Laura Vegas

Hey everyone! So, check this out. I made a layout. Just because. Not for an assignment, not for a deadline. Just for me. I can't even remember the last time I've done that. I recently had a few batches of photos printed, so I've actually been pulling from those photos here and there for new layout ideas. And that's how this one started. 

I share lots of creative photos on Instagram, and I thought it would be fun to use some of those photos on a layout. Just a little peek into what I've been doing and sharing, creatively, over the last few months. I had all of these photos printed as 2×2" pics, without really knowing what I would do with them. I just figured at some point, I would use them for something. Well, I picked out ten of them to include on this layout, and got to work. 

I had a few colors in the photos that stood out to me, and set out to find patterned papers in black, aqua, red, and yellow. A favorite color combination of mine. The black and white patterned papers are both from Amy Tan, the red is an older patterned paper from Crate Paper, and the yellow and aqua are newer patterned papers from Pink Paislee. 

I've used this cool frame cut file, from Studio Calico, before on THIS layout. It's a great frame for mixing with lots of small square photos, so I knew it would be perfect for this page. I cut it from white textured cardstock, sizing it so that the openings were just a tad less than 2" in size, and spritzed it with both red and aqua misting spray. 

For my title, I scrolled thru my Silhouette library, looking for something to catch my eye. I had several options going, until I came across this "Snapshots" and knew it was the winner. I've always loved the cut file titles with the outline to layer over the top. I die cut the inside from the red patterned paper, and used black textured cardstock for the outline.

My original plan was to fill all twelve spaces with photos, and to not add any journaling. I'm not one that thinks every layout needs to have journaling, when it comes to this type of layout. But after looking at my other layout using this die cut frame, I decided that I liked it with the little journaling block added in. I suppose I could have moved it to a different spot on the frame, so it wasn't so much like the other layout, but I like the way it looks in this spot. 

I had an email today, asking me how I print the 2×2' photos, and thought I would add that to this post, since I used that size on this layout. Most of the time, I print my photos at home. So I just resize the photos to 2×2", arrange them on a sheet to print, and then trim them up. Another option is to create a 4×6" canvas in Photoshop, add six 2×2' photos to it, and then order it from wherever you order photos from (for me, it's usually Costco). 

I recently tried out a few other printing options that I came across. Once of which I've been pretty happy with. It's called FreePrints, and it's an app that you download to your phone. You can get up to 85 prints a month for free, and all you pay is shipping. The shipping isn't super cheap, but it still worked out to less than I would pay for those prints if ordering from Costco. Plus, it was super easy to use and it's a great way to get those photos off your phone and printed. You can pick them from your camera roll, or even off your Instagram account and/or Facebook. 

One reason I liked this app over another one I tried, also with free prints, is that it you upload a square photo, it keeps it square. In another app I tried, it forced it into a 4×6" image. I do mostly square photos on my phone, so I loved that it kept them square. Then you simply trim off the sides once you get the photos. I also used the PhotoGrid app on my phone, to collage four photos together into a square. Which allowed me to print four 2×2" photos super easy. And all done from my phone.  Can't get any easier than that!