Easy DIY Instagram Magnets


I have taken thousands of photos on my phone. Tens of thousands. And I've shared many of them with the world through my Instagram feed. But once I put them out there, they get shuffled to my Instagram archive and out of my mind.

I wanted some way to display a bunch of them in my house because so many inspire happy memories of fun times. Or adorable pictures of my dog that should be visible as a reminder not to murder him when he's being a jerk. Magnets came to mind because the side of our refrigerator is a big blank magnetic canvas that sits in the middle of our primary living space. 

I went to Michaels to see about the magnet situation and was absolutely delighted to find entire sheets of magnetic paper that can simply be run through a printer. Hence began the absolute easiest DIY Instagram magnet project. The biggest amount of time went to figuring out which pictures I wanted to use. 



Easy DIY Instagram Magnets 
Important Note: You can make these even if you think you are not "creative" or "a crafter." Go make some.

1. Choose your photos. If they're not already on your computer, you might need to use an Instagram photo downloader. Most of mine were already on my laptop because it syncs automatically with my camera roll when I plug in my phone. But for some reason, a few were missing, and I used Instagrabbr to get those photos.  

2. Once you've chosen your photos, pull them all up in a photo editor. I used Photoshop, but you can use PicMonkey or Picasa or another similar free editor. Begin to make a contact sheet by dragging and dropping the photos onto a blank 8 1/2 x 11 page. 


3. Resize all of the photos. I sized mine 2 inches x 2 inches. To do this in Photoshop, hit control +  t to select the image and then set your width and height up in the top left corner. Then fill up your page with your images. 


4. Once you have your contact sheet(s) made, load the magnetic paper into your printer and print each sheet out according to your printer settings. You'll likely need to load the paper into a side or back feed rather than the normal paper tray.


5. Voila - sheets of magnetic photos!


6. Cut out each square magnet using a paper cutter, scissors, or an exacto knife. My little Fiskars paper cutter worked perfectly to cut out each square. 


7. Once all of your squares are cut out, hang them somewhere you'll see them everyday!

I adore having these photos out in the open and seeing them as I walk through the house. And I'll definitely be making more because now I have a vision of the entire side of the refrigerator covered in these little happy tiles. 

The whole project only took about 2 hours, and that was mostly because I labored over which pictures to use. Even so, time well spent!




p.s. Back when I was using an Android phone


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The Week in Feet



Last week I started a little photography challenge for myself - something that I thought would inspire some creative joy and keep my on my toes.  (Yes I did - pun completely intended.)

So I'm taking a picture every day of my feet - just a quick snap on my iphone that, hopefully, captures something about where my feet have brought me that day.  I'm absolutely in love with the project so far and enjoying the challenge of finding some new and different way to capture that same part of me each day in a way that expresses something about my life.

I'm putting all my photos on instagram (@ktmade) with the hashtag #weekinfeet.  Feel free to play along.  I'd love to see where your feet area taking you!


Instagramming NYC...Again

New York City is one of the absolute best places to do iphonography.  There is just so much to see, and  I don't go many places with such iconic architecture.  So this weekend with my mom and sister, I was constantly stopping on the sidewalk and telling them to go ahead, that I'd catch up.





Of course I didn't get any good shots of the super exciting event of the weekend - the Barbra Streisand Back to Brooklyn concert!  It was so so much fun, and I was thrilled to be in the same space with her.  Her music is, in many ways, the background soundtrack for my life.  Not in the sense that her songs spoke to the actual things that was happening to me or that I was feeling - I had the Indigo Girls and Fiona Apple for that.  (Oy.) 

No, it was her songs that I went back to again and again to feed my joy.  I was belting her songs out in the car and in the bathroom mirror with my sister.  I had a special CD case with just Barbra CDs.  I soaked up her movies.  My sister and I have probably watched Funny Girl more than a dozen times.  And that movie is absolutely the reason that I went into theater.  I wanted to be a star just like Fanny Brice. 

Turns out I didn't Ms. Streisand's vocal chords or her personal drive, but that simply increased my admiration.  She's my all-time favorite singer, and I will forever relish the experience of watching her in real life. She is a true star.


Katie

Instagramming NYC

I spent a whirlwind two days in New York City this weekend, beginning with a 5:40 am flight out of Burlington on Saturday morning and ending with a 9:45 pm flight back on Sunday night.  But it was totally worth it to spend time with my sister, newly returned from Rwanda.  We did some shopping and went on a few Craigslist runs to help outfit her apartment.  I had my iphone at the ready at all times and instagrammed away. 

I found that I enjoyed the city a lot more now that I live in Burlington.  When I lived in DC, I used to find New York overwhelming and a little annoying in its too-much-ness.  But this time it felt more like a fun vacation filled with lots of sensations and adventure.

I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was so excited to spend the time with my little sis either.


What did you do this weekend?


Katie

Instagramming the Queen City Craft Bazaar

Bingo bound paper books from May Day Studio

This weekend I got to do one of my favorite things in any town - attend a craft show. The Queen City Craft Bazaar was Saturday on the waterfront in Burlington. It wasn't quite as big as I would have liked (though absolutely the perfect size for Navah!), but there were some great vendors there, and we didn't leave without getting a least a little something that we liked. 

I didn't have my camera with me, so I instagrammed a bit on my way around.

This is the one piece we did buy - a letterpress card from May Day Studio

I've told Navah in the past that one of the things I love about craft shows, especially indie craft shows, is how dream-affirming there are. Whatever it is that inspires you, that makes you want to create, you can make it and find someone who thinks it's lovely. 

Dinosaur planter from Found Beauty Studio (Navah and I both adored these)

If it's making fun creatures from circuit boards. 

Circuit board creatures (with ruler legs and cork feet!)
If it's creating jewelry from old skateboards. 


Or earrings out of feathers from the chickens on your farm. 


I came awfully close to buying one of these little collage pendants but ultimately decided against it since I've been a little spend-y lately.

Collage pendants from Sweet Avenue
I hope the show grows, and I can't wait to go again next year (hopefully with some more cash in my pocket!).

Katie 

Instagram: Something's Better Than Nothing

As my friend Sai pointed out, at least my camera didn't break before Instagram introduced its app for Android. Now at least I have some outlet for my inner photographer while my camera's in the shop and I'm simultaneously unable to find my old point and shoot. 


From these shots, it seems I'm spending a good bit of time in and around cars. Let's hope I was a passenger when I took these!


Katie

Instagram for Android - Finally

I've been waiting to jump on the instagram bandwagon for what has felt like years. Seeing all my favorite bloggers posting fabulously filtered photos, I've been like that kid who didn't get an invite to the party of the year and watches jealously as everyone else recounts all the funniest moments. It's been that sad.


Now that I have it, I'm loving snapping pics and trying out all the different filters to see what I like best. Mostly I've been using Amaro, Rise, and Nashville.


Here's a little taste of what's been on the other side of my lens.



The bad news is that somehow in the mix of this, all of the photos that were stored on my phone disappeared, minus the ones I've taken since I downloaded Instagram. It didn't happen instantly but about 3 days after I downloaded the app, they were just gone. Of course, the people at the Verizon store said they couldn't help me, that I have to talk with the Instagram folks. Not sure who exactly they are, but I'm looking into it. Has anyone else had this problem?

But even so, I'm quite excited to be snapping and filtering and snapping and filtering. If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, my handle is @ktmadeblog. 

Katie