I don't pretend to know it all, but I sure love being a lifelong student + a perpetual teacher of this thing called life. Yes, I'm a firm believer in forever learning + infinitely giving + this is what this new column "Ask Mayi" is all about. Designer to answer all your burning questions, right here on heartmade's site, this is my quest to give back, one question at a time, to a community that has given me so so much!
Hi Mayi! I love your new column "Ask Mayi". You are so generous to share your knowledge :)
I have a question I have been wondering for a while now, since I am new to this whole blogging thing. How do you make your collection frames with the numbers on the pictures? Is it as simple as just using photoshop?
Thanks!
Nancy
Nancy Nelson Jewelry
Great question Nancy. Let me tackle it right on!
There are plenty of ways to make a pretty photo collage. I actually switch between a few programs when editing photos + working on posts + creating collages, but by far my favorite is Picnik + have I mentioned it's free? Freakin-mazing, I know! So, today I’m going to walk you step-by-step through the creation of a typical photo collage with numbers using Picnik.
To start, go to Picnik + then hit the "Collage" link located at the top navigation bar.
Inside the "Collage" station, the first thing you gotta do is upload your images. The light green buttons at the bottom of the page are specially designed to help you add your pictures from your desktop to your Picnik dashboard.
After browsing your images in your computer + adding them to your image basket, you're ready to pick your collage design . Located at the top left hand sidebar, you will see a ton of different collage design alternatives. For this tutorial, I've picked a simple two by two image collage, but you can pick any of the designs you see available. After selecting your collage format, drag your images from your picture basket to the center, filling each empty quadrant. To customize your collage even further, you can play with the spacing + proportions + color + rows + columns using this time the left hand side column levelers. Take your time + have fun here. When you're satisfied with your creation, hit the light green "Done" button located at the right hand top side of the page.
This is your design dashboard, where you'll be able to customize your design even further with some cool add ins + shapes + text. + more. For this collage, I've added some rectangles + painted them yellow + sized them to my liking. Then added some numbers + customized them with a cool font. But you'll soon find out the numerous variations you've got to play around with. You can pick any shape + color + typography you want. The possibilities are almost endless!
When you're done, you're ready to save your creation to your desktop to finally be able to share it with the world. Make sure to save your collage with a descriptive easy-to-find name + to select the right dimensions + resolution you need to fit your specifications.
And you're done! Peace of cupcake right?
Thanks again for your awesome question Nancy. I really hope this was helpful!
Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Got any more photo tips or advice to share with the heartmade's family about photo editing + collage making? If so, please leave a comment + let's continue this great conversation below, shall we?
xo,
Mayi Carles
PS: Want your burning question answered on "Ask Mayi"? Hit me with it baby at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I can't tell you how excited it makes me feel to know you're here + that we're connecting. That's what it's all about.
