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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Indeedy-deed, what was once a simple vision of the future is now a reality, and just in time for Dad’s Day (it’s right around the corner kids) on June 22nd!

We’re talking NEW Eye-Fi SD Memory Cards with wireless photo (and now video) camera to computer uploading.

Thanks to Eye-Fi technology and a little help from the internetz you are now able to …

• Wirelessly upload photos and video from your camera to your computer
• Transfer images from remote locations to file sharing sites
• And even Geo-tag your images on the spot!

Eye-Fi Wireless Photo and Video Memory Cards  Twitter It!
4GB Share is $79.99 and 4GB Explore is $99.99 at the Photojojo Shop!

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Pa, Da, Dad, Daddy,
Father, Baba, Papi, Pops…
Whatever you call him, he’s an OK guy.

And he deserves a shout-out this time of year, so do the man a favor, show him some love.

Lure him out of the Barcalounger and take some pictures together, or pick up a little sump’m sump’m for the guy.

We’ve got all you need in that department: presents to procure, gadgets to grab, and projects to perpetrate. Poppa’s livin’ large this year.

Photojojo’s Father’s Day Gift Guide 2009

p.s. Pssst… Father’s Day is June 21st this year. Hop to, kiddos!

Photo credit: maessive

The Best Things in Life Are Free

You don’t have to spend money to give somebody an awesome present — making something for Pops or doing something together is way better than any old power tool or necktie.

Do a photo essay this year: take pictures of Pa’s favorite pastime or the places he hangs out. If you like taking still-lifes, photograph some of the gear associated with his hobby (we bet you could do amazing things with fishing reels or billiard balls).

No time for a photo shoot? At least get the guy a card. If you enter the code CARD4U at Shutterfly, you can get a free Father’s Day photo card.

Photo credit: apesara

Pictures of You

Dad can usually find room for a new picture of the kids, so why not hook the guy up?

Take some portraits of him and the rugrats when they’re not looking, or hand over the camera and have the ankle-biters take self-portraits for their dad.

There are a kajillion billion photo projects in our Mother’s Day department — they work for all people of the parental persuasion.

Photo credit: mikebaird

Working Class Hero

When Pop’s at work he could use some visual distractions. A vintage camera clock is a good old-school analog solution.

Or you could cater to his insatiable tech-lust and get him a souped-up multi-functioning wifi touchscreen digital frame. (Powered by pure unadulterated testosterone!)

But we think the best work accessory is a pair of sonogram cufflinks, so he can have the very first picture of his kid with him wherever he goes. (Or remind him that work may be boring but at least it’s quiet.)

Secret Agent Man

Maybe they’re shy. Maybe they watched too many spy movies when they were kids. They are… sneaky fathers.

But don’t judge them, embrace them! Indulge their James Bond alter ego with a super-secret spy lens for snaps of unsuspecting suspects.

Or get them a pair of goofy-looking but ultra-incognito spy camera glasses with a tiny hidden camera built into the arm.

Word to the wise: if you get your dad a spy camera you may want to pick up a spy camera detector to make sure he doesn’t sneak up on you.

Papa Was a Rolling Stone

When Papa’s flying solo, hook him up with a Acme camera case to guarantee he travels in style, and an Eye-fi memory card so he can beam his photos home.

When you’re all traveling together, you know how it goes: the camera battery dies in the middle of the big road trip, but Dad’s not about to stop the Family Truckster and recharge.

Enter the coffee-cup-lookalike charger (with real plugs and a USB port) to keep you charging ahead. You should have gone before we left.

Inspector Gadget

Maybe it’s just our dad, but gadgets multiply in that guy’s house like you wouldn’t freaking believe. So what do we do? Get him more gadgets of course!

This year’s favorites include:

• The very tiny, very handy bottle-cap tripod that turns any plastic bottle into a camera-steadying juggernaut of technological awesome.
• The unbelieveably useful Gorillapod which no camera bag should be without.
• The multi-tasking, super-duper 3-in-1 camera bag for carrying a camera, a snack, and even a change of diapers, and keeping everything separate.

  (We’re not saying our dad still carries diapers around, but, you know, some dads are still at that stage. We’ve been potty-trained for nearly six months now!)

More Ideas

• Got some great photos of your dad (or some other dad you know)? Enter them in the 1st annual Father’s Day “Art of Manliness” photo contest and show the people what fathering’s all about.
• Need some more ideas? Our bountiful archives can help! Check out our 2008 Father’s Day Gift Guide and 2007 Dad’s Day Guide for more inspired, brilliant, and downright Photojojoid ideas.

Related posts:

1. The Photojojo Gift Guide 2009, Part 2 Just when you thought we couldn’t possibly find more amazing...
2. Photojojo Father’s Day Photo Gift Guide 2007 Here’s what we know about our dads: They love fishing,...
3. Photojojo’s Father’s Day Gift Guide 2008 June's Photojojo made possible by... ~Have a cool photo product...

Thanks to Photojojo (and designer Irina Blok), you may now enjoy the comforting presence of Adobe Photoshop even when your computer’s off!

Introducing The Photoshop Photo Frame — a nifty little design piece that’ll surely stop your Photo-shopping heart in its tracks.

This (real life) desktop frame is screen printed down to the last pixel: window buttons, scroll bars, “.jpg” title, and even a “transparent” checkered background.

… now, if only life itself had a friendlier GUI.

The Photoshop Photo Frame  Twitter It!
$39 at the Photojojo Shop!

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