Review: Art Print of my Grannies wonderful Hands

unboxing my new wall art an art print from Saal Digital

This photo of my grandmothers hands represents all the wonderful experiences that I’ve made during a trip to Morocco in 2012. The goal of this journey was to connect with my roots and my Moroccan family. For years I’ve been thinking now on how to incorporate this memory into my life in Germany.

My friend Julia gifted me with a photo art print of artichokes on alu-dibond (Say whaaaat? Yep, totally my reaction, too. Be patient, I’ll be explain what that is further down) and that got me thinking…

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Art print on alu-dibond

Choosing a product for my photo art print

I followed the company she ordered my pressie from, Saal Digital, on Instagram and right away forgot all about it, lol #ThereIsAJungleInMyHead. And a couple of months later I stumbled over their offer for photographers and bloggers to test their products. Voilà! I figured that was a sign and applied.

Who would have thought that they give a newbie blogger, like I am, a chance!

So here goes the disclaimer: I really made it! This is a partially sponsored post as I got to spend a gift coupon on any order for wall art. But rest assured that I always write what’s on my mind, no holding back – I literally lack a filter or something…

Materials to choose from

I could choose from various materials such as alu-dibond, glass, foam board and canvas. Some of my friends would wonder, why I gave this super modern material called alu-dibond a chance. #CurlyGirlyRomanticMe #LeanAndCleanIsUsuallyNotMyStyle. I even still watch my movies and series (#TWDisMYfavorite) on one of these old school TV’s because it’s still working…so why wasting money on a new and modern flat screen one, right?

After Julias wonderful birthday gift, the digital print on alu-dibond it was!

Size and mounting

Sala-Digital offers various formats, the alu-dibond (50×75 cm) fits wonderful over my old school TV, so there was no need for a custom size. I had to choose on a mounting solution and decided on the standard hanging – which was the cheapest, will do the trick and is basically a lug that you stick to your super lightweight alu-dibond art print with a sticky stripe.

Designing and ordering

The design and order process is really simple. It took me about 15 minutes to navigate through the website. It took me longer to find my wonderful photo from 2012 in my massive photo collection, lol.

You can either download their software to really design your wall art or you can simply upload your photo as is in the browser, mess a bit with the size and hit ‘add to cart’. Again I went with the simpler version and did exactly that.

Unboxing, assembly and hanging-up

Want to catch a glimpse of my excitement as I unboxed my brand new alu-dibond art print?

 

take measuring for sticking the mounting to my new art print
Make sure to mark the outer side of each stick-on lug.

 

preparations for applying the mountain on art print on alu-dibond
I set a mark at the outer side of each hanger at 7 cm and 2 cm off the upper edge.

 

cleaning the surface prior to application of hangers
Clean the surface with window cleaner. My pencil markings were still there after this step.

 

Sticking the hanger to the board. Applying pressure.
Peel off the cover and stick the hanger to the board according to your previous markings. Press down hard for 10 seconds!

 

Letting glue of sticky hangers set. Mounting art prints.
After you’ve stuck both hangers to your wall art, set an alarm for 30 minutes and let glue set.

 

Sticking spacer to aluminium dibond photography print.
Meanwhile you can stick the rubber spacer to the lower part of your art print. Try to center them under each hanger for best results.

 

Photography print on metal by Saal Digital.
After you’ve waited 30 minutes, it’s time for you to hang your photography print to the wall.

Pro-Tip by Habiba – bent edges can be fixed!
Right after hanging the art print to the wall it crashed down – oh nooooo! Markus and I were shell-shocked and couldn’t explain to ourselves what happened. As we recovered it from behind my TV it was stuck between the floor and the skirting. We hoped for the best but my lovely metal print had suffered quite a bit! #bummer

Good thing is, that I opted for the alu-dibond and not the glass or canvas version because they probably would have been broken or ripped. Because of the layering technique and the sturdy material the top most aluminum layer was “just” bent upwards in several places. I found my pliers and a kitchen towel (to protect the print) and simply reshaped the board by bending it in the opposite direction. It’ as good as new again! #Phewwwwww

What is alu-dibond?

Last but not least the promised explanation: Now this is going to be a bit techy. I researched those materials, techniques and words and I hope I got everything right…

With this method the photograph is directly printed on an aluminium composite panel. They are built from two white-painted robust aluminium dibond layers (front and backing) with a black polyethylene core. This image shows you the layering. Alu-dibond boards are about 3 mm thick. And are being advertised as the revolution in modern photography prints. And I must admit that I really like how my photo came out using this technique.

The best thing is, that it is super lightweight and that it can be displayed inside your home and outside as well. The material is sun and rain proof – at least for several years.

What is your favorite way to incorporate your photo memories into your home?

Tell me all about it in the comments!

Love,

Comments (6)

  1. Habiba this is beautiful! I loved watching your excitement as you opened the box. So glad you were able to recover the piece it after the small mishap. On a different note, I LOVE the books on the wall. NIce!

    1. Thank you Ola! I am glad I could fix it, too! I got many compliments for my wall of books. I’ll be showing the construction soon!

  2. Your friend Julia – that’s meeeeee <3<3<3
    The video is so hilarious, Habiba, you're absolutely brilliant! And the hands of your granny are adorable, I love the photo!
    Julia

  3. Hello Habiba,
    I think that was the best and most thoughtful picture ever! Your granny has beautiful hands! Such a beautiful way to display them, and it just does my heart such good to see how fondly you think of her!
    I love the place that you placed it, and that you were able to replace it good as New, especially as you put so much Thought and love into both the item and the memory! Blessings! Lisa. P.S. I just signed up ! You have such a beautiful heart, and a beautiful way of seeing things, I knew that when you were talking about your short beautiful trek to work, and I knew that I had to subscribe, so that I could get some of that wonderfulness into my life!

    1. Dear Lisa, what a wonderful compliment you are giving me with this comment! I love life and I love sharing my experiences. And I love, that you love reading my stories and wish them to be a part of your life. Thank you so much for that and for following of course. Looking forward to connecting with you my dear ? Habiba

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