Tutorial Wednesday (Photoshop Elements)

March 8, 2023 by

Weaving – the Digital Way

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/428oL1i

Sorry to keep you waiting! When Ginger send me an idea for a tutorial that I really loved, I had no idea it would end up being much more complex than at first glance. I scrapped the first two attempts at making this a coherent process and I think you’ll find it’s not as bad as all the screenshots – and your faithful demonstrator – make it look. (However, this tutorial will require intermediate-to-expert familiarity with the Elements software.) It started with Ginger sending me a link to this layout by trinanne; she used this month’s brush and clipped her papers to it over and over. Of course, I had to take the long walk sown the garden path instead…

Now, obviously, if we’re weaving a bunch of papers or ribbons together, they’ll look best against a neutral solid background. I’m using 10 different patterned papers and a solid cardstock from the February 2023 Daily Download Noteworthy, from Miss Fish.

I decided it would work best for the way I was seeing this in my head if I created a bunch of paper strip Clipping Masks. If you’d rather use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to cut strips, that’s up to you. I want to have some variations in width, some crooked and torn edges, and one strip will have a deckle edge. (Instructions not included.) To make those individual features work best, the adjustments are made to the Mask to ensure the patterns on the papers aren’t distorted. I’ll be making a roughly 8 inch by 8 inch square, 10 strips in all. Here’s a tip: When using the Custom Shapes Tool you can specify dimensions and with only one click, you’ve got the desired shape in the desired size. I’m using a Width 8 inches, Height 1.5 inches for my first strip Mask.

Don’t forget that when using the Custom Shape Tool, the resulting shape is a Smart Object – it’s locked and can’t be altered unless you Simplify it. More recent versions of Elements includes a Simplify button bar in the Tool Options. If your version doesn’t show it there, right-click on the layer and choose Simplify Layer from the drop-down menu that appears.

Here I’ve created all 5 of my horizontal Clipping Mask layers. I’ve changed the foreground colour a bit for each to help keep them separate in my mind. You can see there are some thinner and some thicker strips. Next I’ll make 5 vertical strips the same way.

All 10 strips are there now. Let’s Clip some papers to them!

I know you all already know how to Clip papers to template spots but I’ll review anyway. With your paper right above the object you’re Clipping to, right-click on the paper layer and choose Create Clipping Mask. Alternately, you can use a keyboard shortcut. For versions 14 and earlier, CTRL/CMD>G will do it. For versions 15 and later, CTRL/CMD>ALT/OPT>G. My fingers just go there almost automatically now, I’ve used that shortcut so often.

Here are the 5 horizontal strips with their papers Clipped in place. The process is identical for the vertical strips.

Just like that.

I’ll show you how to make them look a little less deliberate in the next few screenshots. Here’s why I opted for Clipping Masks and not just Marqueeing out a bunch of strips. If I decided to Image>Transform>Skew a paper strip, the pattern would also Skew and it would look awful. So instead, I’ll Skew the Mask, giving it crooked ends, and the paper will stay unblemished. Skew only allows the corners to move in a single direction.

To make each paper strip more manageable, after I make my tweaks to the Mask, I’ll right-click>Merge the paper and Mask layers into a single layer. The shortcut is CTRL/CMD>E.

 

Here I’ve made a bit of a curved cut into the end of the Mask. The Smudge Tool will give that effect, or you could use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to Cut (CTRL/CMD>X) away a thin curved sliver. That method will give you a cleaner Cut.

Why not, indeed?

For this strip I used Image>Transform>Distort. With that command, each of the corners moves independently in all directions.

Another variation on the Smudge Tool.

Now let’s get to the WEAVE. First you’ll need to decide which strip to start with. I’m going to skip the first vertical strip and pass the pink striped strip then the multi-striped strip underneath my red-and-white horizontal strip. I Selected the edges of the first horizontal strip by CTRL/CMD>clicking on the layer thumbnail in the Layers Panel. Then I made the pink striped layer my active layer. To make it look like it passed behind the horizontal strip, Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X removes that Selection from the pink striped paper.

 

Alternate this process for each of the horizontal layers.

Here is what it looks like before the dimension of shadowing is added.

Add a new, blank layer at the top of the stack of layers. This is where you’ll put your shadows. Decide where your light source is. That will determine where your shadows will lie. I like my light to come from the upper left, at 120°. Because some of my paper strips don’t have sharp, straight edges, I created custom shadows for those layers. (Custom Shadows – Jan’s Method) If you’re going with straight edges you can ignore that. Instead, use the Pencil Tool. For the horizontal strips, you’ll be drawing in your shadows inside the edges of the paper horizontally. For the vertical layers, you’ll be drawing your shadows inside the edges of those papers vertically. The Radius for your Pencil lines can be fairly small, since the papers will be laying tightly together. I used 4 pixels but 5 or even 8 won’t be too big. Set your Foreground Colour to black (000000) Click the cursor right inside the corner of the paper square you’re working with.

Then hold down the SHIFT key and click the cursor in the opposite corner. Here I’ve made a horizontal line. Don’t be too fussy about making it perfectly straight, because it’s not going to be noticeable later.

After you’ve got all your paper rectangles outlined in black, add a Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to that layer.

 

Don’t go overboard here. The Blur is to soften the lines, not make them blend right into the paper! If you can’t see anything in the Preview Pane, click your cursor in a spot where you know there’s a line. It’ll pop up in the Preview Pane and you can gauge how far to Blur. 2.3 pixels worked well for me.

Last thing to do is to change the Blend Mode to Linear Burn and drop the Opacity to about 60% and it’s done! Now to decide how to use the weave…

You can Save this weave as a PSD to allow for alterations later, or as a PNG to preserve the transparent layer behind. Or you can just go ahead and scrap on top and around it.

Til next Tuesday!

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

Designer Spotlight March 2023

March 5, 2023 by

North Meets South Studios

This month we have two designers in the spotlight, but only one was able to join me for a chat. North Meets South Studios is a collaboration between two best friends, Tracy Anderson (Trixie Scraps) – the northern half, and Connie Prince, the southern belle. Connie and I had a wee visit and this is what she shared.

J: Thanks for agreeing to let me pick your brain, Connie. Let’s get the formalities out of the way first. How long have you been designing?

C: I have been designing since 2006!

J: That’s a LONG time!! You must really love it. What made you decide to get into design?

C: There weren’t a lot of digital scrapbook options back then and I wanted specific things for our family albums. I started making things and it just spiraled from there!

J: That’s a familiar story, Connie. Can’t find what you want? Create it yourself! And here you are, crushing it! What tools do you use to create your designs?

C: I use Photoshop, Illustrator, and a program on my iPad called Procreate!

J: Ah, the usual suspects… What is your favorite kit currently in your GS store and why?

C: Currently, I’m getting tons of use out of my Happy Plans collection. I caught the planner bug this year and it’s been fun using it for that purpose, too.

J: When I think of your store, this is pretty much exactly what I see! Now, to get a touch more personal… What one word would your friends and family use to describe you?

C: Loyal.

J: What an essential and valuable trait to have! Next, I already know the answer to this question because I’ve been following you for 10 years, but maybe there are folks who haven’t caught on.
Describe your perfect vacation.

C: Anywhere with sugar white sand & gorgeous blue water is perfect for me!

J: Yep, called it!! I’m not much of a beach person. I’m more into museums and cooler climes. Okay, so this query typically gets the same response from everybody. Are you like me, or like them? Are you more likely to dance or sing in the shower?

C: Dance for sure, I dance all over the place so why not lol!

J: I actually do both, with my own personal country music playlist helping me out. Bluetooth speakers are amazing! On to food: If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

C: Salad, I can never get enough of a great salad!

J: I enjoy salad, but living in Canada, in the winter salad greens aren’t easy to find and are expensive. I just signed up for an organic produce delivery service and they’re sending greens in my first order. Can’t wait! Can you play a musical instrument?

C: Yes! I played piano when I was younger and my husband gifted me with a new one last year so I’ve had a wonderful time “relearning”.

J: I took lessons when I was quite young. We didn’t have a piano so I would practice at the school after all the rest of the kids went home. When we moved I lost that opportunity and that was that. I wasn’t destined to be a concert pianist anyway, so it’s all good.
What did you want to be when you were small?

C: Honestly, I just wanted to be a mama! I had the best mom and I wanted to be just like her!

J: I’m pretty sure you met that goal. Thank you so much for helping me let our GingerScrappers get to know you better. Now, before I let you go, I just want to make sure to pass on the rest of the Important Information! Connie and Tracy (in absentia) are hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month in addition to providing the Daily Download for March, right here on the Blog. Each piece of the DD is available for 5 days, but don’t worry if you miss some because the whole kit will be available for purchase in the Shop next month. Connie is also host to the monthly #2023 Challenge, and Tracy hosts the Show Us Your Hobby Challenge. Be sure to check them out!

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

February 28, 2023 by

Quick Trick: Content-Aware Fill

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

We all have those photos that just don’t… quite… make us happy… but the memory is important. I have a lot of photos from my two visits to Ireland where the subject is ancient and meaningful, but the trappings of modern life just intrude. Cars, signs. poles, wires, you know what I mean. If they’re in the photo it’s because I couldn’t get the image without including them. Here’s how I make them disappear.

Okay, so the wire in this photo isn’t really that bad. But it bothers me enough that I’m going to eliminate it. These thatched cottages in Adare, County Kerry, have been there for at least a couple hundred years, long before electricity and cable TV. In the past, I would have used a combination of Spot Healing and Clone Stamping to hide it, but not any more!

First, I’m going to make a mask for it using the Pencil Tool. Since it’s essentially a straight line, that’ll work well. I chose a hard, round brush a bit wider than the wire.

This mask needs to go on a new blank layer so that its’ edges can be Selected in the next step. So I plopped down a new layer.

Next, I put the tip of my pencil down at one end of the visible wire and clicked.

Then, holding down the SHIFT key, I put the tip of the pencil down at the other end and clicked again.

By clicking on the mask/red line Layer Thumbnail (the little image that shows what’s on the layer), I’ve told Elements I want the edges of the line Selected. That turns on the marching ants. Then I clicked Select>Modify>Expand so I can be positive I’ve gotten ALL of the stuff I want gone covered.

It doesn’t need to be expanded much. 5 pixels for this is enough. That’ll move the marching ants away from the original selection by 5 pixels in each direction.

This step is optional, but I feel like it’s needed here because of the straight, sharp line. The edges could be visible in the finished image and I’d rather they not. Select>Feather or CTRL/CMD>ALT/OPT>D will open a new option menu.

The edges just need a touch of softening so a Feather Radius of 5 pixels is likely enough.

Now, prepare to be amazed! Make sure your photo layer is active – not the mask layer – and click Edit>Fill Selection…

Choose Content-Aware from the Fill Layer options menu. Content-Aware Fill was introduced in Elements 13, so if you’re using an earlier version, it won’t show up for you in the options. Sorry…

The image speaks for itself.

To turn off the marching ants, click Select>Deselect or CTRL/CMD>D. And it’s done!!

I took the original photo in May 2014, but now, it could be any year.

I’ll just show you another quick way to eliminate distractions before we go. It’s thought this castle was built around 1216 on the shore of Lough Leane, near Killarney, County Kerry by an Anglo-Norman named Roche. Over the last couple of centuries it’s fallen to ruin. And those signs have GOT to go!!

This time I used the Lasso Tool to draw a rough circle around the sign and post. As long as the line you create with it crosses itself you’ll be able to “close the loop” and have a specific Selection. Don’t be too fussy, because it doesn’t matter!! (**You won’t have a red line around your loop. I did that to make it easier to see where I’ve got my marching ants.**) Then again, Edit>Fill Selection…

And choose Content-Aware again.

A really close look will tell you Elements has Cloned the shrub to the left of the Selection to fill the space, but the average eye won’t notice.

The owners of the property has tried to make the “historical marker” thing blend in with its surroundings, but it’s a fail for me. So let’s disappear it too.

Back to Content-Aware.

Hmm. Elements has Cloned part of the fence post and it looks dumb. It’s outta there!

I made a new, smaller selection to capture only the offending fence post and Filled it with Content-Aware and now it’s perfect!

Now that I’ve started, I’m hooked! I’ll be spiffing up a LOT of photos, and getting much better results, in the coming days.

Anybody jumping into the Scrap-a-Thon? Since my son has finally recovered from his injury, life is back to normal for us and I should be able to take part. So excited!! See you on the weekend with the Designer Spotlight.

 

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

February 21, 2023 by

Challenge Spotlight: Word Art

This month we’re looking at Word Art, the challenge sponsored and hosted by Cheré Kaye Designs. The supplied word art looks like this:

Now, you’d be forgiven for thinking you have no possible use for word art, but there are so many ways to be creative with it if you just give yourself permission. I’m going to show you, in the order they were posted, the first 16 layouts posted to the Word Art Challenge Gallery using this exact word art so you can see some of the ways it can be made your own. Each layout is linked to the Gallery so you can get a better look or offer some good vibes to the scrapper. Just click on the scrapper’s Forum handle!

The first layout is from demma_b13. She’s used the word art exactly as it was designed, pulling the colours for her layout from it and adding some photos of a very sweet little gnome to go with her kit selection. I like how she’s “painted” the big heart over the edge of the top photo. That touch of transparency is divine!

Here, trinanne has used the word art as is too, but made it the focal point of the layout, surrounded by photos of her loved ones.

As you can see, scrapcrazy has departed from the traditional. A simple layout about a very handsome dog needed something a little less “romantic”, so she recoloured everything to work with her photo and kit choice. I’m intrigued by the gradient effect she’s used on the outline for “love”. So cool!

Here again, the unaltered word art is supported by the colours in both the photos and the kit dkane has chosen. Just gorgeous!

For her layout, lulutoo has recoloured the letters in “love” to coordinate with the russet and peach tones of her kit. Those colours work so nicely with her vintage-looking photos.

When I first looked at alexandergirl68‘s layout, I didn’t notice that the mask she used makes a heart, I was so caught up in the photo of that precious baby! For the word art, she dispensed with the white border, pulled from the varied shades of russet ink for the letters, and added a shadow to make them look cut from cardstock.

branma has left the word art unchanged and used the same background paper as trinanne to show off her photos. Those pops of black add dimension and interest. The depth of her shadow gives the word art a embossed appearance.

Here, dhariana has recoloured the word art, ditched the white border and added a stitched border to the “love”. Clever!

Look at these kitties! The nuzzles! alasandra has clipped two different papers to the letters in “love”, while sticking closely to the original palette.

When creating her layout, firstoscartgrouch used the colours in the word art for inspiration, leaving it as it, but adding some flowers and a bunny sniffing them to replicate the subject of her photos.

I like how larkd has incorporated the word art into her clustered border. The purple in “hello” is the only place purple appears on the layout, causing it to draw the eye to her photo.

Here’s a novel idea! Not only has chigirl recoloured the word art to coordinate with her layout, she’s turned it into a tag.

The word art’s original colours wouldn’t work at all with ranchcreations‘ photos, so she clipped a paper to it. By using a brown paper for the word art and for the brad border under her square photo, she’s bringing the eye right to her large photo.

The word art on nimble4u‘s layout looks like it’s made from something very sturdy and offset with those foam tape things paper scrappers and card-makers use.

I would have known this is a KatherineWoodin layout anywhere! Katherine is so diligent about chronicling life every day; I stand in awe. She recoloured to pick up the colours of the boys’ uniforms and their basketballs. The way she’s shadowed it, it looks like it could be acrylic, not paper. Good job, Katherine!

We’ve seen quite a lot cats this time around! (I’m not a cat person, but know a few.) Our last layout is from lebjs, where the word art is as designed. She’s cleverly used strips of white as whiskers to give her main photo the appearance of a cat’s face. So sweet!

I wish someone would have used some layer styles to really customize the word art. Maybe I’ll do a mock-up to see how it would look.

I have a question for you all about dating your layouts. Do you include the date? How do you do that? Do you have a preferred method of including it, such as using a tab or paper strip? I’m working up an idea passed on to me by gmae (Ellen) and need your input. Please send me a private message (ObiJanKenobi) and share your wisdom!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Tutorials

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

February 14, 2023 by

Pattern Files, Custom Shapes and Styles Mash-Up (Replay)

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

Well, my son hasn’t bounced back from his infection the way I’d hoped. He’s fine… just not back to normal, so that means I’m not back to normal either. I’m feeling a little depressed and unmotivated. Hence the reprise of an older tutorial. This one came about when Ellen (gmae) and her sister Carol (gnana96) wanted to learn more about using Photoshop Elements in more creative ways. Since we’ve been talking about Styles a lot lately, this seems to be a good fit.

I don’t have the original screenshots any more, so I’ll caption the images where the red type on gray background makes them impossible to read.

First thing I did was open a blank canvas so I could experiment.

Time to play around with some of the lesser known and underused features of Elements

One of the items Ellen mentioned was shapes. I touched on the Shape tool in the tutorial about rounded rectangles, but there’s a LOT more to it than that. Let’s look at the Custom Shape tool, the one that looks like an amoeba. Below is a screenshot of where to look for the tool in the Tool panel, as well as what the menu looks like. As you can see, there are a number of categories; if you know what kind of shape you’re looking for you can zero in by selecting the category and carrying on. I usually look at them all.

That little window holding all the thumbnails is teeny-tiny and only shows about 12 thumbnails at a time, so I made the window bigger. There’s a wedge-shaped collection of dots in the upper right corner of the window frame that I clicked and dragged on to make the window really big. Now I could get down to business.

For this demo I decided to choose a Grecian key shape. To create your shape, you put the cursor on your work surface and drag it across the screen. You can adjust proportions by moving that cursor around or you can tell Elements that you want to “constrain proportions” by clicking on that control bar I have circled below then entering in the dimensions you want. You can set it to create the shape from the centre out, or from one corner. If you’re particular or you have a specific idea in mind then select the controls you need to make the software work for you.

Grecian key shape… nice for a border

There are two ways to Simplify this shape layer. You can select it in the Tool options panel (for Elements 14 or later), or you can right-click on the layer in the Layers panel and select it there. Why Simplify the layer? That’s how you get a transparent background! With a transparent background, your shape becomes a “smart object” that you can move around, resize, rotate, skew and any other alteration you can think of. You want to have as much control and as few CTRL/CMD>Z moments as possible.

Two ways to Simplify the shape layer. That’s how you get a transparent background.

We’ve talked about Styles a lot lately, so this is just a review. There are dozens of embedded styles in the software; they’re found in the Effects panel you open by clicking on the big fx button at the lower right of your workspace. We’re focusing on the Styles section of this set. Open up the menu by clicking on that little bar the arrow indicates and select Patterns to see this menu. These files have .asl as their file type. and are stored in the Presets folder of Elements on your computer. Hover the cursor over the thumbnails to see what Elements calls each pattern.

Let’s look at two different Pattern Styles on identical shapes

The software needs to know where you want to put the Pattern Style, so CTRL/CMD>click on the layer thumbnail to select the contents of the layer. Voilà… marching ants!

This Pattern Style gives the look of polished copper

CTRL/CMD>click on the layer thumbnail and get those old marching ants

This is what the Copper Pattern Style looks like on the Grecian key shape. To apply the style double-click on it.

This Pattern Style gives the look of polished copper

I wanted to show you one more of the choices from that menu, so I selected the top strip of the Grecian key shape.

Marching ants on the unaltered layer for a side-by-side comparison

Hmm… dry mud? Why not!

Wow!

Let’s just refresh our memories about those style files several of our GingerScraps designers include in their collections. (Aimee Harrison, Miss Mis Designs, Just So Scrappy/Ooh La La Scraps, Kristmess and Magical Scraps Galore are the ones I can think off right off the top of my head.) I used a different custom shape for this part.

Refresher on Styles… two ways to Simplify

I’m going to apply a glitter-gloss style from Miss Mis Designs’ collection called Hustle and Heart.

The menu for that Style group looks like this.

You’ll notice that this type of Style adds some dimension and reflected light to the shape.

There are many embedded Style categories, as I mentioned. What do the ones in the Complex styles folder do? (OMG, I have a typo on my screenshot! Oh well…) This particular style adds dimension, reflected light and drop shadows all with just a double-click.

Here’s another Complex style that looks like enameled or epoxy’d metal. Think of the ways you could fiddle with that!

Ellen also had Swatches on her list. There are a few choices with this one. To see the swatches you can click on the Window tab at the top of your screen and select them from the drop-down menu. Or, if you’re in the Text tool clicking on the Color box as shown will open up the same menu. I rarely use this feature because it’s so much easier and more satisfying to use the Color Picker tool (eye-dropper) to select a colour from either my photo or one of my papers/elements. The sky’s the limit with that method; this one is quite limited.

Here’s a happy little accident I experienced while I was experimenting. I checked out the Wow styles way down at the bottom of my (lengthy) styles list and the Wow Neon style looks like that fancy coloured Niobium wire.

See what I mean?

The style adds a drop shadow, which I felt might be a bit too far from the text for wire, so I opened up the fx menu on the layer to tweak the shadow and noticed that I had the option of changing the colour in there too.

Pulling the shadow in closer to the text looks like this. There are other ways of amping up this look too, by copying the original layer above the one the style is applied to and then applying another style to that layer, playing with the opacity until it looks incredible.

Now to the heart of Ellen’s question. Pattern files. Those ones with .pat as the file type. There are some designers who include a .pat file along with a .asl file in their kits. There are also a number of embedded .pat files in the software. I wasn’t able to find a shortcut for installing these files, so below I’m going to give you the steps for installing them manually. After you’ve extracted the .pat file from your downloads, copy the file (CTRL/CMD>C) then in Windows Explorer, look for the path I’ve shown. C:> Program Files (x86)> Photoshop Elements> Presets> Patterns. then paste the file into the folder. (CRTL/CMD>V)

Now let’s play with some .pat files! When you use a font for anything, you have to Simplify the layer before you can make any alterations to it. Don’t worry if you forget this step, because Elements will remind you. But ONLY with fonts!

Now how do we access those Pattern Files? By using the Pattern Stamp tool, of course! It does the same thing as the Clone Stamp tool, but rather than stamping a sample from the image you’re cloning, it uses a pattern. If you use the keyboard shortcut <S> you can toggle between Clone Stamp and Pattern Stamp easily.

The Stamp uses Brush tool options to select the area it covers. I used a hard square brush for my sample, but it really doesn’t matter what shape you use. You’re just going to click and drag the brush over the item you want to use the Pattern Stamp on anyway. Make sure you have NORMAL selected in the Mode box, otherwise you won’t see the effect you think you should.

This is where Elements hides those .pat files. There are several defaults, and any that you’ve installed into the Patterns folder will appear in the menu.

The Pattern Stamp will cover everything unless you select where you want it to go. So make sure you’ve selected the areas to apply your pattern to.

Do a quick visual check to make sure all the settings are correct.

Click and drag your Pattern Stamp brush over your selection… Bingo!

It looks neat, but I want it to look even neater, so I added a Bevel.

I used the Simple Inner bevel to add dimension.

Then I added a stroke to the resulting rounded text.

And here’s how to find the .pat files you’ve installed. My experience with those that come in kits is that they’re generally just glitter, but I only have the two you see below so what do I know?!

 

I haven’t completely wasted the last two weeks; I’ve been watching Facebook reels (lots of reels… so many reels!) of Photoshop tricks that I just may be able to replicate in Elements. It’ll take some experimentation but I think I should be able to make them work. Stay tuned! Next week I’ll be letting YOU shine in the Challenge Spotlight.

 

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Fonts)

February 7, 2023 by

More Hearts and Flowers Fonts

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3k05qOr

It’s been a rough week at our house, meaning no time for me to do anything really inspiring. But I’ve been seeing a LOT of inspiring Valentine’s Day projects so I had a thought… Surely there are some great new Valentine’s Day fonts and dingbats that y’all can use those Styles we talked about last week to make REALLY fabulous. And there are!! I’ve got eleven FREE fonts and six dingbats for your scrapping pleasure, from dafont.com. (If you want any of these, just click on the font’s name and you’ll be linked up.) Ready?

Couple Valentine is a fancy, all-caps font that would be perfect for pretty much any application. Titles, subtitles, journaling – all of it! I love that.

This romantic script font, Mybook Again, is another multipurpose gem. I could see this on wedding invitations, all kinds of wedding favours and Valentines. It’s beautiful, don’t you think?

I really love these bubble fonts like Romantic Love. There are SO many ways to use them and so many things you can do to zhuzh them up.

Pink Valentine is so retro and cute! It brings me right back to my teenage years when I still had rose-coloured glasses.

This font could be right out of a fairy tale. Lovaline Story is another versatile font that is suitable for any purpose.

Candy Kisses would make beautiful titles. Beyond Valentine’s Day and weddings, I’d probably use it for baby layouts.

Beauty Heart is a lovely farmhouse-type font. I’d love to see it with a glossy Style so it looks like candy.

I like the heart ligatures on Finding Love. It’s yet another all-purpose font with infinite options.

Ooh, here’s a swashy script called Jully Julia. It’s perfect for subtitles and journaling.

I don’t know that I’d use You Are My Valentine for journaling, but it would be good for titles and subtitles.

I was looking for dingbats when I found Quirky Love. It’s already pretty fabulous, and has potential to be even more so! Doesn’t it look like leather?

Now for the dingbats. Heart Salads is the first set I’ve found that has an anatomical heart in it.

I can see so many things that can be done with Romantine Dingbat. Yes, most of them involve hitting them with a Style… or three.

I love these heart emoji dings, don’t you? Fluffy Hearts Ding just makes me smile.

PW Little Hearts covers the gamut of things we love. That heart-with-the-ball-of-yarn would make a great element for a cat layout.

These are pretty romantic hearts in Vanlentines Day TBF. I think my favourite is the solid heart with the stars along the right side.

Last, but not least, we have Merciful Heart Doodle. I might use this one to create a border. What would you do with it?

Now I must run… gotta deal with all the errands I’ve put off for the last week while my son has been sick. Hopefully I’ll get ’em done before the rain turns to snow…

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

Designer Spotlight: February 2023

February 5, 2023 by

It’s Miss Fish!

Many of you will already know Juli, aka Miss Fish. Lately she’s moved past mainly template designing and is bringing more of her talent to entire kits. I know I’m happy to see that! She’s also been in the Designer Spotlight before, so we talked about some different things this time to keep it fresh. (Since we both have the same first initial, I’m going by “O” today.)

O: Let’s get the bread and butter out of the way. What motivates and inspires you as a designer?

J: I love designing templates that make me want to stop what I’m doing and scrap a page. I often will plus in my own photos
and some elements to make sure designs will look good for my customers.

O: Segué ahead… What one word would your friends and family use to describe you?

J: Busy! Lol…I work full time, plus I design and we like to have fun with friends and travel. I’m not one to just plop down and relax.
I go all the time!

O: It can be exhausting, right? I enjoy traveling too, so why don’t you describe your perfect vacation.

J: Anywhere in Europe close to a train station so I could go on different adventures every day.

O: So is that what you would do if you won the lottery?

J: YES! I’d quit my day job and travel full time. I’d bring along my laptop so I could design and scrap in my free time.

O: Oddball question, that I can probably guess the answer to: are you more likely to dance or sing in the shower?

J: Sing.

O: Yep, called it! Do you have a green thumb? What do you grow?

J: Yes. Currently growing Brussel sprouts, cherry tomatoes, peppers, arugula, and some herbs. Plus my cat’s favorite, carnations.

O: I’ve grown broccoli but never Brussels sprouts. Now I don’t have room for much but I have some flower boxes and a small bed in the front yard. Most of my blooms are purple, white or pink. What are your most favorite and least favorite colors?

J: My favorite color is blue. My least favorite color is orange.

O: Oh, I don’t like orange much either, or yellow. Hence they’re not prominent in my garden! {Except the Stella d’Oro lilies the developer planted. They can stay. What would your dream car be?

J: Something red and fast but in an SUV size, maybe a Porsche?

O: That would be amazing! My daughter had a BMW SUV, but didn’t love it so she’s driving a VW Tiguan now. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

J: I would make myself able to actually remember words and why I walked into a room.

O: I can definitely relate! Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

J: My phone. I’m embarrassed to say how attached I am to it.

O: I’m finding myself falling into that habit too, at least until my eyes start protesting. If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

J: Caution: probably crabby, feed for best results.

O: Hahahahaha!! Me too! Let me get you a snack, girl!

Before we disappear with our treats, I want to remind everybody that Juli is not just the IN the Designer Spotlight, she’s hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month AND is providing the Daily Download on the Blog too. Each snippet of the Daily Download is available for 5 days; if you miss one or two and are heart-broken, don’t worry. The entire kit will be available for purchase in March. (Egad, did I really just say that?)

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

January 31, 2023 by

Loading Those Styles Files

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

Back a couple of weeks, I said I’d put together a quick tut on how to load Styles into Elements. That’s where we’re going today. It’s really easy, but I can complicate anything! I’ll show you the easy way, and the more complicated way then let you decide how you’ll do it. Sound good?

But first, let’s talk about Styles a little bit. What are they, anyway? Essentially, they’re little automatic scripts that allow you to alter and enhance individual layers in your Photoshop Elements layouts. They include things like shadows, glitter, metal, fabric, gel, wood, cork, texture… so many different Styles exist and more are being created all the time. Several GingerScraps designers create Styles that coordinate with their kits. In fact, many of the GingerBread Ladies‘ collabs have Styles files in them, so you’ve probably got a bunch you aren’t even aware of! Let’s get you up to speed!

There are two ways to access your Styles portfolio. One is to click the Window tab along the top of the workspace then choose Styles from the drop-down menu. The second way – the one I use because it’s right there – is to click on the Styles button at the bottom of the Layers Panel. Once you’ve accessed them, there’s a Style Picker bar at the top of the Layers Panel.

Here’s the Style Picker. It will let you see all the Styles that are already Loaded. Elements includes several default Styles embedded in the software (Bevels, Complex, Drop Shadows, Glass Buttons, Image Effects, Inner Glows, Inner Shadows, Outer Glows, Patterns and more) That little stack of lines to the right of it is where the actual Styles Menu hides.

Let’s click on the stack of lines. Now choose Load Styles.

Here’s where I can complexify things… I learned how to find where my computer puts things and have worked out my own workflow using that knowledge. With Styles (and Brushes, which are Loaded in exactly the same way), I rename the files then move them into the folder where Elements will look for them first. I’ve outlined the path here. The path is C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements [Version #]\Presets\Styles. This makes it easier for me to find them later but it’s not the only way to manage them.

You can see that Styles files have the tag .ASL or .asl after the file name. Knowing that, you can let Windows search for your Styles. (Sorry Mac users, I know nothing about file searches in the Mac OS.)

Here you can see there’s at least one file I haven’t renamed. 😉 And it’s the file I’m going to use… To locate the folder it’s hiding in, I right-click on the file name and choose Open File Location from the drop-down.

Now I can go back to the Styles Menu, because I know where the file is, and retrieve it.

Click on the file and then Load. DONE!

The set is there, open and waiting for me to decide which one I want to use. Hovering the cursor over the thumbnail will tell you what the Style has been named by the designer.

I tried the two blues, but liked the black best. As I’ve shown in other tuts, the Style can then be adjusted by double-clicking on the fx icon on the layer and playing with the settings.

There are lots of sources of free Styles online. Some Photoshop Styles will work with Elements and some won’t. Brusheezy, which I’ve shared before, is pretty good at separating them out. I’ve linked you up if you’d like to explore.

See you in February!

 

 

 

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

January 24, 2023 by

Quick Trick: Controlling Camera Shake

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

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a lot of “nice” photos that miss being GREAT photos because they’re a little blurry. Sometimes it’s a focus issue, sometimes it’s camera shake. Because there are times when you can’t just whip out a tripod and get those magic moments captured perfectly, you’re okay with compromising on clarity for the sake of the memory. Well, I think I’ve got something that might make those “nice” shots a lot less woozy! This automatic enhancement was introduced with Elements 14; if you’re working with an earlier version, sorry. 🙁

Let me introduce you to one of my new neighbours. She and her family were some distance away and it was super-cold outside so I didn’t want to go outside to take photos. I used the zoom lens – which destabilizes the camera a bit – on one of my point-and-shoot digital cameras and shot them through the living room window. I knew they’d be soft and a bit fuzzy, and I accepted that.

I didn’t know about this trick until last night. It’s going to be VERY useful! Click on the Enhance tab and scroll down to Shake Reduction…

Elements will automatically make an adjustment to your photo. You’ll get a little preview of what will happen, and you can fine-tune it later. See the slider labeled Sensitivity? You can tweak that too, but be careful. A little goes a long way! Make it too sensitive and you’ll see a white outline around your subject.

The important part of the photo is her face, so I’ve drawn a box around her head and chest, and Elements starts working on it. See that thing in the middle of the box? It’s a progress bar, showing you where in the process your photo is currently. When it’s finished the icon disappears. Then, if you’re happy, click OK.

Here’s the Before image up close.

And the After image up close.

And a side-by-side… The change is subtle, but visible. You can see it even in the foliage.

Not bad for a couple of clicks!

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

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

January 17, 2023 by

Challenge Spotlight: Real Moments

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3DlA2Ay

Did you notice there are a couple of new Challenges for 2023? Today we’re going to check in on the Real Moments Challenge hosted by Cindy Ritter. This is how Cindy describes the Challenge: “There’s a quote that says “Life isn’t measured by time, it’s measured by moments.” and that’s what this new challenge is about, preserving those moments that stand out; the good, the bad and everything in between. Many of those moments in our lives are not accompanied by photos so feel free to experiment and think outside the box while making your layouts.

Each month I will give you a theme and prompt (it might be a quote, a song, a poem or something different) and you should create whatever you are moved to do.

This months theme is Change.
Please use the following quote to inspire your page.
“Sometimes change requires you to take a giant leap. But, you won’t be able to fly unless you are willing to transform.” ― Suzy Kassem”

I love the idea of scrapping REAL moments, even the ordinary ones. Each of us has our own idea of what that means, and our Individual Style will guide how we approach the Challenge. I think as memory-keepers we tend to scrap the happy stuff and pretend the no-so-happy stuff even happened. But we all have REAL moments, and we shouldn’t shy away from them. The layouts in the Challenge Gallery cover the gamut; there are a couple of them that might be too REAL for some of our readers; if that’s you, no one will know if you skip over those ones. The layouts will appear in the order they were uploaded to the Gallery. You may notice that a number of them have been created using Cindy’s Real Moments – Metamorphosis collection, and each participant will be gifted a matching mini-kit. As always, each layout is linked to its spot in the Gallery so you can drop by and leave some love; just click on the member’s name. Ready?

First up is a layout by lulutoo; her journaling, paired with that Pinterest-worthy photo would fit in well with our discussion on resolutions, wouldn’t it? I love her vertical cluster and how she’s combined all the papers she’s stacked behind it. Tucking elements between papers always adds interest.

As a former military spouse, I found 01lousmith‘s journaling to be very familiar. Change can be really hard, and not always good. She’s created a beautiful but haunting photoless artsy layout.

We’re all our own worst critic! AJsRandom proves it. The smiles in her photos and the cheery-ness of her clusters is a little at odds with her journaling. But I commend her for taking such a personal approach to the Challenge.

I really think I need to buy this collection! This beautiful, simple layout from dkane has me really convinced. There’s so much warmth and optimism here.

Talk about making lemonade outta lemons! Look at how mafrerichs has transformed that dorm room! The colour palette of the kit coordinates beautifully with the photos and those clusters… total thirst trap for me.

This simple but celebratory layout from twizzle made me smile. Congratulations! Feeling good about oneself is the key to happiness.

How gorgeous is this?? I love the way kabrak1207 has blended the gold border into the background paper and how that stitched heart is SO 3D. The quote from Wicked really captures the theme of the Challenge without needing a photo.

As dorannmwin says, change can be scary. Kudos to her for going back to school! She looks so confident in her photo, and the way she’s surrounded it with ephemera and clusters keeps the feel-good going.

NHSoxGirl has infused some humour into her layout. I knew instantly what she was going to focus on when I saw those photos. In keeping with the  serious-but-still-funny-ish topic she kept her layout clean and linear.

 

Our own AimeeHarrison has chronicled a significant challenge that changed her whole life. Her layout reflects triumph and hope through the bouncy clustered swag and all the hearts. Strength is a good trait to have!

A-M kept her layout simple and clean. Downsizing is definitely a change! We UPsized… I can’t even imagine.

(Content-warning) Katherine Woodin has always been very open and comfortable with her journaling as she records daily life. She’s probably the most dedicated Project 365 scrapper I know. She doesn’t gloss over the tough stuff, and this layout is an example of that. Her beloved Fred passed on to his next life on Christmas Eve and she strips bare her feelings as she details the events of that day. My deepest condolences, Katherine.

I can’t even count all the ways basketladyaudrey has covered “change” in her layout. She chose the most perfect colour palette possible for her photos, which tell the story of becoming a grown-up. Love it!

Leaving home is one of the hardest changes we all go through. Blaise used a list as journaling, and her photo tells the rest of the story.

If you were to participate in this Challenge, what would be the change you feature? Seeing all these layouts has given me some ideas – on top of the absolute determination to acquire Cindy‘s kit. Off I go to sort through my photos…

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