If you stumbled upon this page without seeing my photo ornament work, please check out my photo gallery located on the left side bar. My photo gallery is on Youtube, so after you view it feel free to comment or like it. These are just a few examples I put in this video and the song choice is an instrumental piece by Floyd Cramer called "Last Date". I just love his piano playing!
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| Click To Read More About Floyd Cramer |
About My Photo Ornaments:
Creating unique photo ornaments for my customers is very challenging but oh so rewarding! It's challenging because I have to edit the photo and crop it so it fits the size of the ornament. So far I have not had a photo sent to me that I couldn't work with. The photo image is something to keep in mind if you decide to order an ornament. I'll explain this in more detail later.
One of my favorite parts in making these lovely ornaments is choosing the fabrics and embellishments. Until I receive the photo, I really have no idea what I'll be using until I print it off and start coordinating the colors, subjects and theme in the photo with the beautiful fabrics in my collection. If I just can't find the right fabrics I love going to my local quilt shop and searching for that perfect piece. I love shopping for fabric! Which is why I have so much of it. lol!
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| Lovely Silk Flowers & Baby's Breath |
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| Choosing The Right Elements |
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| Edited Photo To Remove Background |
Embellishments:
In some cases, I already have an idea of what embellishments I'll be using, but in other cases I may not even know until I'm done "quilting" the ornament. I want it to be perfect and to fit the theme of the photo, so making sure I have the right embellishments is important. I do love using silk flowers and baby's breath, so I will use that in most cases.
Using Your Own Fabric:
Sometimes I am asked by my customer if I can use their own fabric pieces. My answer is, Absolutely! If you have a special fabric you want incorporated into the ornament, just let me know. Here is an example of one I used recently. The fabric is green with pine needles and I coordinated that with a white vine silhouette fabric and it came out beautiful! And it's even more meaningful to my customer because it's fabric she used in her baby's quilt.
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| Pine Needle Fabric Sent by Customer |
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| Use Your Own Fabric |
It's really important that the photos sent by my customers is one that can be cropped into a square. It doesn't matter how small or large the square is, because I will adjust the size in the editing. Here are a few other tips if you are thinking about ordering an ornament.
- If you have to scan the photo be sure to use a 300dpi or above setting on your printer. Anything less than 300 may lessen the quality of the photo.
- The subject(s) in the photo should be fairly up close and not too far away. (see the gallery examples)
- You do not need to crop the photo. I will crop it into a square image.
- Be sure the photo you choose doesn't have the subjects all over the place. I will not be able to crop it into a rectangle, so in order to capture everyone in the photo, they need to fit inside a square shape.
- If you're not sure your photo will fit inside a square shape, before purchasing, send me the photo and I will confirm if it's doable. I will also send it back to you in the square shape so you can see if that is acceptable to you.
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| Original Photo w/Dogs |
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| Cropped Into Square |
I really wished I could have included the dogs in their ornament, but unfortunately the photos have to be in a square shape in order to fit the ornament. So something to consider when you submit your photo. The length can only be as wide as the width.
What You See Is What You Get:
Just to reiterate, when choosing your photo be sure the subject are not blurry because what you see is what you get. I can not fix photos that are blurry. I will however edit them to lighten the photo images if necessary. If the background is dark with some business behind the subject, I will edit that to make it a solid background color. For example, the engaged couple above had a dark background with people behind them. So, I edited the background and made it a solid black with nothing behind the couple. I wanted this couple to be the center of attention with no distractions behind them, but I will only do this if I feel it is necessary.
Handle With TLC:
When you receive your keepsake photo ornament, be careful with the embellishments. In some cases I use only pins to secure the top, but sometimes it is necessary to use a little glue now and then. So please consider these fragile and handle them with tender loving care!
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| Red Roses & Baby's Breath |
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| Pine Needles & Berries |
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| Hydrangeas & Baby's Breath |
Gift Box Storage:
My photo ornaments always come in a gift box with tissue paper inside. That way if you plan to give one as a gift, all you have to do is wrap it up. Or, it can be used to store your ornament until you are ready to display it for all to see.
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| Gift Box Keepsake |
How To Order:
If you would like to order a photo ornament, you can do so by clicking on one of the links below. It will take you to my Etsy shop. Be sure to read all of the information in the description as it has important information prior to ordering.
If you have any questions about my photo ornaments, please don't hesitate to contact me here:
quiltedkeepsakeornaments[@]yahoo.com (be sure to remove the brackets)
Thank you and I hope you will let me create your very own and unique photo ornament keepsake.
~Renee
