Creating Collages for Custom Garden Flags and Photo Gifts

I have always loved collages.  They are perfect for indecisive people like me.  When I have a group of photos and can't decide which ones I like best for a print or photo gift , I just mix them all together a make a collage.  Voila, the problem is solved. 

We would like to offer the same option to our customers who would also like to utilize the versatility of collages to print on our gift products or custom garden flags. I have made some really fun photo plaques for friends and koozies for parties all with collages.  We even have some ideas for some custom garden flags.  The problem sometimes can be actually putting together the collage.  It can be time consuming and not everyone has sophisticated photo editing software.  I knew there was some free software offered online, so I decided to do some research and find out if there w
ere any of them that I would recommend.

Once I began my search I was amazed at just how many free photo editing softwares there were online.  I started with the ones where you download the entire program to your hard drive. A program named Picasa is the only one of those that I would recommend.   Not that the other programs were bad, I actually never got that far, but every one of them had bunches of annoying add ons with them that downloaded with the program,like toolbars and search aids and there was no way to get the software without them.  With one program I even got a nasty bug that took several days to get rid of.

I had used Picasa in the past, but there were a couple small things I did not like about it so I ventured ahead to check out what else was available.  There are photo editing softwares where you upload your photos and do the editing and collage making all online.  This saves space on your hard drive and anytime you don't have to download you are reducing your risk of viruses.  Again there are tons of these, I tried maybe six or seven of them.  Most of them you can download your end product to your computer, some you can only share online.  Some of them would only upload one photo at a time and did so very slowly others would upload whole files of photos very quickly. There are a good variety of templates that vary from program to program depending on what you are wanting to do.  I would recommend you do your own experimenting to see what works best for you.  The one that I liked best was one called Kizoa .It would upload groups of photos that were large files very quickly, it had a great variey of templates and different effects you could use, you could even do animation.  You could crop your collage at the end to fit standard photo sizes and you could download your final product to your computer to print and store. The only drawback for me was that you could not choose a custom size for your collage which is needed for doing the different shaped items we were wanting to do.

My final choice was to stay with Picasa for most my collage making although I might still go back to Kizoa on ocassion. I must say there were a few quirky things about Picasa that drove me nuts, but once my daughter showed me a few basic tricks and I looked at a few tutorials online and basically knew a little better what I was doing, its really a very fun and functional program.  Also I found there is a Picasa forum with some very helpful members if you have some questions you can't find answers for yourself.  So give it a try and have fun.


Thank you for reading

Marilee and Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts


  http://flagsandgifts.com/upload/index.php?route=product/category&path=7

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is next weekend and like all holidays has a reason and an origin that goes beyond just the commercial part of gift giving, so I decided to do some research.  A woman named Anna Jarvis is considered the founder.  Her mother who had  eleven children had often mentioned the desire for a day set aside to honor motherhood.  After her mother died Anna decided to make her wish come true.  She campaigned tirelessly many years until it was officially declared a US holiday in 1914.   Anna's hopes was for children to show there love and respect for their mothers in simple and sincere ways with handwritten notes and handmade gifts.  Ironically, as the holiday became more and more commercialized, Ms Jarvis became very disillusioned with the holiday and spent the latter part of her life trying to get it removed from the calendar.

As gift giving on Mother's Day continues to be a tradition , which as a mom, I see nothing wrong with.  We do need to keep in mind what the holiday is all about and take the time to truly appreciate what Mom's do.  At this point in my life, Mother's Day becomes three layered.  As a mother myself, remembering my own mother and watching my daughter be a wonderful mom to my grandson.  So many grateflul memories and hopes for the future.

Simple gifts that show some effort and thought behind them are often the best, especially ones that are personalized.  Photo gifts are a perfect way to express sentiments and save memories. 

Here are some gift ideas at Custom Flags and Gifts.

Photo plaques

Happy Mother's Day and thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee
www.FlagsandGifts.com

Valentines Day Sale

Happy Valentines Day to all.  To Celebrate Love we'd like to offer a gift.  Today only all our Personalized Gifts and Photo Gifts are 50% off.  Just apply the code "LOVE" when you view your cart BEFORE checkout.

What a great time to get a Mother's Day gift or Birthday Gift or even something special for yourself.

Visit us at our website www.CustomFLagsandGifts.com

Thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Picture Pixel Pointers for Photo Gifts

When printing photo gifts, quality relies heavily on the quality of the photo.  Poor quality photos lead to poor quality gifts and unhappy customers.  One important factor is the size of the photo.  I would always read about Pixels, Resolution and DPI and even though I used to be an avid photographer in my younger years, I never really took the time to find out what those terms meant.  So I have done some research and this is what I found.

Digital images are not measured in inches, but in Pixels , which is actually short for Picture Elements.  Pixels are tiny dots, usually square,that are put together like tiny pieces of a puzzle to  make up a photo. The resolution of a photo is its measurements (width x height) in Pixels. DPI means Dots Per Inch, but from what I gather, it doesn't really mean much except in certain special printing circumstances and for the most part can be ignored.  Its the Pixels that really count.

When printing a photo as the image is enlarged the pixels, or dots, get spread thinner throughout the photo, so when they don’t fit tightly together, you start to see their edges and spaces between and the photo looks grainy or blurry.  Ideally you want the resolution of the photo to be 2.5 times the size of the photo times 100, so if you want a good quality 4 x 6 inch print, the photo should measure a minimum of 1000 x 1500 pixels.  Keep in mind, if a photo is cropped and stretched back to its original size, you have lost some pixels and therefore reduced its resolution.

The resolution of a photo cannot be increased after it is taken.  Check your camera settings and set the image size accordingly.  Larger images take up more space and allow you to store fewer pictures on your camera, but if you plan on doing any printing, it will save disappointment later.  Keep in mind there are other factors besides resolution that affect print quality.  Lighting, camera quality, steadiness, proper camera settings, etc are elements that will contribute, good or bad to the quality of a print.

Below I’ve made a chart of some of our photo products and the recommended dimensions your photo should be in pixels.  To determine the number of pixels your photo has, on your computer, right click the image file and a window will pop up, click “Properties”, another window will pop up.  At the top click details and scroll down to the dimensions in pixels.  

Please remember , if you think a photo may have to be cropped to give it its best presentation, the resolution may need to be a little higher than recommended.

PRODUCT	Recommended Resolution in Pixels
5x7 plaque	1250 X 1750
8 x 10 plaque	2000 X 2500
Mousepad	2000 X 2250
Keychain –square or round	500 X 500
Custom Flags- will vary by flag	2500 X  2500 Minimum
Puzzle Coaster	1900 x 1900

Personalized Gifts for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  I must admit, this is a holiday I've taken in varied importance throughout my life.  I can't deny however, that anyone, skeptic or not, would be very touched by a heartfelt personalized gift.  Knowing that that special someone, planned ahead and actually put thought in the gift instead of running to the dollar tree at the last minute, is priceless indeed.  Here are few of the photo gifts, personalized gifts and garden flags at Custom Flags and Gifts that you may consider.

The decorative art tile is my favorite.  These turn out beautifully and display nicely on a shelf or buffet with the included easel.  The photo mousepad is also one dear to my heart.  This would also be an excellent choice for Mother's Day.  As with any occasion, if you are buying for someone who loves decorative flags, choosing any flag from our collection that you think they would like would be a welcomed gift.

Please visit us at  www.CustomFlagsandGifts.com

Thanks for reading.
Marilee & Josie

Gifts for Dog Lovers

As Christmas approaches we all are trying to think of the perfect gift for friends and family.  Personalized gifts and photo gifts are so nice.They show you made that extra effort and didn't just grab a generic sweater from the local department store.  If you have any dog lovers on your list, choosing a gift is a no brainer.  Cause we all know dog lovers LOVE their dogs.

There are so many great personalized dog gifts to choose from; personalized dog garden flags in every breed imaginable, Christmas ornaments  and personalized Chrismas stockings.   At www.CustomFlagsandGifts we even have custom dog garden flags so you can have an actual photo of their dog on a very unique decorative flag.

Come visit us a www.CustomFLagsandGifts.com to see what gifts are available for your dog lover.  We also just got a new shipment of Christmas flags and winter flags.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving from Custom Flags and Gifts

Photo Gifts

Child's artwork, decorative tile

Everyone loves photo gifts.  Each one is totally unique and are great for people who are hard to shop for.  There is such a huge variety of things you can have your photos put on.  Everything from  mugs and key chains to planters and clocks.  One item I recently had a lot of fun with was ceramic tiles.  I scanned artwork my grandson did at preschool and even dug up some old artwork my now grown daughters did years ago.  Once the artwork was scanned into my computer I set it up and printed it on specially treated ceramic tiles.  They turned out great.

There are several things you can do with these tiles.  Display them either on a wall with some of the new velcro - type picture hangers or on a shelf or buffet with an easel.  There are also products that have insert areas that you can have the tiles put into to such as Wooden Planters and Keepsake Boxes. We carry these items at Custom Flags and Gifts.  

Photos of loved ones can also be printed on the tiles.  The possibilities are endless.  Come visit us at
www.customflagsandgifts.com and see these and other photo gifts and garden flags that we have to offer.