Want to show off your photos? Are you just a bit crafty? Look at all the great projects you can make with photos that go beyond mugs, mousepads, and t-shirts. Any of these projects make great gifts, only involve a few steps, and are affordable. Stretch your creative muscle and make something fun!

Make a Photo Bookmark

Make your mark with this whimsical magnetic bookmark starring you (or someone else)! Jen was inspired by a similar project on Photo Jojo, a web newsletter devoted to photography (photojojo.com). What a way to lose yourself in a novel!

materials Ribbon Stiff (Strano Designs) + magnets (BasicGrey) + bookmark by Jennifer Wozab, Murray, UT

How to Make a Photo Bookmark

Start by finding an image that has clean lines or well-defined edges and open two different copies of the image.

1. Using a photo-editing software, like Adobe Photoshop, flip one image horizontally to create a mirror image. Print both copies of your photo.

2. Carefully cut around the two images. On the back of one image, place an adhesive square at the top and a magnet at the bottom.

3. Adhere a magnet to the bottom half of the second image and adhere images back to back, making sure the magnets align.

Tip: For a sturdier bookmark, consider laminating your images, applying a stiffening agent (like decoupage or ribbon stiffener), or printing your original images on cardstock.

Personalize a Photo Postcard

Nothing says, "Wish you were here!" more than personalized photo postcards. Besides making all your friends extra jealous that you are at the Eiffel Tower, your fabulous vacation shots will get the attention they deserve. The Selphy printer by Canon makes this project a cinch, especially because the postcard paper is included with the printer.

materials postcard photo paper, Selphy printer (Canon) + Photoshop Elements (Adobe) + Georgia font + postcards by Jennifer Wozab, Murray, UT

How to Print a Photo Postcard

The postcard paper Jen used was included with her Selphy printer. Adding a bit of text makes this project picture perfect! Jen used Adobe Photoshop Elements to insert the text before she printed her photos. To do this, she used the text tool, resizing the text box and typing her text before moving it on top of her photos. You can also find postcard templates in other publishing programs, such as Picture It Publishing or Microsoft Publisher.

Design a Custom Skin

Angie doesn't go anywhere without her iPhone, and she uses it for everything, including taking pictures. For a meager $6.99 Angie created this iPhone skin at uniqueskins.com. She chose a photo of herself at age three and added the phrase, "Say cheese!" to the back of the phone just below the camera lens so that her subjects will smile just before she takes their picture.

Or, round up a bunch of favorite photos you've taken with your iPhone or your camera phone over the years, and turn them into a photo mosaic for the outside of your phone. Why should those cool images stay hidden on your phone?

How to Create Skins

Visit the website uniqueskins.com to see just how many possible combinations there are for a project like Angie's iPhone skin. Upload as many photos as you want. Choose a favorite background. Then, simply drag and drop the elements you choose onto a digital template of your electronic device. Don't have the same phone as Angie? You can design a new skin for different cell phone models, laptop computers, or MP3 players. Go ahead and add a bit of text, too. It's all super easy and at this price, you can even order a few of these to match different moods or outfits. You know you want to!

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Scrapbook Play with Photos