I have come up with the solution to a problem, and I think it’s a good idea to share such solutions when we think of them, however small the problem. SHARE THE GENIUS, is my motto. Not that I am necessarily calling my idea genius, except that it is.
The problem: The kindergarten teacher would like us to send in a photo of our family, for Henry to look at during the day if he feels homesick; but I don’t HAVE a recent or decent photo of our whole family. We are so multitudinous.
Someone other than me would be able to put a bunch of photos together and then have them printed as one photo, but I am not good with my picture-messing-with software. I have once or twice managed to make a four-image multi-photo, but the idea of trying to figure out how to do that again is daunting.
The genius solution: I had a one-free-greeting-card coupon on the site we use for photo developing. All I had to do was choose a multi-image option (I found an Easter one that had narrow pastel borders and no writing/designs and 9 openings for photos; I also considered Valentine’s Day ones that said “Love” and “XOXO” and so forth), and then drag over a selection of photos already uploaded to the site. Then I can put that card in a frame! And because this is a picture for a kindergartner, not a family Christmas card or whatever, I only need to indulge my “but there should be an equal number of images of each person, or else approximate equal surface area of each person, if for example I have one large photo of one person and two small photos of another” inclinations insofar as that would be fun.
This was a huge success, I think (I guess I won’t know until I see the card). It would have been an expensive idea (but probably still worth it to me) without the coupon: $3 for the card plus another $1.50 shipping (it reallllly seems like the shipping on a single card should be about 50 cents), but with the coupon it was only $1.50 total.
The only not-so-stellar moment was when I got the email confirmation, which included a discount on collage prints. …Collage prints? Oh. I could have just done a collage print, not a card. For less money. Ahem. WELL. IT WAS STILL A GREAT IDEA.
That’s a great idea. CVS and Walgreens (and Target, I think) have cards and collages, too. If you didn’t want to pay for shipping, you could use one of them.
I had to send a pic of our family, but luckily I had a recent one that was pretty good of everyone (except I’m leaning forward while sitting down, so I kind of look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but whatever.)
My five year old came home with the same note. And can I tell u how awesome it felt to this sleep-deprived-and-constantly-nursing-a-newborn mama that I actually had one??? It felt like a beacon in this sea of never getting anything accomplished. I felt like I won some prize. I did- I won the Accidentally Prepared Mother Trophy, the most coveted of all prizes.
Allison
Have you tried Picasa for photo editing software? It’s a free download, and I have mostly felt that it’s pretty user-friendly–AND they have an easy-to-manipulate collage feature, where you just gather the photos you want in the collage, choose “collage”, then select your options–like do you want a grid of equal-sized photos, or a mosaic of different-sized photos, or a large photo in the middle with smaller ones around the outside, or a pile of fake polaroids, etc? And you can also choose what size (or dimensions) the entire collage will be. Just a suggestion!