amy! I used the font Sketchblock . . . it’s a free download- http://www.dafont.com/sketch-block.font
Heather - I love this!! I downloaded the template in Photoshop but can’t figure out how to load in the photos…any advice??
Melissa - Each row is a folder in your layers palette. Click to drop down the menu on each folder and you will see that each square is on it’s own layer. Drag your photo above the square you want it to appear in. If you are unfamiliar with layered templates check out this tutorial http://paisleepress.com/2009/01/layered-templates-101/ . Hope that helps!
Mary - Love this! I just purchased photoshop elements 10 so I can do this. I am however having a tough time. I have gone over and over the layered tutorial and looked at others as well. If you have any pointers that would be so helpful! Thank you!
Mary - I figured it out! Thank you!
Nicola - I have the free template open, and I am attempting to follow the instructions you provide the link to, however, I still cannot get a photo into the template… what am I doing wrong?
Michelle - Wow…just found this post. Love the collage! I don’t have photoshop…assuming that I’ll need it to make a collage for myself?
Marne - Thanks for this. I have already made my collage and printed it at Costco. Turned out great! I have had a difficult time finding a frame, however. I have found that actual 12×12 frames cut off 1.4 inch around the sides. So I went with a 16×16 frame, but took that back too because there was too much white space around the sides. Is your frame an actual 12×12? It looks to be larger to me. Also, is it a shadowbox frame?
Melissa - Here’s what I wrote on the 2011 collage post . . . The love the frame I used for my 2009 collage, but I can’t find them anymore. I bought 12×12″ white frames at Target (They’re only $10 a piece), but they don’t have a mat. I don’t love them. “Someone” threw a ball in the house and broke last years Target frame so I’d like to re-frame them all. I added a .25″ white border to each of the collages this year and I’m going to re-print them all. I haven’t decided exactly what frames to use yet. I’ll update this post when I do. Hope that helps!
I still haven’t found the frames I want yet. The original frame was around 14×14”. I’ll post details once I find something that works!
Heather - How did you add a .25″ border to it? I just made one and love it but figured part of the edges would get cut off once framed. Thanks!
Sherrie Stahl - I want to take 300 photographs and make a collage out of them…be able to move them around to create a secondary tonal shape…a collage. Any ideas on software? Operating with vista 7 and ipad