Creative Style

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

August 20, 2024 by Jan 2 Comments

Challenge Spotlight: Use It All

Time for another Challenge Spotlight, where YOU are the stars of the show! I’ve been keeping track – in a haphazard sort of way – of which Challenges I’ve showcased so far; today I decided I’d go back over all of them and add dates to my list so I can try not to be too repetitive. Y’all. This is Challenge Spotlight #36!! Not all Challenges lend themselves to a head-to-head comparison; some have too many variables to work well in this type of post, so some repetition is a given. If you’re wondering, the last time I focused on Use It All was in October 2021… so it’s time!

The Use It All Challenge is hosted by the very talented Karen Schulz. She provides a FREE mini-kit – part of a larger collection – and the Challenge is to USE IT ALL. That means every item in the mini MUST be on your layout somewhere. Karen also allows us to use any or all of the rest of the collection. This month’s mini looks like this:

The rest of the collection can be found HERE. Let’s take a look at some of the layouts posted to the Use It All Challenge Gallery. There were a LOT of entries there for this month, so rather than show them all here, I’ve instead chosen to go with every fourth layout, beginning with the very first layout posted. Otherwise this post would be so long, no one would want to look at it. As usual, each layout is linked to the Gallery so you can take a closer look, and leave some praise, if you’re so inclined. Just click on the Scrapper’s user name and through the magic of technology, you’ll be whisked right to it.

Our first entry is from Windswept. I can see all the bits from the mini, and a couple of additions from the collection. I like how she’s blended two of the papers.

Next is a layout from pbhill. It’s the first time she’s been part of the Spotlight! Hers is an interesting take;, she’s desaturated the colours of the papers. But I don’t see the pink flower……..

I’m not seeing any flowers on this one from jenasz. The doodles appear to be floating over the page.

Looks like makeyesup understood the assignment. All the items from the mini are there and she’s added some gesso too.

I can see dj_w has added some elements from the larger collection to her layout. The blended papers in the background are lovely. Do people just not like the journal blank, though? Seems like everybody wants to use just the border…

Macsandy has added a bunch of elements from the collection. The warm palette she chose really works well with her photos.

I see mdusell employs the KISS principle. Her layout keeps things simple, and she’s included all the required elements.

I LOVE this photo; it reminds me of my youngest two grandchildren. Her creative use of papers is another thing I like about photocrazy‘s layout.

Aha! Our first furbaby layout! I think that cat actually IS laughing, amirite, larkd? Don’t see the solid white paper anywhere though.

Celestine had added some daisies, a rub-on, and a bunch of other elements from the collection. I like the diagonal arrangement of her layout.

There it is! The elusive journaling block makes its first true appearance on mom2triplets04‘s layout. I’m glad to know my dogs aren’t the only ones on their best behaviour at day care!

Aw… bathtime photos are always a favourite. It looks like pepsibubbles borrowed the Beatrix Potter elements from another of Karen‘s kits.

The flowers got the royal treatment by lisar. Does anyone see the white solid paper though?

That paper fold is genius, dragonstarr! Lovely cluster, too.

I’ve been very busy here this last week and have had limited time for scrapping. Thanks for letting me look at your layouts, ladies!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, GingerBread Ladies, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Tutorial Tuesday (GingerScraps)

August 13, 2024 by Jan Leave a Comment

Multitasking: Gallery Uploads

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3AqatzG

Last week’s tutorial was a lot, wasn’t it? It was pretty much a 3-in-1 and covered a lot of ground. Somewhere in the middle, I mentioned that it’s possible to batch-process your layout uploads, so today I’m going to show you how to do it. It’s a lot easier than you think, and the tut will be a quick one! I won’t go back over the entire routine, since it’s easy enough to review the tut from last Tuesday. We’re going to start on the Upload Photos screen.

It’s okay to leave the Category box on Member Galleries. We’ll change it on the next screen.

Choose your layout files. You have the opportunity to add 5 layouts per upload. [More about that in a minute.] The app will reorder them in alphabetical order by title when we move to the next screen. If you’re uploading a two-layout spread, it’s hit-or-miss if they’ll end up with the proper orientation. It helps if you’ve given both layouts the same name, but with a number at the end to distinguish one from the other. Leave the Title and Description boxes empty.

You can leave the Keywords box blank. If you’re uploading creative team layouts, you can put your designer’s name in here. If you’re uploading Challenge layouts, you can put a generic “month/year/Challenge” label in there. If you choose not to allow comments, click on the Upload/Submit bar now.

BUT… if you want praise and you want to KNOW what others have said, flip these boxes to Yes, then click the Upload/Submit bar.

Thumbnails? CHECK! So I know my layout files are the right size.

Find the correct Category for your layouts here. Again, if these are Challenge layouts, make sure the correct year is there so Missi can count them toward your Reward. The GingerBread Ladies‘ (designers’) names are also listed in the drop-down menu, as well as special-events galleries too. REMEMBER: IF YOU SELECT MORE THAN ONE CATEGORY HERE, THE SERVER WILL COUNT EACH ONE AS A ‘NEW’ LAYOUT AGAINST YOUR DAILY TOTAL. There’s a work-around though. I’ll tell you that bit at the end.

Put in the title for each of the layouts you’ve got showing. One thing I forgot to mention in last week’s tutorial is that if you enter your title on the first screen above and it contains any special characters, like quotation marks or an apostrophe, when it pops up on this screen, the special characters are lost. But if you wait until this screen to add your title, they stay put!

Now add in your credits. Please don’t skip this step.

Edit the Keywords box with the appropriate Challenge, if applicable. Then click Process. The next screen will move to your Gallery and you can proceed from there to update your Cookie Jar and post your layouts to the Forum.

Now, If you want to bypass the 8 layouts-a-day limit anomaly, once your layouts are posted to the Gallery, you can Edit Photo in the Gallery! You can also fix typos, replace lost credits (a known issue that occasionally happens and isn’t really fixable) or even replace the layout itself with an edited one. Look just to the right of your avatar and you’ll find User Options and click Edit Photo.

You can add your extra Categories here without them impacting your daily limit, as well as heal other wounds.

So now we’re all GingerScraps Community experts!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Tutorial Tuesday (GingerScraps)

August 6, 2024 by Jan 3 Comments

Step-By-Step: Gallery Limits, Challenges and Filling Your Cookie Jar

[editor’s note: Sorry this is so late! I got caught up watching the Olympics. 😉 ]

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/4fLz9D5

Over the weekend I got a message from Ginger with a plea from a new GingerScrapper. This is a very timely request, given GingerScraps is running a Summer Scrap-a-Thon with a mega-collab reward for completion. In part: ‘Here is her message, ‘Help please. I’d love to do all the challenges, actually have a couple that would qualify as already done for August. I just do not understand how to post these with links and all. Could somebody do a step by step for me? I see those cute colabs as rewards every month and hate to keep passing them up. Something simple like Facebook’s dropping an image in a box I can handle, links & things I don’t understand.‘” Well, that’s a big job, but I’m up for it! That is… if our newbie is using Photoshop Elements. 😀 Warning: This will be a long tutorial and many of you aren’t going to need it. But if you do, I’ve got you!

First things first. The GingerScraps Gallery has strict limits on image size, type of file and number of images posted per day. I’ll go over them, starting with image size. The usual pixel size of a digital paper is 3600×3600 – clearly way too big for the Gallery, but good for detail, clarity and ease of use. So most layouts tend to be 3600×3600 and will need to be Resized for the Gallery, down to 600×600 pixels. To do that, click on Image>Resize>Image Size… OR use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>ALT/OPT>I.

This dialog box opens up. Make sure all the boxes at the bottom left are ticked and choose Bicubic in the long bar for best results. Change the Pixel Dimensions to 600×600.

Then click File>Save As… or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>SHIFT>S. This will give you several options.

I always Save my layouts as a full-sized PSD, a 2400×2400 JPG and a 600×600 JPG (except signatures – those are PNGs). So I have to change the name of my file when I go to save the 600×600 version. I add GS to the title. Just a note: if I want to use your layout in an Individual Style tutorial, it’s a lot easier for me if you Save As a JPG…

So, format is figured out. Now File Size… it can’t be bigger than 500KB. Depending on the complexity of your layout you may be well under that… or well OVER it. See the box outlined in red. If that number is lower or barely more than 500KB – like 510KB, you’ll be okay to go ahead and Save As is. (There’s a tiny bit more compression that takes place after you hit OK.)

But if it’s too big, do this instead.

First, make sure the image is Optimized (#1). Then look at the File Size at #2. If it’s less than 500KB, you’re good to go. And it usually is. If not, make adjustments at the Quality box, #3. The size drops REALLY fast, so watch it closely! Then when your file is at or less than 500KB, click Save.

Okay! On to Gallery uploading and Challenge entering. I find it easiest to have 3 GingerScraps tabs open at the same time, one for the Cookie Jar, one for the Gallery and one for the Forum. Then I just move between tabs.

Take a moment to commit the Gallery limits to memory. (Just kidding – the Gallery will tell you is you’re overstepping!) A lot of other digital shops use the same platform for Gallery posting, and have the same or similar limits. When you first open the Gallery tab on the GS site, the default is the Member Galleries – your personal Gallery, as it were.

To choose a Challenge Gallery or a Designer Gallery, click on the arrow shown below then scroll through the list that pops up. Pay attention when choosing a Challenge Gallery because sometimes the one you choose is actually last year’s version and you don’t want that**. The label should say (2024) after the name of the Challenge. [There are also some special-events Galleries.]

Once you’ve got the right Gallery, click on the bar that says Choose File. (As you can see, there are five of those. Yes, you CAN upload five different layouts at a time. But… you can only have a total of eight in one day. I’ll expand on that in a few.) The last folder you accessed on your computer will appear. If it’s not where your layout is, find the correct folder, then click the 600×600 image you Saved. Then click Open.

The title of your layout will appear to the right of the button as shown.

Okay, let’s recap. The correct Gallery is selected. The correct image is chosen. Now enter the title you want displayed with your layout once it’s up in the Gallery. It doesn’t have to be whatever you named the image when you Saved it.

Leave that big box empty for now. We’ll fill it later. You can skip the Keywords step if you want. I always just fill it with the name of the Challenge. Here I have August 2024 Signature Challenge. Then look at that bottom section. It’s asking if you want people to be able to leave comments on your layout, and if you want to be notified. If your answer is no, click on the Upload/Submit bar in either section. If it’s yes, click on the bottom Upload bar.

If your image is small enough, you’ll see the thumbnail. If it’s too big, you’ll get an error message on this screen where the thumbnail is.

NOW we’ll fill in the big Description box. At the very least, type in your credits. The Designers deserve recognition, it’s part of their Terms of Use, and if you’re entering Challenges, you have to meet content requirements. So don’t skip them! You can also add other Galleries in this step. BUT… each additional Gallery you add on THIS STEP will count toward your daily limit. Yes, it’s only ONE image, but ON THIS STEP, each Gallery counts as a separate image. Weird, right? [I’ll do another tutorial on multiple uploads later if y’all think it’s needed.] Then click Process.

There! My siggie is in the Challenge Gallery, and in my Member Gallery as well. (Oddly, the platform does that automatically, but doesn’t count it toward the limit. I know… weird!) You can see my credits there too.

If you’re interested in earning the monthly Challenge Reward, you’ll need to have a Cookie Jar. It’s where you record links to all of the layouts you’re entering for the month. Highlight the text in the address bar at the top of your browser, which is the Universal Resource Locator (URL) for your layout. Right-click and choose Copy.

Then click over to your Cookie Jar tab on your browser. I like to set up my Cookie Jar on the first day of the month with just the Total Challenges Completed:(0) bit filled in. Then when I’m ready to add a layout, I just have to do this next step. But you can just type in the name of the Challenge then Paste in your URL. Up to you. I type in the Challenge and the title of my layout.

Then I highlight the title and click on the globe-with-chainlink icon (in the little red box). That opens the link box option.

Set the cursor inside the box, right-click and choose Paste.

That adds a direct link to the Gallery where the layout title is, which makes it easy for Missi to verify at the end of the month, and for any of the Challenge hosts who need to check content.

Are you tired yet? 🙂 Almost there!! The last part is to add your layout to the Challenge thread in the Forum. Click your cursor somewhere inside your layout then right-click and choose Copy Image Link from the pop-up.

Now click through to your Forum tab in your browser. Find the Challenge thread and scroll to the bottom of the page. There’s an Add Quick Reply box there. You can add some text in the Reply box if you like. Click on the icon that looks like a stretchy photo, as shown,

This box will open. Set your cursor in the box, then Paste the Image Link that your computer has conveniently remembered for you. Click OK.

If you see any part of your layout in the Quick Reply box, you have success! All that’s left is to click Post Quick Reply.

Do you feel like you just ran a marathon? I know I do! Obviously, you don’t have to do all of this in one go. Now have fun!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Designer Spotlight August 2024

August 3, 2024 by Jan Leave a Comment

Magical Scraps Galore!

Well, here we are staring August in the face. I’m not going to lie, I have quite a bit of anxiety when I remember last August, and the wildfire we faced then. Thankfully this year I have the Olympics to distract me. I don’t usually watch much in the way of sports, and the Olympics is no exception, but this year, here I am, glued to my chair watching even sports I don’t like (looking at you, soccer!) and getting loud and proud of our athletes. That’s why this Blog post is a bit behind my original plan. But not TOO late! Let’s meet Marina, the designer known as Magical Scraps Galore. [editor’s note: Any coloured text in bold and underlined is hyperlinked for your viewing pleasure.] Our conversation took place before the Games started so I’m working from memory. 😉

J: Marina, thanks for giving me the opportunity to shine the Spotlight on you and your work. Why don’t we get the mundane stuff out of the way first, then we can get to know YOU. When did you get bitten by the design bug?

M: I’ve been designing for 13 years now!

J: That’s a good long time. I guess it explains the depth and breadth of your GingerScraps shop! What was the catalyst for you?

M: I started creating my own digital papers and embellishments for scrapping our second trip to Disney World, since the digital offerings were very limited back then. It didn’t take long to realize that scrapbook design was my passion, and I started participating in the design challenges hosted by MouseScrappers. I opened my first shop in 2013 and I’ve been part of the wonderful GingerScraps family since 2014.

J: I joined the GS family at the end of April, 2013, so we’re cohorts in a way. This truly IS the friendliest scrapping community on the Web. I work on a laptop seated in a comfy armchair in my living room. What does your workspace look like?

M: I design in my studio at home, with my three cats sleeping by my computer or on my lap. Sometimes they like to sleep ON my computer and they mess with my designs, LOL! I have to be very careful but I just love them! I use Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, and ArtRage.

J: What kinds of things motivate you when you sit down to create?

M: My main motivation and inspiration are my kids and my trips around the world.

J: Same! Many of my layouts are trip-related or have either my kids or grandkids in them. I’m busy creating a memoir for my sister, who travelled to the East Coast last year, for Christmas and love to scrap travel photos. What would your perfect vacation look like?

M: My perfect vacation is a road trip with my family, hiking national parks and visiting small towns along the way.

J: I live in a tourist destination! This year has been quieter than usual, I think because of our wildfire last year. People are scared, rightfully so. Not a fun topic at all, so let’s change it up. Do you have a favourite kit in your shop?

M: What a hard question! It’s hard to pick just one, it’s like choosing your favorite child, LOL … I have several kits that I love, especially my travel collection, but one of my favorite kits is Magical Memories, it’s all about my happy place and it’s a reminder of all the magical moments I spent there with my family.

J: Everybody says that, but what a fun collection!! I’ve been to Disneyland twice, once when I was about 12, and again in 1988 with my kids. I should dig out all those photos and do something with them. What did you want to be when you grew up?

M: I wanted to be a flight attendant or a rock star.

J: And here you are, a travelling rock-star digital scrapbooking designer! What super-power would you wish for?

M: Teleportation, so I can travel anywhere in no time and with no jet lag!

J: Amen sister! That would make life so much simpler. And healthier! One last question. If you had a warning label, what would it say?

M: Warning: Crazy cat lady!! LOL! I’m a huge cat lover, and if my family would let me, I’d have 10 cats or more!

J: If current events are any indication, you’re in good company! I’m not a cat fancier, but our neighbours have two beauties who sit on their deck and drive my dogs batty. Thanks so much again for chatting with me. I hope your Spotlight brings you all the best kind of attention in the Shop and the Forum.

Marina is not just the Spotlight Designer for August, she’s also providing the Daily Download. Each day a link for the day’s pieces is posted on the Blog, and it stays active for a full 5 days so you don’t have to worry if you miss a day. If you find you’ve missed a bunch of days, the entire kit will be released in the Shop at a later date. In addition to her monthly Surprise Challenge, she’s also hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month too… just in time for the Summer GingerScraps Scrap-a-Thon! Check them out, they’re ALWAYS fun!!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Feature Designer, GingerBread Ladies, Product/Designer Spotlight Tagged With: Designer Spotlight

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

July 30, 2024 by Jan 9 Comments

Quick Trick: What the Font?!

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3SqmX0b

Today’s Quick Trick is literally a 5 second life saver! You may recall that I’m teaching myself to use Cricut Design Space. It has some similarities to PSE, although it’s REALLY not intuitive at all. One similarity is the extensive use of fonts in projects. Which, of course, leads to… “ACK!! I need to update this/correct spelling/change wording/add something and I can’t find the font I used! Help!!!” This one little trick will end that – and it works on both platforms!

In my screenshot, the text in the speech bubble is a font I picked up somewhere… could be dafont, or Creative Fabrica, or Font Bundles… I don’t know. I love it for this layout of my youngest grandpuppy. But it’s not going to stay in my brain.

But – if I double-click on the text to the right of that big T where Elements is just showing the first couple of words of my text, I can type in the font’s name there and the layer will save it for posterity! Now, this only works if you save a layered version, either PSD or TIFF, of your layout, as I do. If you know you’ll be Simplifying your text – to change fonts, for example – you can do this step before you Simplify. The layer’s new name will be the same as your font.

Another option is to add a text layer to your layout somewhere with the names of all the fonts you’ve used. This layer can be made invisible by closing the eye on the layer; it won’t show in the Gallery or if you decide to print your layout, but it’ll be preserved in case you need to use the same fonts again!

Personal note: My dad’s cancer is back and he’s filled with metastases. He has declined treatment and will be receiving palliative care. It’s impossible to predict how long he has, so if I’m suddenly MIA, you can assume I’m with my family.

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Fantastic Fonts, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

July 16, 2024 by Jan 1 Comment

Challenge Spotlight: Recipe

It’s time again to shine the spotlight on all of YOU! But first… did y’all get your Prime Day shopping done? 😀 I paid my credit card off yesterday so I’d have a wide-open window. 😉

Let’s get down to business. This month the Challenge in the Spotlight is the Recipe Challenge, which is hosted by Sweet Pea Designs. It’s a good Challenge for a Blog post, since all the participants are working from the same set of required elements. So I’ll be taking a close look at each of the layouts to find each of the things on Penny‘s list. The layouts will appear in the order they were uploaded to the Challenge Gallery, and as usual, they’ll be linked to the Gallery so you can get a closer look. Just click on the Scrapper‘s name and you’ll be zoomed right to their layout. (Anything I underline will be a hot link!)

First up is this pretty layout from alexandergirl68. She’s definitely got 5 papers there, a tiny string heart, a ribbon bow and there are flairs on her title. banner Single photo, frame, 2 clusters and border, check. I had to zoom in to see that the heart on the frame is made of beads, check! And the theme is perfectly represented.

Let’s look at this one from snickels next. She’s used 2 photos, one with a thin white frame and one masked. Check! One of her 5 papers has been clipped to her border. Clever! Beads are all over the place, I’m guessing the string is holding up her birthday banner and she found a birthday flair to coordinate. Bow, yep; 2 clusters, yep; looks like all the boxes are ticked!

GrannyNKy‘s layout is so feminine! Like snickels, she has clipped one of her papers to an overlay. I like how she’s interpreted the “photo with frame” by putting the frame behind her photo. 10 points! I see 2 clusters, 2 bows – one of string, several flairs, a lovely banner, some paper borders and a celebratory theme. The beads are there, scattered under the larger cluster. Zoom in if you don’t see them. Full marks.

Katherine Woodin‘s clebration isn’t obvious, but it’s everywhere in her journaling. I had to look really hard to see all 5 papers, which is a sign of a crafty Scrapper. The rest of the required elements are much more easily spotted. That happy face emoji flair cracks me up.

I didn’t have to look too closely to see the theme for dj_w‘s layout. Every one of the listed ingredients is easily identified. Good job!

Macsandy had me squinting… she used a string of beads and I overlooked them 3 times! I love the stamped-heart border she chose and her clusters are perfection. This might be my favourite of the six layouts I found for this Challenge.

One thing I noticed about these layouts is that four of them have a similar colour palette, which has to be a coincidence.

I hope everyone is safe from all the weather-related events we’re seeing. Last night’s derecho was pretty frightening. We’re seeing quite a bit of smoke today, as we head into week 3 of 90+°F temps. I’ll be driving up to have what might be my last visit with my dad later this week… he’s tired of feeling unwell and is talking about being “ready to go”. So if I miss a post, that might be the reason. Stay cool and stay safe, my friends.

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies, Spotlight Challenge, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

July 9, 2024 by Jan 4 Comments

Creating and Shadowing Transparent Elements

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/4cJAs3t

Let me tell you a secret. I really don’t like hexagons. Like REALLY. Possibly because of my husband’s obsession with board wargames, which are played on a hex-grid map, are horrendously expensive, eat up huge chunks of storage space in our house and enormous chunks of his time and attention. Maybe. But all that being said, I decided I would take a run at this month’s Surprise Challenge, hosted by Magical Scraps Galore, which requires the use of hexagons. They had to be there, but they didn’t have to be the focal point, right? So I decided I’d use a glass honeycomb created from a paper mat I found in the GingerBread Ladies‘ collab Everyday Happiness. [Yes, I got the kit’s name wrong on the screenshot. Oy!]

Zoomed in, it’s easy to see it’s actually paper.

These next few steps turned out to be unnecessary. Feel free to jump 3 steps ahead! There is a purpose for applying Styles in this way, as in when you want to add a Glass, Acrylic or Epoxy Style but preserve the colour or other detail of your original layer. Anyhoo… this is the process I used for this technique, so it stays in. I made a Copy Layer: right-click>Duplicate Layer… OR CTRL/CMD>J.

If you opted for the right-click route, this Option Box pops up. Just click Ok.

Then I turned off the Visibility for the original layer.

How many of you out there aren’t aware of how to add and find commercial Styles (and Brushes) to your electronic devices? Do we need a tut on it?

To access the Styles you have installed on your device, click on the Styles button at the bottom of the Layers Panel. It opens the Styles menu. Scroll through until you find the Style set you want to use. I’m using Glass Styles from Karen Schulz. Click HERE to see them in the store.

I wish I could still show you the labels that show when you hover the cursor over these. I chose the “glass-11” version, one that has a fairly shallow Bevel and no shadow. This is an important factor. An integrated Drop Shadow will cause the transparent parts to turn gray everywhere – see the thumbnails in the Styles menu in the screenshot – and I don’t want that!

There! The honeycomb is transparent and has a slight weight to it. Against the transparent background, it’s hard to see, but not for long.

Even transparent objects will cast a shadow, so I’m going to add one to my glass mat using my usual custom shadow technique. Some of you will already have tried it and know how it works, so I won’t be offended if you scroll on by. I start by adding a new blank layer UNDERNEATH the Glass Layer.

The blank layer is highlighted as being the active layer. That’s what you want. Now, CTRL/CMD>click on the Glass mat’s Layer Thumbnail. That will Select the edges of the mat, but won’t change the active layer. You can see the marching ants in the screenshot, which helps make the glass visible too.

With your Foreground Color set to black (hex code 000000) use the Paint Bucket (keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>K) to Fill the Selection. It’s ugly but not permanently so.

To get rid of the marching ants, you can click Select>Deselect or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>D.

Now I’ve decided that my light source is in the upper left of the image, so I’ve used the arrow keys to Nudge the Shadow Layer down and to the right a bit. Keep in mind how much your object is raised off the page when determining how much to move your Shadow Layer.

Next, to soften up the edges of the Shadow. Click Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur…

In this screenshot, you can see the glass much more easily. I moved the slider to the right until I liked the effect – it shows up on the canvas in real time. The Radius is 5.6 Pixels. Of course, it’s much too dark, but the finished product won’t be.

I next changed the Blend Mode to Linear Burn. This is to allow the colour of whatever goes underneath this mat to show through. If I left it set to Normal, it’ would show as black/gray against the paper.

Then I dropped the Opacity to 40%. Make sure to keep these steps in order: change Blend mode first, then the Opacity, otherwise it’ll mess up your hot keys. I think it looks about right. Sort of. If this was a solid object, it would be done.

But it’s GLASS. So I reSelected the edges of the Glass Layer (ignore the active layer in the screenshot because it’s going to change). CTRL/CMD>click on the Glass Layer thumbnail.

With the SHADOW Layer active, click Edit>Cut OR CTRL/CMD>X. That will remove the Shadow lying underneath the Glass.

There! You can see the Shadow, the Glass is easily seen and it looks realistic. This Shadow technique will work nicely for acrylic, epoxy and vellum too.

And with paper behind it, it looks spectacular!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Designer Spotlight July 2024

July 7, 2024 by Jan Leave a Comment

Designs by Lisa Minor

Has all the early July dust settled for you yet? We’ve slid into another heat dome and it’s hellaciously hot here. I know we’re not the only ones facing that right now; I thank heaven we’re not in Tornado Alley or in the path of Hurricane Beryl. Be safe, folks!!

I waited until now to share this convo I had with Lisa Minor because there was SO much going on the last week and I didn’t want it to be lost in the shuffle. Lisa and I have visited before, but we always find a way to keep it fresh. 😉 We started off with the usual ordinary stuff – I asked Lisa to tell me about her design space.

L: My workplace is in my kitchen with a view of our backyard, it’s a huge custom desk my oldest built for me.

J: Ooh, how nice is that? My craft space has a huge custom desk in it that I threw together with pieces from Michaels and a tabletop for Home Depot. I’m still moving things around to make it efficient. I think it’s almost there. I’ve been making a LOT of personalized cards for family members and July is the month with the most occasions. What kinds of things motivate or inspire your creativity?

L: Color, Color, Color! The bolder the better.

J: Yes! Colour is the foundation of art. What colours are your go-tos, and which do you avoid?

L: I love BLUE, it’s flexible and easy to work with as a designer and a scrapbooker. I think my least favorite is yellow. It’s difficult to find a good shade of yellow that goes with everything.

J: Same! But having said that, I made a birthday card for my son-in-law that has a gorgeous blend of Peacock Feathers, Lucky Clover and Twisted Citron Distress inks. Twisted Citron is definitely yellow and I love the way the card turned out. The anniversary card I made for my daughter and other son-in-law also has a bunch of yellow on it, but the main palette is teal. Anyway……….. Tell me about your dream vacation.

L: I would love to go to Ireland! It’s on my bucket list.

J: I think you know that I’ve been there twice, right? Let me know if you need any tips! Don’t kiss the Blarney stone – it’s gross! I really want to get back there one more time before I get too feeble. I’ve narrowed down the area where my mystery ancestor was born and need to see it for myself. It would be so much easier if I had a time machine and could just ask him. If time travel was possible, would you go back in time or ahead?

L: I would go back and spend more time with my Grandma Flo! I miss her and would love to hear more from her about her life.

J: I don’t think I would want to know the future. I think it could ruin the present – but could be useful at the track. Are you a sports fan?

L: I love watching men’s soccer! Those guys are ripped, lol!

J: Not for me, although Canada is playing really well at the Copa América. I’m more of a winter sports person, although I do enjoy baseball. One of my girls played ladies fastball when she was a teenager and was on a AA team until she broke her elbow. Long story… What did you want to be when you were small?

L: I always just wanted to be a Mom – Wish Granted!

J: It’s the hardest job anyone can have, but definitely worth it! Fastball Daughter has always been a bit of a challenge and now she’s an adult, she’s finding out she has allergies, food intolerances and is neurodiverse, so a lot of things finally make sense. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

L: If I could broaden this a little, it would be ANYTHING pasta!

J: How do you feel about gluten-free pasta? 😀 I bet Fastball Daughter would love to be able to eat pasta again. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

L: I would like to be about 6 inches taller.

J: I already tower over my mother and sisters and am nearly as tall as my dad an brother, so that’s a hard pass for me! Now for the sill question most of my guests love to answer. Are you more likely to sing, or dance, in the shower?

L: Sing of course!

J: I love how my voice sounds in my big glass shower. Otherwise not so much. Thanks for chatting today, Lisa! Have a great Designer Spotlight month.

For our readers, don’t go away yet! Lisa has a very colourful Daily Download for us, links here on the Blog. Each segment’s link is active for 5 days, so if you miss a day or two you can still collect all the parts. If you just can’t check the Blog every day or you forget, the entire kit will appear in Lisa‘s shop for purchase at a later date. She is also hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month in addition to her Pinterest Challenge. (Click the links!) But that’s not all! She has a coupon for y’all, so go take a gander at her shop. (Click the link!)

Now, before it gets too hot, I should water my patio pots!

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

July 2, 2024 by Jan 3 Comments

Taking Distress to the Next Level

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/4d1IYdD

Happy July! Happy Canada Day! Happy Independence Day! Happy Muharram! Happy Bastille Day! On to the second half of the year……….

Last week’s Quick Trick elicited this response from Steph: “I gave this tut a try and like the effect I got. While I was reading the text, i was thinking that we would be “roughing up” the edges of the text or shape. What i ended up with was a distressed look on my whole word. Is it possible to do a roughed up edge just on the outside edge? This might be tough on a font, but would a simple shape be more possible? Thanks!” Well, yeah. It’s possible! Some parts of this technique are similar to an old, old tutorial on inked edges, but I’ve added some twists.

What better object to create a beat-up look on than a piece of ephemera? I chose this price label from the GingerBread Ladies‘ collab Like Them Apples. If you look closely along the right side of the label, it shows some foxing – that rusty, splotchy, discolouration seen on old photos and documents. We’re going to add some foxing to the lower right corner of the label.

Because we’re working with the Brush Tool, repeat after me: “Brushes go on their own layer!” Before we go any further, pop a new blank layer on top of the Label Layer by clicking on the sheet of paper icon to the top left of the Layers Panel. My foreground colour was picked using the Eye Dropper Tool, from a darker are of the foxing already on the label. Now to choose a Brush. In the Natural Brushes set there are a bunch of Stipple Brushes. (One of the most recent updates to my firmware removed my ability to show you a lot of things, like the Brush Options Panel in screenshots. Grr.) I chose the 21 pixel size, then Resized it to 30 pixels. (To quickly Resize Brushes on the fly, use the [ – bigger and ] – smaller keys.) Then I clicked the Brush – Opacity at 100% – randomly along the edge of the label, overlapping the edge in several spots. That’s not a problem, it’ll be fixed in a minute. But don’t DRAG the Brush, that just makes a mess.

When I’ve got enough colour there, next step is to Select the outside edge of the label. With the Brush Layer active, CTRL/CMD>click on the Label Layer Thumbnail. The marching ants will appear around the edge.

If we went ahead and Cut away the Stippling right now, it would disappear from INSIDE the edge, so the Selection has to be Inverted. You can click Select>Inverse or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD/SHIFT>I.

If it seems like I’m belabouring the point about being positive what Layer is active, it’s because I am. Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X the stippling that falls outside the label’s edges to clean it up.

The only issue I have with how it looks is that it’s a bit too dark and looks artificial. Easy fix!

I’ve circled a foxed spot that was part of the label before I started messing it up. I used it to guide me as I dropped the Opacity of the Brush Layer to 45%. Now it looks natural!

To simply rough up the edge, rather than Brushing ON, Erase away! Choose the Eraser Tool, pick one of the Dense Stipple Brushes, make it fairly big and rather than spreading the clicks out, group them closer together. (I’ve put a white background layer behind my sample so you can see the rough edge better.) If you want to give the effect of white-core cardstock, “fox” this new edge using white. So many ways to make this work!!

Now let’s distress this baggage label from Cindy Ritter‘s One in a Melon. The label has been crumpled, but if it had ever been on a bag, it would look more beat up than this.

This kind of label is ink-printed on heavy paper, so distressing it should show the base paper through the ink. To that end I picked my colour from the lightest cream area of the paper. I’ll use a Dry Media Brush, Pastel on Charcoal Paper to add some “wisdom” to the label.

On your shiny new layer that you’ve popped on top of the label, start clicking the Brush over areas that logically would be rubbed against the wall or other baggage. The tops of those creases need to be rubbed a bit too. You can adjust the size, roundness and angle of your Brush by clicking on Brush Settings… and making your changes.

Now, if you’re really Type A and want to replicate what your luggage tag looked like after your last airline experience, you could add some dirt….

Once you’ve got your label roughed up enough, Select the edge of the label as we’ve done before, but with the Brush Layer active.

Invert your Selection.

And clean up your background.

Yep, it’s scuffed alright!

Side-by-side comparison…

Does that give you some ideas, Steph?

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Let's Get Crafty, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

June 25, 2024 by Jan 4 Comments

Quick Trick: Distressing Elements

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3zNdf1K

I’m still processing last night’s Game 7 Stanley Cup final. What a game!! I’m sad that the Oilers didn’t win, but I know they’ll be back in the fall, this time stronger and more determined. Congratulations Panthers on a great series.

This Quick Trick might be of particular interest to the former paper scrappers in our midst. Remember using an emery board to rough up the edges of your cardstock or to “age” a tag, label, frame or other element? I’m going to show a digital technique that has the same effect. I’m demo-ing it on some text, but you can apply the technique to almost anything. And it only takes a couple of easy steps. I’ve used Amastery Script and the paper behind it is from Aprilisa‘s Evolving.

If you’re trying this Trick on text, make sure you’ve Simplified it so it can be manipulated.

Click on the sheet-of-paper icon at the top of the Layers Panel to open up a new blank layer on top of your text layer.

Now go to the Brush Tool and look for the Faux Finish Brushes set. It’s one of the standard brush sets that comes with the Elements software. You’re looking for the Rolled Rag – Terry Brush; it’s about halfway down the palette. If you hover the cursor over the thumbnails, their names will appear on the screen. (I can’t catch them with a screenshot or I’d show you!) No need to adjust any of the settings, other than the size.

Next, with the blank layer active, CTRL/CMD>click on the text layer’s thumbnail to Select the edges of the text. This will ensure that the Brush is only applied to the text, not the whole thing. More about this in a minute.*

Now, look at which layer is active before proceeding. It must be the blank layer! Adjust the size of the Brush (you can use the slider or the [ and ] keys) so it covers roughly half the height of the text. You’ll see the image of the Brush on your canvas so you can judge your adjustment. Don’t fuss about the colour you’ve got selected in the foreground. I’ve used white, but it’s going to be removed so it’s not a factor. Then randomly click the Brush over your text. I went a little overboard, just so you could have a good look at what it does. Whatever you do, don’t DRAG the Brush – it’ll be ugly and you’ll be CTRL/CMD>Z-ing it away.

Next, Select the edges of the blotches you’ve created with the Brush by CTRL/CMD>clicking on the Brush Layer’s thumbnail. You can kinda see that I’ve outlined the marching ants with red in my screenshot.

To remove the Brush‘s blotchies, click CTRL/CMD>X and they’re gone. All that’s left is to Merge the layers. Activate the Text and Brush Layers then CTRL/CMD>E and it’s done!

* So, the tutorial I based this one on said to Lock the Pixels on the Text Layer and then use the Brush. Well, I tried that – the Brush wouldn’t work. So I created a workaround.

Next week, we’ll be into the second half of the year. I know! Gah!!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Let's Get Crafty, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday