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Picture collages are unique personalized gifts that can be made in minutes or days, depending on the amount of time you want to spend on them. They can be fancy, simple, theme based, chronological, or abstract. You can combine them with other craft projects to make treasured gifts that will last forever. Once you know who will receive a picture collage gift, you can go all out and make the most creative piece of artwork anyone has ever seen.

*Computerized Picture Collages: There are all sorts of computer software packages that allow you to manipulate pictures, reshaping and sizing them to meet your needs. Most of these programs offer simple fixes for lighting, shading, cropping, and some of them have fancy backgrounds you can play with too.

Almost every picture collage gift you make can be digitally computerized to transfer onto the actual object of your project. You will need to purchase special transfer paper to print your picture, and then follow the thermal heating instructions to transfer the picture to your item or fabric. You can make t-shirts, quilts, mugs, calendars, and a multitude of other projects using this method. Use a single picture, or a whole bunch of pictures that you have arranged for this. You can even allow pictures to frame a special message or poem for your gift.

*Framed Picture Collages: There are a few different ways you can make framed picture collages. Many stores sell pre-made collage frames. Some of them have added lighting or candles attached, while others are simpler. All you need to do for pre-made frames is figure out where you want to put your pictures, size them appropriately and secure them.

If you'd rather not use a pre-made collage frame, you can make your very own collage out of pictures. It's best to lay them out on a large table or counter so you can move them around before deciding on their final position. When you are all finished, you will want to take a picture or draw a chart of their placement. Then you can transfer them to a poster board, or other backing of your choice, and glue them into place. Once the pictures are secured in your collage, you can embellish it with glitter, old memorabilia, even dried leaves and flowers.

If you want any or all of the pictures to stand out, you can outline them with markers or thin lines of paint. You'll need to let your picture foundation dry for several hours, or even overnight. When it's dry, you can attach it to whatever you want, a large wooden frame overlaid with a glass top, the bottom of a tray, a mirror as a decoration, and anything else you can think of. The important thing is to make sure that the pictures are preserved with a protective coating or sheet of clear plastic or glass.

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