Ambrosia Creative

Posted a quick tutorial over at Good Look Cookbook today.
Also, here’s a download of my handwritten type used in the design:

(PDF vector file. Can be opened in Illustrator.)

Hi there! It’s felt like forever since I’ve last blogged, and has felt like an eternity since I’ve done anything crafty and nifty. Since my morning sickness has gone into full speed (yes, we’re expecting our third this fall!) I haven’t felt like myself. But nothing like inspiration to wake one out of a reverie — or nightmare, in my constantly sick state.

I came across these DIY Pantone chip magnets on How About Orange and wanted to do something similar. The idea of tiny Polaroids dotting my fridge sounded cute to me.

You will need:
Stiff white cardstock or cardboard
Opaque white marker (necessary only if your cardboard is not white)
Craft knife
Metal straight edge/ruler
Clear packing tape (optional)
Spray mount
Adhesive-backed magnet tape
Photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop (or Pixlr, an online photo editing program — thanks Angie!)
Photo paper
Printer

Step 1:
Download a Photoshop file of the Polaroid frames below. Within Photoshop, drop in your photographs in the designated folder, behind the Polaroid frame layer. Scale down your photos to fit within the tiny frames.

Step 2:
Print out photos onto photo paper.

Step 3:
Spray the back of your sheet of photos and also the cardboard/cardstock with spray mount. Let each dry a minute before mounting the photos to the cardstock. If you want to protect your images, lay down pieces of clear packing tape on top of Polaroids, thus laminating it. This part can be tricky. Go slowly and maybe laminate only one or two Polaroids at a time.

Step 4:
Trim out photos with craft knife. I strongly recommend starting with a fresh blade! Use the metal ruler/straight-edge as a guide for your knife. If your cardboard is kraft like mine above, use the white opaque marker (I like the ones in Martha Stewart’s craft line) and color in the edges. Next time I do this, I will use white heavy cardstock instead, to avoid having to color the edges.

Step 5:
Cut out magnets pieces from off the roll, each piece the same length as the Polaroids. Attach magnets to back of each individual Polaroid.

Step 6:
Let magnets flatten for a few hours or overnight beneath a pile of books or other heavy object. Then your magnets are ready for your fridge!

Polaroid frame to use for your analog-photo desires:

Update!:
I’ve had a number of questions regarding how to lay out multiple Polaroids onto one document in Photoshop. Click on the image below for a PSD file (you must have Photoshop on your computer to open and edit this file!) that has 10 1″ tall (roughly) Polaroid frames laid out. The dimensions of the finished piece is 4″x6″ which will enable you to get it printed at a photo lab.

The Polaroid frames are on one layer with a second layer below that for your own photographs. Drop in your photos, and scale down.*

*I’ve received quite a few requests asking for Photoshop help. As I am saddled with other projects — my biggest right now being my newborn baby — I kindly urge you to Google some tutorials to pick up rudimentary Photoshop skills such as opening files and resizing images while maintaining quality. Go get ‘em.