I was able to create this Instagram wall collage for less than £8.50. Since making my own collages, I’ve discovered that Little Square Gallery can make them for you, but they cost £295!! I made two of my own collages, which saved me almost £600. With savings like this, it makes sense to shop around…
Making a cheap Instagram wall collage
I rarely buy souvenirs when I travel, I just take millions of photos and display them in my house. I’d rather have my own photo of the Eiffel Tower than a cheap little model gathering dust on my mantelpiece.
That’s why I’m always looking for cool and creative ways to display my shots.
even though I have a fancy new DSLR camera that I’m obsessed with, some of my favorite photos are taken with my trusty iPhone and uploaded to Instagram. (If you’re interested, head over to The Travel Hack!)
The problem with Instagram shots is that the quality is rarely amazing, so you can’t print them very large. This makes an Instagram wall collage the perfect option!
Printing your Instagram pictures
I used PhotoBox to print Instagram photos. When I signed up for PhotoBox, I got 80 free prints and only had to pay for shipping and packaging. This was less than her £2.50 first class delivery charge in the UK.
You currently get 40 prints for free, which is still enough to create a collage.
The best thing about using PhotoBox is that you can link your Instagram account to your PhotoBox account, making it super easy to choose the photos you want.
Top Tips for Printing Instagram Photos: Once you have selected the photos you want to use, you can go back and review your order. While you’re here, be sure to check the “Shrink to fit” check box next to each photo.
This means that the image will be printed in a square rather than cropped to the usual rectangular photo shape.
I thought Louis wanted to help, but really he just wanted to eat Prittsticks
The frame
I used a large frame from IKEA. It’s similar to this one, but I bought it many years ago and I don’t think it cost more than £6.00.
There was a Mr. Brainwash poster on display that I got for free at an exhibition. However, the free posters don’t last forever and they started to fade, so I flipped the poster over and used a pritt stick to paste the photo on the back.
I couldn’t find a long ruler so I used some pieces of card to make the photo as straight as possible.
Instagram tips
There were 80 free photo printouts available to me when I signed up for PhotoBox, so of course I used them all. I had a lot of spares so I used them up and tried out different photos.
This is what I found:
- Photos that are minimally edited look best. I’ve found that old Instagram photos that have been heavily manipulated using various effects and filters don’t print very well.
- Photos look best without frames. The photo is quite small, so I don’t want to waste space with borders or frames.
- Please be sure to include people in your photos. If you travel a lot, you probably take a lot of photos of beautiful landscapes on Instagram. It looks gorgeous, but if you’re going to display it in your home, try pairing it with photos of your friends, family, and yourself.
Christmas is coming…
Not only is this a great way to decorate your home, but it can also make a very nice (and fairly inexpensive) personalized Christmas present.