8 Creative Ways to Celebrate Family Life with the Selphy Photo Printer

Chloe Watts is founder of the immensely popular Blueberry Co., where she designs elegant memory books that allow you to document “the dizzying highs and crazy lows of parenting.”

Here Chloe shares her pro tips and reveals how you can unlock the full creative power of the Canon Selphy home photo printer. Celebrate your family's most special moments and create something truly beautiful for you and your loved ones to look back on in the future.

“The Canon Selphy printer is the perfect addition to my home craft space and I use it all the time to document my family’s life and create fun memories along the way!”

Chloe Watts

1. Family Fun – Capture Special Moments with Creative Photo Strips

The Canon CP1300 Selphy printer can print directly onto 2x6 inch photo strips, allowing you to create a series of vibrant photo booth-style images in the comfort of your own home.

Simply get your loved ones dressed up in their favourite costumes, print out a few props from Creative Park and prepare to capture some seriously fun family moments that you’ll be smiling about for many years to come.

2. The Big Reveal – Print Pregnancy Announcement Photos that Sparkle

Got some big news to share? Congratulations! Announce the arrival of your beautiful new family member with all the sparkle and magic this special time deserves. With the Canon Selphy you can quickly print beautiful borderless images and make your big reveal in style.

There are countless ways to get creative with this, but one very special way (I speak from experience here) is to take a photo of your first ultrasound and make prints of it using your Canon Selphy. If you already have children then you can also include them in your pregnancy announcement photos to make them feel more involved.

Send the photos to your nearest and dearest in dainty little envelopes and let the celebrations begin!

3. It’s a Boy! – Share Beautiful Birth Announcement Photos

Time to celebrate the arrival of your brand new little bundle of joy?

With the Canon Selphy you can print and send beautiful birth announcement photos and thank you notes to all the wonderful friends and family members who sent well wishes and gifts during your pregnancy.

As a new mum it can be difficult to find the time to write individual notes, so be kind to yourself and let technology help you be more productive. My #mumhack is to use an app like Pic Collage to add all the key features (date of birth, weight, length) and a little thank you message to your image. Then all you have to do is print off as many copies as you need on your Canon Selphy and they’re ready to give your visitors or pop in the post.

4. Hip-Hip-Hooray! – Design and Print Customised Birthday Invitations

Whether it’s a first or fiftieth birthday bash, organising a party can be a hectic experience. Make life easier with a Canon Selphy and print your own beautiful birthday invitations.

As I found when preparing for my daughter’s first birthday, there are plenty of creative apps and pieces of software to help you perfect your design. I also printed out an extra copy to put in my daughter’s Baby Memory Journal as a special keepsake.

5. Fuss-Free Keepsakes – Capture Creativity Without the Mess

My three-year-old daughter is a prolific creator of amazing drawings and paintings. Our fridge is full of her creations and I wanted a way to record her developing artistic skills without having to keep the piles-upon-piles of paper we have accumulated.

My trick is to photograph each drawing (that way we also have a digital copy), then print them out and stick them in her memory book. The ability to print with square paper allows you to print and pair creative ‘Instagram style’ images straight from an SD card or smartphone. We now have a record of all her major drawings, such as the first time she drew our family, all on one neat and tidy page.

6. Victory! – Celebrate Important Achievements with Milestone Cards

Whether it’s documenting their first step, first word or first day at school, using milestone cards as photo props is a great way to celebrate the small (and big) achievements of their life!

I love printing my milestone cards out with my Canon Selphy because the paper is thicker than standard printer paper – and it’s just so quick and easy to do! I’ve printed out the whole set and I use them every month for my baby daughter to document her important milestones.

There are lots of free versions online that you can download (including a set I’ve designed here).

7. All Together Now – Create Party Shuffle Print Collages for Your Family Fridge

Creating a colourful “Family Fridge” is a great way to get your kids to connect with their family members, while also learning their names and relationships. Toddlers are particularly fond of repetition, so identifying familiar faces is always a fun and educational game for them.

We asked all of our family members to send their best headshots to our Selphy printer. We then used the Party Shuffle Print function to automatically arrange multiple images from several devices and create one beautiful collage.

Alternatively you can print out each of the photos and write the family member’s name on the bottom. Simply add some magnetic tape to the back of the photo and you’ll have customised photo magnets to make the “Family Fridge” game even more fun!

The Party Shuffle Print function is also great during social gatherings and family occasions, allowing you to create unique collages with photos from several of your friends’ and family members’ camera devices.

8. Wireless Wizardry – Portable Printing Power

The Canon Selphy has built in Wi-Fi and enables you to print directly from your smartphone or social media accounts via the Canon Print App. If you need help connecting your printer to a device, you can also watch a Canon Print Assist tutorial.

It’s also small and portable, allowing you to take it with you on holidays or to parties and family celebrations. If you purchase the battery pack, you can even print up to 54 prints on a single charge, making it the perfect go-anywhere photo printer.

Chloe Watts is the founder and designer behind Blueberry Co. She spends her days making memories with her two little girls and designing beautiful modern memory books. Find out more at www.blueberryco.com.au.