Trick Out Your Pinterest Boards With This Simple Hack

How to Hack Your Pinterest Boards

1. 
   

   

   
   

   1. The Inspiration

   
   

   
   

   The first Pinterest user we’ve seen to “hack” his boards, digital development manager
   Nick McGlynn inspired us to have a go too. But what inspired him?

   
   

   “My colleague and I were brainstorming ways to use Pinterest for brands at Rodale Inc and I noticed that the nine squares that make up the Pinterest boards make a perfect square that would fit Instagram photos brilliantly.

   
   

   “I grabbed some Instagram photos from a recent Facebook Timeline ‘hack’ I did
   and decided to see how it would look if I cut them up into nine squares and made a Pinterest board.”

   
   

   We think they look great! Continue through the gallery for instructions on how to hack your boards.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


2. 
   

   

   
   

   2. PicSlice

   
   

   
   

   Select a square photo you’d like to use. If you need to crop a pic square first, head over to
   Pixlr; its free “Express” photo editing tool offers a square crop option.

   
   

   Now go to
   PicSlice, a free service that will slice up your image into nine neat squares.

   
   

   If you are a Photoshop ninja, listen to MvGlynn’s methodology: “I pulled the already square 450-pixel wide Instagram photo into Photoshop, then using the ‘Slice’ tool, I created 150-pixel square slices on the photo so it was cut into nine smaller square boxes.

   
   

   “I saved this as a Photoshop action so I could repeat the process easily for any other Instagram photo I wanted to upload. Then I saved the images in a folder.”

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


3. 
   

   

   
   

   3. Slicing Your Image

   
   

   
   

   Over on PicSlice, upload your photo via the “Choose File” button and click “Upload.”

   
   

   Click on “Slice picture,” which you’ll see above your image. Now enter “3″ into both the vertical slice and horizontal slice boxes. Click “Generate.”

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


4. 
   

   

   
   

   4. Save Your Images

   
   

   
   

   You can now save your nine images either by clicking on each image to download it, or by scrolling to the bottom, where you’ll get the option the save the images in a ZIP file.

   
   

   The photo files will be named numerically, for example, “1-xsxc6CSE9N.”

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


5. 
   

   

   
   

   5. Make a New Board

   
   

   
   

   Go to Pinterest and create a new board via the “Add” button.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


6. 
   

   

   
   

   6. Upload Your Images…

   
   

   
   

   Now click “Add” again and select “Upload a Pin.”

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


7. 
   

   

   
   

   7. …In the Correct Order

   
   

   
   

   Click “Choose File” and upload the images in reverse order, so start with photo nine and end with photo one. You’ll have to “describe” each pin — we just numbered ours.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   


8. 
   

   

   
   

   8. Your New Board!

   
   

   
   

   And that’s it! You should have a new Pinterest board comprised of nine small images that make up one big montage of awesomeness.

   
   

   Don’t forget to link us to your boards in the comments below — we can’t wait to see what you create!

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   

Do you remember those awesome
Facebook and
Google+ profile hacks?

Well,
Nick McGlynn, a creative
Pinterest user, has done something similar on the new social service, “hacking” a Pinterest board to display one image sliced into nine sections.

Inspired by McGlynn, we have put together a super-simple, Photoshop-free how-to that demonstrates how you can “hack” your Pinterest boards. Have a read through our easy-peasy walkthrough. Link us in the comments to your Pinterest hacks and we’ll feature the best submissions in a forthcoming Mashable gallery.

Cat image courtesy of
Simon Doggett

Trick Out Your Pinterest Boards With This Simple Hack