Digital DIY: Tips for Transforming Photographs Into Personalized Presents

It’s that time of year again. Are you still stuck for Christmas gift ideas?

Of course you are. And, you’re short on cash. But, don’t worry. This year, you’re going to do something different and amazing. Here’s how to make your own presents using photographs, a printer, and some inspiration.

Try Sticky9

Sticky9 lets you make phone cases, magnets, and iPad covers out of your photos. The website is easy to use and the design of your custom cover is even simpler. The company is based in the UK, but will ship internationally. The last order dates for Christmas are listed on the company’s website.

Coastermatic

Who doesn’t want Instagram coasters? This is the promise of Coastermatic. You can create your own set of four stone coaster using nothing but your Instagram photos (or someone else’s).

Unlike normal prints, these coasters are more expensive to ship, owing to their weight. The company is in the U.S., so shipping will cost you a pretty penny if you’re in the UK.

USB Stick

Don’t underestimate the lowly USB stick. If you load it up with enough photos, it will become a virtual photo album. Yes, these can be given to people as gifts. It’s probably a good idea to have a purpose or theme for them though. Just loading up a bunch of random photos isn’t going to impress anyone.

But, a themed USB photo album might, and if it’s a close friend or family member, you could get quite personal with the photos.

Simple Xmas Cards

Print out some Christmas cards. You don’t need to get fancy with this option either. Pick your best photos, and print them on cardstock. You can get decent quality cardstock from almost any office supply store. If you’re trying to save money this year, and who isn’t, get stock that lets you print two cards to a standard sized sheet of paper.

Brother ink cartridges can be sourced online, if you need to stock up on ink.

Other than that, you just need good Christmas-themed photos.

Real Photos

Yes, send real, framed, photographs. This takes a lot more work than some of the other methods in this list. And yet, it’s the simplest idea of them all. A good frame, sanded and finished, with a high-resolution photograph, is a classic gift. And, if the photo is especially good, it will live on someone’s mantle forever.

Postrgram

Everyone loves a cool idea, and Postrgram has one of the coolest ideas on the net. They take your Instagram account and piece together photos into a mosaic. They offer five different poster sizes. You need at least 50 photos on the Instagram site to fill up your mosaic photo, but you can also source images from other people’s accounts.

Printstagram

This is the king of all Instagram printing. If you’ve ever wanted to print photos from your Instagram account onto, well, anything, this is the site for you. Print photos onto notebooks, photo books, framed collage prints, teeny-tiny books, greeting cards, or even calendars. It’s a U.S.-based company, but things can be shipped almost anywhere in the world, for a price.

The deadline for Christmas orders is December 13th, so if you have any plans to use them, fire up your credit card now.

John Sollars is a business owner of many years. When he gets the time, he likes to sit down and share what has worked for him. Look for his informative posts on a number of websites and blogs today.