Shutterfly is always doing some kind of free promo or discounts for its products. You can get 101 free photos, free photo books, free calendars, free magnets, etc. You normally will get something for free just for joining Shutterfly.
I have used them for 7 years now all for FREE. I have used them for my wedding, Mother’s day, Chase’s 1st birthday, Father’s Day, and other various occasions. Only pay for the shipping cost. You can too!
Here are some ways you can use these free photos and books to decorate every party theme you have in mind. Shutterfly’s promotions happen sporadically throughout the year so sign up for updates.
Photo Banner. All you need is a ribbon or twine, clothespins, and photo prints. You can add lace, fabric, or tassel to make the photos pop out!
Photo Centerpieces. Put a photo inside a mason jar or in my case, a spaghetti jar (Yes, I collect all kinds of jars). I soak the jar in hot water, then scrub to remove the labels. Add little accessories (flowers, baby pins, pacifier, etc). You can also add a number to use as a table number.
Table Numbers. Frame your prints. Use craft paper or fabric to make numbers.
Guest book. Use it as a guest book for your wedding with your engagement pictures or a birthday party with baby pictures. I’ve made alphabet and family books for my son’s 1st birthday. He still loves them two years later.
Recipe Swap Book. Have guests send you pictures of their delicious dishes with recipes. At the party have guests sign the book.
Photo State map. Cut the photos into states or countries that you’ve traveled to as a couple for a cool travel-themed wedding or couple shower. I would do a little tutorial, but Kelsie Ann at Cut, Craft, Create does a much better job.
Shutterfly sometimes also offer free photo mug, calendar, and magnets. These all make wonderful gifts.
Even without these free promotions, you can always find discounts! Be sure to search around the Internet for discount codes. Shutterfly will also list its promotions on its website.
How would you decorate your party with free Shutterfly photos and books? I would love to see them!
{*This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase something through my Shutterfly link, I will get a small commission at no extra charge to you. All opinions are 100% my own. See my disclosure policy for further information}.
Today, I’m going to show you how to personalize my printable (either the free one or the one purchased from my Etsy store) for your specific needs, like a birthday party.
Why am I showing you how to do this instead of just making you pay me extra to personalize it for you?! Because I want you to see the benefits of buying printables over physical print. I feel that you can get more bang for your buck with printables because there are so many things you can do with them.
Normally, designers have a disclaimer saying you can’t modify their printables. However, I feel that if you can modify it for personal use and save money in return, it’s fine and dandy with me. Just don’t modify my printable, claim it as your own, and then resell it. That is not cool in my book!
Let’s get started, shall we? I’m going to show you how to make the print below using Picmonkey (affiliate link. See disclosure policy), an online photo editing program. I truly love it and would highly recommend it if you are looking for something EASY and FREE!
Update 2/29/2018:Picmonkey is no longer free! However, they do offer a 7-day trial.
You can download the Panda printable below for free if you would like to use it to follow along the tutorial.
Instructions:
1. Go to the Picmonkeywebsite. It will look something similar to below.
2. Click on Edit option at the top of the page.
3. Upload the printable from your computer onto Picmonkey. This program only accepts JPEG or PNG files. No PDFs, AI, PSD, etc. Your screen should look something like this with the options on the left sidebar. Click on Tt to get to the TEXT menu.
4. Now lets add some text. You can either use your own font by clicking on Yours or use Picmonkey’s font by clicking on Ours. Choose the font you would like your text to be. Then click on Add Text. Then type in what you want to say.
5. If you look below, I’ve decided to use the Sacramento font. There is a Text box with tons of options. You can change the color, the size of the font, blend the text. Play around with it. If you want to go back to the previous action, there is a undo button at the top.
6. I used the Emily’s Candy for the word ONE to make it stand out. Voila!!! Done!
7. But wait! Lets say you want to add a cute little banner behind ONE. Just click on the butterfly (highlighted in blue below). Click on Banners. Change the color and fading! Now, you got an even cuter printable!
8. Lastly, save it to your computer! The Save option is at top of the page. Remember to save it a different name then your original file. Once you save it, you can’t re-open it in Picmonkey and then undo your mistakes! You have to start from scratch. What you can do is save several versions of your work along the way so that you can just upload from that point instead of starting over!
After you save the file, you can play around a little more by adding hearts, fireworks, etc. The options with the crown in the corner means you have to be a Royale member to enjoy those benefits.
I created the other printables you see in the first picture the same way. The bunting in the Happy Halloween printable is under Banner in the Overly option (Butterfly Icon). When you click on the banner it gives you an option of changing the flag color.
Was that not fun or what?!
Now that you’ve learned how to personalize your printable, what will you be putting on yours? Would you like more tutorials like this? Comment below.
If you enjoy this tutorial, please subscribe below for future ones. You will also gain access to my Free Printable Resource Library. Maybe there is a printable in there for you to personalize using Picmonkey!
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