a peek inside the fishbowl

25 Sep, 2014

Taking Instagram to the next level

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Oh! Things!|Photography|Publishing/writing/career stuff

I will be writing more about our lovely weekend away soon. In the meantime I will say this: if you’re looking for a place to relax and disconnect and isn’t far from Ottawa, THIS IS IT.

One of my favourite features in Capital Parent Newspaper is my Editor’s Faves column. Basically, I pick three things I love and share them with our readers in the print edition of the paper. It’s short and sweet and fun. In the October issue I mentioned Printstagram, an online service that makes cool stuff out of Instagram photos: books, magnets, memory boxes, and posters. I tell ya, it was hard to pick just one thing, but I did. I decided to GO BIG OR GO HOME with a poster. The posters come in two sizes, big or bigger, and I went with the bigger. (What can I say, I like to make an impression.)

Me and my new poster!

It was really easy. I granted the website access to my Instagram account and they copied all of my photos from there. Then I just chose which ones I wanted on the poster and switch them around for perfect placement. The poster was delivered a short time later. I was not disappointed. The overall effect is pretty awesome. After all, there are 200 moments collected in one place. (!)

At the moment it’s covering a large blank wall and is being held up with poster putty. The only not-so-great thing is that finding a frame may not be easy. It’s 20″x38″! I’ve already checked Michael’s and I don’t want to spring for custom framing. Sigh.

I do love my Instagram poster. There are 200 pics here.

Now that I’m thinking about it, the spirit behind this project totally reminds me of this past post about preserving our family stories. From a parenting perspective, there truly is a benefit to keeping those memories alive and talking about them, don’t you think? And the fact that you can make a cool poster is a huge bonus if you ask me.

Watch for a new post over on MediaSmarts.ca about this soon! :)

p.s. if you want to follow me on Instagram you can find me under “quietfish.”


6 Responses to "Taking Instagram to the next level"

1 | Stacey K

September 25th, 2014 at 2:40 pm

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Ikea for frames?

2 | andrea tomkins

September 25th, 2014 at 3:18 pm

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That’s next on my list!

3 | Lisa from Iroquois

September 25th, 2014 at 9:19 pm

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You can create your own frame very simply with moulding of the kind you can pick up at home depot.

4 | Meg

September 26th, 2014 at 9:08 am

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I have also used Canvas Pop, and Sticky9 to print my Instagrams :).

5 | Photographic gratitude >> a peek inside the fishbowl

January 23rd, 2015 at 9:04 am

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[…] the big poster I made out of 200 of my favourite Instagram photos? I look at it every day and still love it to smithereens. I find something new in it all of the […]

6 | a peek inside the fishbowl » Blog Archive Are you prepared for the second wave? - a peek inside the fishbowl

October 4th, 2020 at 12:05 pm

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[…] A cork board? Framed photos? (e.g. something fun from Social Print Studio for example, like a poster using your Instagram photos ? Use my promo code and save five […]

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  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the
  • Janelle Brown: Dear Andrea Thank you for sharing Piper’s story with her followers. I empathise with your grief and emptiness as I lost my 14 year old Westie last
  • Natasha McReynolds-Nicholl: My god reading this is heartbreaking. December 1st was the as you describe longest day of my life, we lost out beautiful WFT hazel. Pipers final momen

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


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