Looking for a low-cost big impact project?! I’ve got a great and easy-to-follow one for you!
Since moving into this house, I’ve been playing with the idea of sharing home decor items that are Low-cost Big impact. Since it’s a small space I need to make this house a home and adding personal touches like family photos is the easiest way to do that. I have some great family photos but they’re a bit formal for our relaxed living room, so I wanted to try out a little project I’ve been eyeing.
Now if you’re a mom and are a Pinterest addict like me, then you’ve likely seen it, pinned, and toyed with the idea of doing it. Since I love you all so much I decided to try the large black and white portrait prints! I’ve put together a quick and easy guide as to how to do it yourself for under $40.
While I love art, I love my kiddos more (obviously) and what a cool way to incorporate them into your home decor than a huge print showing their personalities?! So if you want to try it out follow the easy step below and let me know how it turns out!
Materials
iPhone
Kids (silly personalities are a bonus)
Steps
1. A light plain background is best for portraits. These prints aren’t the best quality printing method so keep it simple. So eliminating the amount of ink that appears on the paper will really go a long way in creating a crisper image! Not to mention, the subject really stands.
Here are the originals (straight out of my camera), next to the one I sent to the printer:
2. Negative space and the emotions the kids are portraying are so important for these large prints. I was able to capture the kid’s personalities to a tee and so happy I was able to blow them up for all our visitors to see. It’s like they get to know our kids as soon as they walk into our home.
3. Make it black and white before you send it to shutterfly.com. After I brightened and cropped each photo, I made them black and white so I have a better idea of what I am going to be picking up. I use the Snapseed app to really brighten the image up and then click the black and white setting. Things look so different in black and white–really!
4. After sending each print to shutterfly.com I went to my local Michaels. They were having a large frame sale so I knew I could save on shipping and price by shopping there. I bought a size 27 X 40 to give the negative space even more dramatics. And for $8 each, you can’t go wrong. Remember we’re shooting for low-cost big impact as I’m a serial decorator and this design will likely change in a year.
5. The prints came in and I am so happy with how they turned out! For both prints and free shipping, the total cost was $28! So in the frames and up on the wall, they went. I would say that I am happy with the outcome! So easy and again, little cost big impact! If you make it let me know what you think and tag me on IG!
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