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Three years ago, we set out on a mission: to inspire your digital photos to be more than mere megapixels.

So we started a website, and sent out a newsletter. And then we sent out more newsletters. Then the Photojojo Shop was born (while we kept sending newsletters).

And now … WE HAVE A BOOK! You know — paper, ink, a table of contents. The whole shebang.

Complete with 192 full-color pages of our most popular photo projects (all souped up) plus tons of new ones, and some great ideas from the most talented folks we know.

It’s been a year in the works, and we can. not. wait. for you to see it.

Photojojo! The Book  Twitter It!
$21.99 at the Photojojo Shop & bookstores near you!

Look! Below the jump! A sneak peek for you, darling reader: one of the projects from our super fantastic master work of literature (plus 3 more crafty tidbits). Enjoy.

Inside the Book: CD Jewel Case Mural

CD Jewel Case Frames

Come clean. Most of your walls are as bare as the day you moved in. Plus we know you’ve got a mess of CDs gathering dust in your closet. After all, who listens to discs these days?

Looks like you’ve got yourself two separate problems. But to the trained observer, the sage of interior design, and the knower of all things photographic (um, that’s us), there is a single, efficient, even elegant solution. Consider this a friendly intervention.

This oh-so-clever project uses CD jewel cases to make rearrangeable, refillable photo frames for those empty walls of yours. Hang them singly, or tile them together to make a photo mural. Let’s get to work and kill two dilemmas with one project.

What You’ll Need

• Many lovely photographs printed at 5″ x 7″
• CD jewel cases (the standard size, not the slim kind)
• Some cardboard – approximately 5” x 6” worth
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Tape (double-sided works best; archival if you’re picky)
• Velcro tape or removable adhesive, such as Glue Dots

To Make One Frame: Step 1

Remove the plastic insides that hold the CD from your jewel case.

Take out the paper insert from underneath and remove the perforated edges.

Trace an outline around the insert onto the cardboard, then cut it out.

You’ll use these cardboard inserts to back your photographs and prevent them from buckling.

Step 2: Crop Your Photo

. Crop your photo to exactly 5 3/8″ x 4 5/8″ to fit snugly in the back of the jewel case.

Step 3: Frame It

.Attach the cardboard cut out to the back of the cropped photograph using double-sided tape.

Then plop the photo into the back of the jewel case, facing out. Close the jewel case.

Step 4: Stick It Up

Affix a piece of the hooked side of the Velcro tape to the back of your finished case, and a piece of the looped side of the Velcro tape to the spot on the wall where you’ll hang your frame.

Alternatively, place removable adhesive on all 4 corners of the back of the case and stick it on the wall.

To Make a Mural: Step 1

For this version, you’ll need one big ol’ high-resolution digital photo.

Resize it in Photoshop (or your image editor du jour) to at least 26 1/2″ by 18 1/4″.

Step 2: Make A Selection

Set the selection tool to a fixed size of 5 3/8″ x 4 5/8″. Starting in the top left corner of the photo, select an area and copy it.

Step 3: Create A New Document

Create a new document sized 5 3/8″ x 4 5/8″ at the same resolution as your large photo. Paste the selection you just copied into this document.

Step 4: Make Another Selection

In the large photo, line up a vertical guide at the right edge of the selection you just copied in Step 2 and a horizontal guide at its bottom edge.

Make sure the “snap to guides” setting is enabled (located in the View menu in most programs).

Move the selection marquee to the right (if using Photoshop, hold down the Shift key while moving the marquee). The left edge should now align with the vertical guide you just added.

Copy and paste the selection into the small document.

Step 5: Do It Again

Keep repeating Step 4 until you have copied and pasted all areas of the large photograph and you have 20 layers in the small document.

Whenever you move down a row in the large document, remember to add a horizontal guide underneath the latest selection.

Step 6: Print Each Layer

Print out each layer of the small document one at a time on 5″ x 7″ photo paper.

Now you can follow Steps 1–4 of the single frame instructions to create your individual frames.

Step 7: Put ‘em Up!

When it comes time to hang them on the wall, reassemble the picture in order, and place the jewel cases as close together as possible.

Ta-dah! Super stylish, yet super eco. Good-bye empty walls and lame old CD cases!

Inside Peek: Photo Tattoos!

Pick up some inkjet-printable temporary tattoo paper, print your favorite photo on it and ink yerself up.

Skulls! Starfish! Abe Vigoda! Any tat you want, tough guy.

Inside Peek: Hidden Jacket Cam!

Attach Velcro tabs to the back of a mini-camera, then attach the camera the the underside of your jacket lapel.

When you see wrong-doers in action, whip out your camera and catch them in the act! Woooo! Top-secret superspy photo heroics!

Inside Peek: Photo Lampshades!

Print a coupla photos, trim them to size, and tape them over a white lampshade to make the very bestest lamp ever.

Seriously.

Ever.

Photojojo! The Book  Twitter It!
$21.99 at the Photojojo Shop & bookstores near you!

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