I am a huge picture person…I am fairly certain that by the time
my kids are 18 if they really wanted to see what they did on almost every day
of their childhood, I could show them that. My kids have been raised with a
Mamarazzi Mom who always snaps pictures all the time...no really all the time!
Even when they are sleeping they are photographed!!
I normally shoot with a large Canon SLR camera, which gives
me amazing shots…but is incredibly bulky. So for years I carried around a
second camera to catch shots when I’m on the go. But I would still sometimes
forget it. And it never fails that the best moments in life are the ones when your camera is not in your purse! But when I got an IPhone I was thrilled because I never miss a photo
opportunity because my camera and I are never apart!
But the problem is that although phone cameras are handy, I hate the look
of cell phone pictures.
Hence the reason the inventor of Instagram is my hero.
If you haven’t discovered Instagram – it’s like a magic wand
for your cell phone photos. You take a picture and can fix it with several
different filters. The results are amazing and a regular everyday photo becomes
a professional looking masterpiece. It just adds drama to a picture.
For example, a picture that looks like this:
In Instagram looks like this:
The problem is my Instagram pictures are some of my favorite
shots, but I really didn’t have a way to display them except on Facebook or the Instagram App itself. I wanted to find a way to bring the Art of Instagram off my phone and onto my walls.
So one cold and dreary Saturday my kids and I gave InstaGlam to my Instagrams!
Here’s what you need for this incredibly easy project (my 6,
5, and 2 year old all assisted so it’s definitely a family friendly project).
1 large piece of foam board. - I bought a huge piece because
I wanted my art to be big and dramatic, But you could do this with any size.
Foam Board is perfect because its thick enough to look dimensional on the wall,
but not heavy.
Oh how I love a blank canvas!
Extra Strength Glue Stick
Mod Podge - I used
Matte, but Glossy would give a cool effect as well.
Command Strips Picture Hangers.
Instagram Pics. I used a total of 150 on my huge board.
There are several sites that will print Instagram pictures right from your
phone. I used Walgreens but MPix also has an option. The best part about
Instagrams is they print out 4 x 4 so they are perfect little squares without
any cutting. Remember Instagram pics will not print out right on a 4 x 6 so
make sure you are printing from a site that does Instagram pics.
Step One: Pick your pics.
I think
the key to this is to pick a variety of pictures. I chose simple activities,
day to day life. I mixed these in with a few professional shots that I
Instagramed (you can Instagram any picture by taking a picture of it with your
phone and then putting it into the App). But I think the best shots for this
are shots that capture your family everyday. I chose a variety of pics of my
three kids individually and group shots. And don’t forget to throw in Mommy and
Daddy and the pets!
Step Two: Lay out
I laid
out all 150 pictures on the board without glue first to check and make sure I
liked the layout. This is a part the kids can definitely help with because with
no glue – you are just basically laying out the pattern.
Once you get the
pattern the way you want pick up the pictures in order so you can permanently
place them.
Step Three: Time to Glue!
This is
a part I did while the kids were watching a movie and napping because this is
where you really need to make sure the pictures are lined up. Starting from the
top left corner lay out the pictures with a strong glue stick. Let the top of
board be your guide but make sure the bottoms of each of the squares line up.
You can use a laser level but when I tried to use this my cat kept jumping at the light and my son thought it was a laser gun to attack his brother...so who needs a level?
Continue
until you fill up the board.
Step Four: Grab the Podge!
My kids
favorite part of this project was the Mod Podge time. Put a light layer of Mod
Podge over the art. Make sure and let your kids help with this part because it’s
neat to see what texture they do. Just make sure to follow behind them and
smooth out any drops or globs.
Let the
first coat dry for at least 20 minutes.
Do one
more coat to seal the pictures, and create awesome texture and gloss.
Step Five: Hang your Art
Let the
art dry. My board was huge so I let it dry for a few hours. Once it is
completely dry, place your command picture hangers on the back (I used three across
the top) and attach to the wall.
Step Six: Admire your Gallery (and Instagram it of course!)
And you’re
done!! Instant Art Gallery with personality. I was amazed how artsy, edgy, and
cool the project looked. And the best part. My kids helped too!!
A friend of mine suggested doing shapes for this as well.
You could cut out a heart, a circle would be cool.
Just use your imagination.
And there you go…InstaGlam for your Instagrams!!
Enjoy and if you do this project let me see your art work!!
Post a pic on our Facebook page or send me one! I can’t wait to see!!
Mandi
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