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Framed Photo Collage for Mom: Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and if you’re still looking for a unique, meaningful gift for Mom I’ve got a quick idea for you! 
Create a photo collage filled with photos of Mom through the years! As a Mom, nothing is more precious to me than the photos I have of my me with my kids. I would love to have a framed print like this hanging in my home to remind me of all the special moments I treasure most as a Mother.
You can try your hand at your own collage or I’ve created a template set you can use in Photoshop/Photoshop Elements. You simply drop in your own photos, customize the colors to match Mom’s home decor and personalize the message however you’d like!
The set contains an 8×10 and an 11×14 template, perfect sizes for framing. I just love the way these photo collages look framed and displayed in my home and I know any Mom would be thrilled to get a handmade gift like this for Mother’s Day this year!
Simple as That Digital Shop Here.
We’re going to celebrate Mother’s Day this week with a super exciting giveaway! 
Stay tuned, tonight at midnight when I’ll be sharing all the details! 

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial

This post was originally shared at theartofsimple.net in May 2013.

Since I was a child, Mother’s Day and handmade gifts went hand in hand. There’s something extra special about giving a gift that’s been created with love. Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round? 

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round.

Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round? Using this inexpensive list of supplies, you can make some darling crepe paper flowers. Just follow along – it’s easier than you think!

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

What you’ll need

Crepe paper, scissors, gluestick or hot glue, floral wire, green washi tape or floral tape, scraps of ribbon or lace, scraps of felt, cotton balls.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Steps

Start with the flower center. Cut a square piece of crepe paper. Roll a small piece of cotton into a ball. Place in the center of the paper. Twist the crepe paper around the piece of cotton as shown. Twist paper tightly to create a short stem. If you would like to create a long stemmed flower, use a piece of floral wire and twist the the crepe paper around the wire, then secure with green floral/washi tape.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

To add a little something extra to your flower center, create a fringe using a small length of crepe paper folded in half length wise. With your scissors, cut tiny slits along one edge. Attach the fringe to your flower center with adhesive, wrapping it around and around until you’ve added as much as you want, then snip off any extra, if needed.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Now it’s time for petals. Using a short length of crepe paper (about 5-6 inches) and your scissors, create a strip of petals. The shape of the petals is up to you – I had fun experimenting with this. Don’t get too caught up on perfection. For shorter flowers, try folding your crepe paper in half length-wise and then cutting your petals; this also creates an extra layer of petals.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Now it’s time to add the petals to the flower center. You can attach the entire length of petals to the flower stem at once by wrapping it around continuously, like we did the center fringe. You can also cut off two or three petals from the strip and attach in smaller sections. When gluing to your stem/flower centre, you may need to pleat or gather the bottom edge of the petal for it to lay nicely. I used a glue stick for adhering all my petals. Be sure to use the gluestick with the grain of the crepe paper; it’s very fragile and can tear easily.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Continue adding layers of petals on top of one another until your flower is the size you’d like. If you’ve added a wire stem to your flower, you can attach a crepe paper leaf and then with your floral tape secure the petals and the leaf to the stem.

These cute little flowers can be used in so many ways. Make a bouquet, and add a pin to the back to create a one of a kind broach. They’d make a darling pencil topper, and would be a great addition to a card or other craft project.

I added some of my flowers to a scrap of vintage ribbon (lace would be pretty also) to create a simple wristlet (or wrist corsage). I needed a flat surface on the back of the flower to attach to the ribbon, so I trimmed the stem off and attached a small circle of felt with hot glue. This secured the petals in place and made a flat surface to adhere the flower to the ribbon.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial - Flowers for Mother’s Day always seem fitting, so this year why not give mom a bouquet that she could enjoy all year round

Have fun creating some crepe paper flowers of your own! Don’t forget to involve the kids in this fun activity, too. Just replace the floral wire with pipe cleaners and this would make a great craft project for the whole family.

For more ways to celebrate Mom this Mother’s Day, here are a few posts you might enjoy:

Personalized photo bookmarks for Mom

Show her you care with a handmade mini album

Simple, handmade Mother’s Day Cards

Frameable quotes + Printable Bookmarks

All about Mom Questionnaire

50 Photos to Take with Your Kids

Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Project Life Giveaway

Thursday seems like the perfect day for a Project Life giveaway, don’t you think!?

National Scrapbooking Day is May 4th and Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle is celebrating in a BIG way!
Every day leading up to May 4th Scrapbooker’s Inner circle is giving away some amazing Project Life prize packages and I’m thrilled to be taking part in the fun today! 
Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle offers Project Life products to customers within Europe and Canada, among other places around the world! Because I live in Canada I always appreciate finding a place where I can shop for my favorite products within my own country! Orders I’ve received from Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle have gotten to me so quickly and I LOVE that!
Today’s giveaway is open to Simple as That readers with a Canadian or European address only! To enter, follow the prompts in the rafflecopter widget below. 
Prize Package Includes:
Midnight Edition Core Kit
12×12 Album
Big Pack of Design A Pocket Pages
12×12 Paper pack
Coordinating Dividers
3×4 + 4×6 coordinating cardstock

Bonus:
Pre-order the new Project Life products between May 1st – 4th at either the Canadian or the UK/European shop and be entered for a chance to win your entire order for FREE! You will be provided a full refund including taxes and shipping! Winner will be announced on Monday May 6th.
More Chances to Win:
As mentioned, Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle is running a giveaway every day until May 4th, National Scrapbooking day. Check their blog here for links to the current giveaways!
Get the latest news from Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle at the following links:

Personalized Photo Bookmarks for Mom

Looking for a unique, personalized gift for Mom this Mother’s Day? I’ve got you covered with a simple, DIY project that’s sure to put a smile on Mom’s face! Keep reading to find out how to create a set of personalized photo bookmarks.

My Mom loves to read, so while thinking of something special to do for her this Mother’s Day, I decided I’d make her some bookmarks. To personalize them I added a few photos along with some of my favourite quotes about motherhood. I can’t wait to give my Mom her bookmarks that are filled with memorable photos of her and her kids/grandkids through the years.

The images used in the bookmarks shown are for demonstration purposes.

To help you make your own photo bookmarks for Mom I’ve created a set of 4 layered templates for use in Photoshop/Photoshop elements to make things really simple for you! All you need to do is add your own photos, print and you’re done! To add your photos to the templates you’ll need a basic knowledge of clipping masks. For a full tutorial visit this post.

The templates are customizable so you can get creative with the colors and text or simply use them as is. Once you’ve added your photos and everything is just the way you’d like it, flatten all the layers in your bookmark file and save. Be sure you rename the new bookmark file so you can keep reusing the original templates.

Tips for Printing your Photo Bookmarks

All the bookmarks are sized 2 1/4  x 7 so when it comes to printing you can fit all four bookmarks on an 8.5 x 11 or 8×10 sheet. To print them all you will create a new blank 8.5×11 or 8×10 file. Next you’ll copy and paste your finished bookmarks into the blank file. Arrange the bookmarks so they’re spaced evenly. Be sure to leave enough space from all edges so there won’t be any clipping when printed.

What you’ll end up with is something that looks like this:

Flatten this new file, save it as a JPG and you’re ready to print at home or upload to your favourite lab! I had my bookmarks printed at Costco. Here’s a great video tutorial on printing custom size photos that gives you step by step instruction using Photoshop Elements. Printing smaller photos like this is something I do all the time, especially when printing 3×4 images for Project Life!

I hope this gave you some inspiration while you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift for Mom.  A set of personalized photo bookmarks along with a new book would make a fabulous and meaningful gift for Mom this year!

My photo bookmark template set is now available in the Simple as That Digital Shop. Be sure to check out the other color combo that is available while you’re there!

Please make note that these templates are for personal use only!

If you’re a photographer and would like to create photo bookmarks to sell to clients you must purchase a commercial use license. A commercial use license is available for $25.00. It can be purchased in the shop here! The license includes 8 templates all together – 4 yellow/black and 4 coral/mint bookmarks.

Stay tuned for more handmade gift ideas for Mom coming later this week!

Finding Your Photo Style Giveaway Winner!

Just popping in this lovely Thursday to announce the winner of the Finding your Photo Style giveaway!

Congratulations Nicole Paschall, you’ve won a free spot in the FYPS workshop! Yay!!
Shoot me an email at cooper.rr{at}gmail.com to claim your prize.


The Finding Your Photo Style workshop starts 5/23 and I’m getting super excited about it! I’ve got some great tips + amazing goodies to share with you!! Don’t forget, the introductory price of $60.00     
{reg. $68.00} ends May 9th so if you’re thinking of signing up be sure to snag that deal while you can!

click here to register

Looking for some incredible photo ideas? Look no further than Finding Your Photo Style, a 6-week online workshop packed with creative photo tips, tricks, and insider secrets that will help you find (or refine) your own signature photography style.

In Finding Your Photo Style, you’ll get to know six premier photographers who take stylish, stunning, and unique pictures of their families and their everyday lives—while also working as professional photographers in their own corners of the world.


These photography pros are ready to spill some of their best secrets and challenge you to try their favorite photo ideas for yourself! Through inspirational videos, downloadable challenges, and hands-on exercises that cover photography tips and post-processing tricks alike, you’ll discover the looks that suit you best.

Ways to organize and Display Kids Artwork

Unique and beautiful ways to organize and display your kids’ artwork in your home!

Want to create one of a kind collage prints for your home using your child’s artwork? Click here to purchase the template set and get started!

From the time our kids begin to color we become art collectors. Collectors of one of a kind, priceless works of art – our children’s art!  After 10 years and four kids, you start to accumulate a fair share of googley eyed preschool projects + glittery {sometimes gooey} works of art, let me tell you!

We could fill our home to overflowing with the kids special projects, but I’m going to share a few quick tips on how we’ve gotten a handle on our art collection. PLUS scroll down to see how we are displaying the kids artwork thanks to my helpful collage templates – you’re going to love this!

The every growing piles of the kids artwork can definitely get overwhelming, but my solution to keeping the it from taking over our lives has been to designate a rubbermaid bin in the basement for each child. I wrote their names on their bin with black sharpie and inside we store their artwork, special school papers + other mementos. It’s nothing fancy but at least it’s sorted and all in one place.

Before their artwork goes into their bins, I collect it in two metal baskets that are easily accessible in the closet in my craft room. I like to go through these baskets periodically and transfer anything we want to keep into their bins, but its been months since I’ve gotten around to doing this.

This week the project simplify challenge is all about piles so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a handle on our pile of the kids artwork! Yesterday I sat down and got all of the kids art sorted + dated and it’s now safely in their corresponding bins in the basement. Yay! It feels so good to have that done. But I couldn’t stop there…

Since I had all their artwork sitting out in front of me anyway, I decided it was high time we got some of it on display! After photographing some of the kids favorite art pieces I created this fun collage that we can hang up! The kids think its so fun and I think – why didn’t I do this sooner! I just love it! Keep reading to find out more about my new children’s art collage templates + for some quick tips on photographing your child’s artwork!

Want to create one of a kind collage prints for your home using your child’s artwork? Click here to purchase the template set and get started!

I actually prefer photographing my kids art rather than scanning it. Some of it can be a bit bulky and doesn’t fit in the scanner well and I find it much quicker to take photos than to scan. Photographing or scanning your child’s art can is a great way to cut down on the amount of art you feel like you need to keep. Sometimes I photograph a child holding a piece of their art and then we can chuck it – you definitely can’t keep it all.

Tips for photographing your child’s artwork

1. Photograph in a well lit area. Near a window, on a covered deck or in an open doorway.

2. Use a higher f-stop setting on your camera ensuring more of your image will be in focus. Don’t have the ability to manually change your camera settings? Try shooting in landscape mode.

3. Stand directly over top of the artwork. Be sure you aren’t blocking your light source.

4. Pay attention to how straight you’re holding your camera. Your camera should be parallel to the art piece. Check your view finder, the straight edges of the view finder should be parallel to the edges of the art work. Make slight adjustments to the angle of the camera until they are.

To display some of my kids artwork I created a couple of templates in Photoshop that I can use to quickly and easily create a collage using the photos I’ve taken of their art. You know how much I love collages and templates by now, right? You can find further proof here and here. They’re such a great, simple way to display or document a collection of photos and using a template makes it easy to create a unique, eye catching collage! You can find a full length tutorial on using my digital templates here!

I’ve created four templates for displaying children’s art

8×10 – 20 image collage
11×14 – 20 image collage
8×10 – personalized collage for 16 images
11×14 – personalized collage for 16 images

You can see what the personalized template looks like {image above} without the child’s artwork added. It can be customized however you like – switch up the fonts or change the colors to match your child’s room. I just love this version and can’t wait until we’re settled in our own place so I can do one for each of the kids room’s!

Want to create one of a kind collage prints for your home using your child’s artwork? Click here to purchase the template set and get started!

I hope you enjoy this fun + simple solution for displaying your child’s artwork. Have you found a fun way to show of your child’s artistic talents? Please share with me in the comments!

Inspirational Bookmarks + Coordinating Art Prints

I just added this pretty set of inspirational book marks along with a selection of coordinating 8×10 art prints to the shop today.

 Easy to print at home, these would make the perfect gift for Mom this Mother’s Day! 
The bookmarks come as an 8.5×11 sheet to be printed off + then cut out. Once purchased they will be emailed to you within 48 hrs in JPG and PDF format. You can use them as bookmarks, for handmade cards or in your latest scrapbook project. I really love this color scheme + I’ve included some of my all time favorite quotes!
All art prints are size 8×10 and will be emailed to you in JPG and PDF format for printing at home or your favorite photo lab. I use Costco all the time for my printing needs but I’ve heard really great things about Persnickety Prints and would totally recommend them!

 I look forward to sharing  a few more Mother’s Day projects with you over the next few weeks! In the meantime check out these posts from the archives:

Finding Your Photo Style Giveaway

Finding Your Photo Style, a workshop I’m involved with via Big Picture Classes, starts 5/23 and I’m getting super excited to ‘meet’ some of you in class! The introductory price of $60.00  ends 5/9 so snag that deal while you can! 🙂
I’m joining Tracey Clark, Elizabeth Dillow, Maggie Homes, Andrea Jenkins and Kate Parker in teaching this fun filled, informative class and I can’t wait! Scroll down for details on how you can
win a FREE spot in class!
More about the class and the instructors:

 Looking for some incredible photo ideas? Look no further than Finding Your Photo Style, a 6-week online workshop packed with creative photo tips, tricks, and insider secrets that will help you find (or refine) your own signature photography style.


In Finding Your Photo Style, you’ll get to know six premier photographers {see the video below!} who take stylish, stunning, and unique pictures of their families and their everyday lives—while also working as professional photographers in their own corners of the world.

These photography pros are ready to spill some of their best secrets and challenge you to try their favorite photo ideas for yourself! Through inspirational videos, downloadable challenges, and hands-on exercises that cover photography tips and post-processing tricks alike, you’ll discover the looks that suit you best.

Sign up here or click for more info about the class.


Today Big Picture Classes is giving one lucky Simple as That reader the chance to win a FREE spot in the FYPS workshop! 
Simply follow the prompts in the rafflecopter widget below to enter. If you’ve already registered or would like to ensure you get in on the $60.00 introductory price before the offer ends 5/9, not to worry! Sign up now and if you win we’ll refund the cost of the class!

Good luck everyone! 
Giveaway closes 4/25 at 12am MST.
Giveaway is open to international entries.

Project Simplify Week Two: the Closet

I’m still playing along with Project Simplify and it’s been SO awesome! I tackled the crazy closet in my craft room/office which was seriously disorganized and I’m so excited with the results! 

This closet is home to the kids craft supplies, the big kids hanging clothes {since they don’t have closets in their bedrooms}, books and more of my craft supplies. I had bins and containers to organize stuff but they weren’t really being used to keep things sorted. Things were just stuffed in there wherever I could find room and it was nearly impossible to find anything in the chaos.
Before it could get any better it had to get worse. Much, much worse! I emptied each and every container and drawer, then began sorting + purging. See that big orange garbage bag? By the end it was full and it felt SO good to throw it away!

This is the result of nearly a week of cleaning, organizing, labelling + throwing away!! Ahhhh…I breath a happy sigh every time I look at it! The plastic drawers on the right side house all the kids craft supplies. Each drawer is labelled {paper, paints, stickers, etc.} and here’s a closer look inside:

Below is the drawer where we keep all the crayons/markers/pencil crayons. I found the  plastic 4X6 photo containers at a local dollar store and I love them so much. They’re the perfect size for crayons, card games, pip squeaks markers and other craft supplies! I store so much in these handy little containers and they’re great for grabbing on the go when I need coloring supplies for church or doctors appointments. They’re also available on amazon here:  Clear 4X6 photo cases – 10 pack.

I also finished up with the expedit shelf I was working on last week. I hadn’t organized the locker baskets yet so I went ahead + emptied them all, got rid of anything I didn’t need + then labelled them. 
Here’s a closer look at some of the baskets that contain crafting tools, mini albums, packaging materials, rubons, letter stickers, etc.
I created the quick + simple labels in PS using a plain black background and Ostrich font – one of my new favorite fonts. I printed them on carstock, cut to size, then added them to the baskets.

Getting my craft room/office organized has been on my to-do list for ages and Project Simplify was just the push I needed to get it done! I can’t tell you how good it feels!

Join the fun next week as we tackle piles. I’ve got a pile of school papers + kids artwork that’s been collecting for months that I hope to get a handle on. 🙂 

Check out more Project Simplify inspiration here:
Project Simplify on Simple Mom

Frameables | Photo Collage Templates for Framing

I’m excited to share my latest product with you, designed to help you get your images off your phone or camera + onto your walls!

It’s no secret I love to take photos, but getting them printed, in frames and on display is something I’ve always struggled with. In 2013 I’m determined to DO more with my photos! Whether its scrapbooking them with Project Life or  printing them and displaying them in some form or another around our home – my photos will not just sit around on my phone/camera or computer any longer!
 That’s why I created this set of 5 photo collage templates perfect for framing! I thought they’d be a fun way to display a whole lot of photos all at once! What started out as an idea for getting my instagram photos on display turned into much more and I’m so excited for the possibilties with these frameables!
 You could use them for:
Instagram photos
Baby Photos
Wedding Photos
Kids artwork

 All elements of the five collages are fully customizable. You can change the colors, text, fonts however you’d like! I’ve shared just a few examples of what can be done with these templates. The templates were created for framing but would be great for use with project life as well! It’s important to note that you will need Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to use these templates.
You can purchase all the templates as a set or purchase them individually in my shop. 
More details on that below.
I currently have the above collage printed as an 8×10 and displayed in my office. I plan to change the photos out periodically and reprint. It’s such a fun thing to see these little snippets of our life displayed like this + really inexpensive as well!
Here’s a closer look at the frame that I picked up at Walmart:
I have yet to find the perfect spot for it, so for now its hanging out on the top of my craft shelf.
Templates can be purchased as a set or individually sized 8×10 or 11×14 along with one 12×12 template. Please note, these are layered Adobe PSD files so they’re for use with PS/PSE only. You will be emailed your digital file within 48 hours upon purchase.
If you have any comments or questions just let me know! I can’t wait to see what you do with these!! If you’ve used any of my products from the digital shop in a project or have one of my art prints on display in your home I would LOVE to see what you’ve done! Shoot me an email at cooper{dot}[email protected] with a peek!
As always I appreciate your help in spreading the word about my digital shop. If you have a second to share this post on FB/Twitter or pin it on Pinterest I’d love ya forever!
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

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