Photograph Gifts, Crafts, and Photo Sharing News

This is a news report about all things related to sharing your Photographs!

Stay tuned for great info on photograph gifts, crafts, cds, e-mail, scanning, and more. I will be bringing you...

• Product Reviews on software, digital cameras, scanners, and photo-quality printers.
  
• Photograph Gift Ideas for all occasions.
  
• Instructions for making your own Crafts using Pictures.
  
• Tips for protecting your valuable Photographs.
  
• The latest news on how to use your computer to share your Photos.

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December 12, 2004 14:33 - Are you buying a Digital Camera for Christmas this year?

A digital camera makes a terrific Christmas gift. Make that gift even sweeter by buying a card reader at the same time. Taking pictures with a new digital camera is the easy and fun part. Many people find digital cameras very intimidating, and the scariest part is often how they're going to get those pictures onto their computer when the camera's memory card is full.

Each camera has it's own way of transferring pictures from the camera's memory to a PC. It usually involves some software and a special cable that connects the camera to the computer. While this is not a difficult process to follow, it generally requires the owner to remember how and where to connect each time. A memory card reader is a simple, inexpensive (usually around $20) device that allows you to transfer pictures from the memory card to the computer by simply taking the card out of the camera and sliding it into the reader's card slot. The card reader stays connected to the PC at all times, so there's nothing to remember or forget. Make sure you check your camera's card type before you shop for card readers.

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December 14, 2004 17:16 - What will you do with all those Photo Christmas Cards once Christmas is over?

Do you have stacks of Christmas Cards sitting around and can't bring yourself to throw them away? Are some of them from past years? Worst yet, did you throw them all out last year and, now, wish you could see them again? A friend recently gave me the best idea for keeping your favorite Christmas Cards each year. She makes a scrapbook - On second thought, let's not call it a scrapbook because this doesn't need to be a fancy, time-consuming thing. We'll call it a Christmas card album instead. She simply tapes or glues her favorite Christmas Cards, especially the photo ones, on some pages she's labeled with the year. Then, each year, she and her family can look back at how their friends and relatives have grown and changed over the years. I'm sure she adds her own family's card as well.

Another touch she adds to her album takes a little extra time, but sounds like a great way to record memories. She writes up a summary of the year (who got married, who died, what babies were born, who the kids' teachers were, and anything else she might want to remember.) Isn't that a great way to remember the year? Read more...

December 16, 2004 09:41 - Need a Unique Christmas Gift Idea? Got any photographs?

Having a tough time coming up with creative Christmas gifts this year? Do you have great photographs to share but don't want to give the traditional framed photo? For the next few days, I'll share my five favorite photograph gift ideas. They're thoughtful, personalized, and even functional:

1. Photo transfer coasters: You can transfer photos onto many mediums, from fabric to wood. T-shirts and tote bags are popular, but why not try something really different? Buy some photo transfer sheets at any craft store and a set of stone coasters. Some transfer sheets allow you to print your digital photos directly onto the sheets, while others allow you to photocopy a printed photo.

2. Photo Mouse pad: This is an excellent, useful gift idea for all of the techies in your life. Many photo development stores (online and off) offer mouse pads printed with your favorite photograph. Another option is to buy mouse pads with an opening to add your own photo. These are nice because you can change out the picture over time and they generally look as good as or even better than the printed ones.

3. Photo Calendars: Photo development stores offer a variety of calendar designs where you specify your 12, or sometimes more, photos and they print and bind the calendars for you. However, these are some of the easiest gifts to make yourself if you have a computer and a photo quality printer. Most greeting card software offers calendar templates or you can purchase specific calendar-creating software. These make great gifts that your family will ask for year-after-year.

Tomorrow, I'll share some another unique gift idea using your photographs.
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December 17, 2004 08:50 - Want another Unique Christmas Gift Idea using photographs?

As I promised yesterday, here's another of my top five photograph gift ideas:

4. Photo Magnets: This is one of the easiest photo craft gifts to make and you can be fairly certain your recipients will have a place to put these. I'll start with the simplest first: The easiest way to make photo magnets is to purchase small magnet frames from a craft store and add your own photos. A slightly more unique approach is to purchase magnet photo paper, print your photos directly onto the magnet paper, and cut them out.

We like to recycle all of those magnet advertisements we get all year by gluing photographs directly to the front and cutting around the magnet's shape. This gives you a nice assortment of shapes and sizes and generally looks a little nicer than the printable magnet sheets.

My favorite photo magnet gift is to glue very small printed photos to the back of flattened clear glass beads. The glass beads found in craft stores for flower arranging work best and, if you're lucky, you can even find some that are about an inch across instead of the more common half inch size. Glue the picture to the back of the bead, with clear-drying glue, on the printed side of your photo. Once it dries, glue a small magnet to the back. Small, very strong magnets can also be found at most craft stores. These gifts look especially nice wrapped inside a small tin.

Look for my number five photograph gift idea over the next few days!
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December 21, 2004 09:37 - Ready to hear the fifth best Christmas gift idea using photographs?

I've already shared the top four of my five favorite photograph gift ideas for this holiday season. Here's number five:

5. Photo Soap: "Consumable" gifts are in this year! Everyone's house is cluttered and gifts that don't need a permanent home are well appreciated. Imbed some photos into homemade soaps, and encourage your friends and family to actually use the soap, promising more next year. It's easier than you might think. First, you'll want to buy some melt and pour soap and some soap molds (plain rectangles or ovals work best.) Cut and laminate some photos so that they are slightly smaller than your soap molds. Melt a small amount of clear soap and pour into the bottom (which will end up being the top) of a mold. Once it dries, place your laminated photo on top (face down) and pour some more clear soap to cover. If you want, you can add a third, colorful soap layer behind that one, adding a framed look to your photograph. One last tip: Spray rubbing alcohol in between layers to help them stick together and to remove air bubbles.

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