Photo Collage Wall art

A few weeks ago, Kimba shared a blogger who created an amazing Photo Wall in her home. I loved it, I wanted it, I obsessed over it! Could I, regular mommy with a Nikon Coolpix camera, create a wall with amazing photos that could remotely compare to that of this amazing photographer?

I spent a lot of time choosing the best photos from my collection. They had to meet the following criteria...

They couldn't have been cropped or overly zoomed - I was looking for nice, close photos that would be super crisp when blown up.

They had to be interesting.

They had to really show the personality of each of us, not just "pretty pictures".

They had to spark a memory of a fun time or place.

I chose my 9 photos and then loaded them to Picnik where I cropped them square (1980 x 1980).

Next, I used the editing capabilities to brighten colors and adjust contrast. Some photos I made black and white and others I boosted the color using the "cross-process" effect to create a more interesting look. Just experiment!

Finally, I created the black "frame" around each photo using the "vignette" button. I was careful to choose a size and strength number I liked to create the effect I was looking for, and wrote down the number so I wouldn't forget. I used a value of 50 for "size" and 70 for "strength":



Make sure to use these values for each photo so they look uniform when hung together.

I knew I didn't have room in my home (or good enough photos) for the HUGE (stunning) 20x20 inch photos from the inspiration project, but I did have room (and money) for a collection of 10x10 inch photos. I taped off a square 34x34 inches just to be sure. I laid out my photos to arrange them:



Then, I hung my frames, with stick-on hangers, 2 inches apart using a crazy yardstick and level system to make sure everything was level and even.


Here are the products I used:

Command Damage-Free Hanging Strips

Winkflash 10x10 inch photo prints ($3.39 apiece)

Quadro 10x10 inch clip frames ($24 for a box of 6)



I love it! I stare at it while eating my lunch. I stop to stare at it when I walk by. I make my friends and neighbors come in and stare at it with me!



Thanks for the inspiration Tara and Kimba!