Stunning Wall Art - With Your Own Photos!

Searching for the perfect thing to hang on your wall is tricky.
Do you invest in a artwork and then spend hundreds framing it?
Or, go with kitchsy posters in cheap frames?
Or, no art at all?
None of these options work for me! I wanted artwork, but wanted to hang my family photos as well. The look of the school picture, wedding photo gallery in the stairwell is classic, but not fresh.

Of course, you can take those SAME photos and transfer them simply to canvas!
Ok, so here are two 8x10 photos I have from our most recent vacation.

Both photos are wonderful, but what can I do with them other than scrapbook them?
I could take them to a box store, have them scanned and transferred to canvas, but how different is that than just framing the photo?

There are other options available. What I chose to do was digitize the images and then upload them to my Heritage Makers account. There I could create an actual work of art from scratch, using the colors and style of my home to transform a simple snapshot into something wall worthy.

What are you thoughts?

No, not a scrapbook! Before You Were 5

 I am a mother, a wife, sister and friend. I am an artist, a writer, party planner and crazy person.

I am also a personal publisher and with that comes joy. I never thought I would love creating digitally because I am very tactile. Paint in my cuticle, glue in my hair (now there's a vision), but truly, I love creating this way.

When my youngest daughter turned five and I wanted to create a highly personalized board book for her that documented the previous years of her life. No, not a scrapbook. A professionally bound book, glossy, real pages, published book!

I started with a template and altered it to fit my needs, much like a dress maker alters a pattern to fit a person. Here is the original template:

Before You Were Five

designed by: Kari Pieratt

8x8 Board Book

Template ID: 50666

But, I don't have a boy, so I began the simple drag and drop process of making the book for my daughter. Here is the finished project.

 

I am delighted with the book, as is my daughter! The postman delivered it to us in the middle of her birthday party (how's that for perfect timing?!) and she stopped everything to examine every page carefully. Be still my mom heart. <3

Bouquet of Love & Memories!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
This bouquet of flowers,
I made for YOU!

Super simple to create and really inexpensive, you could create this gift in 15 minutes. Brilliant for a teachers gift too!  The flowers are on a 12x12 digital print (see below) that are just a drag and drop to do the photo. Easy to do with traditional scrapbook supplies as well, but it would cost you more that way. 

Super easy... get the flowers, pix and assemble. Then just adhere to shisk-kebob skewers and poke into floral foam in a vase. Oh, let's make one today!