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Posted at 12:25 PM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
i did some more digital scrapbooking yesterday. every time i try, i learn a little more. about digital scrapbooking, and about photoshop.
my mother and my son are actually the best of friends, and they love to go out together. they go to movies, art movies, museums and the theater. francois is very mature for his age, and my mom is very young for her age, so they don't seem to be from different generations at all.
most of what i used was from the 'dinner party' range, a freebie from shabby princess. the frame around the photos is also from them, from the 'festival' range. the tag is from shutterfly, from michelle coleman's 'renewal' range. the font is my own handwriting that was made into a computer font by allie hoopes. you can read all about it here.
all the digital scrapbooking kits i have at this time are freebies. i am still new at this, and didn't want to rush out and spend money on stuff i might not use, so it is nice to be able to use the freebies. i do have my eye on some things i have to buy, but even those are under $8.
a lot of people have been asking what the point is with digital scrapbooking, especially someone tactile like me, who is really only happy when there is glue under my nails, and ink on my fingers. but i find it difficult to scrap in the shop, as there are too many distractions and interruptions. so, playing around on my computer is easier. and, i am learning lots about photoshop at the same time. also, by printing frames on my photos, or embellishments that i cannot find elsewhere, i can add to my paper scrapping. then, i could use it for those photos i might put on my blog, but never actually scrap. and finally, it gives so many design options. i could make really cool business cards and pamphlets and invitations and blog pages, etc, with the elements and skills i got with digital scrapping. besides, i was not really doing anything productive between 9pm and midnight, so i have all this time for yet another addiction...
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop, benoni, south africa
Posted at 12:08 PM in Digital Scrapbooking, Family, General Blabbering, Page Layouts, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Weblogs and websites | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
this layout was made by liza, who is one of the teachers in my shop. the theme for this month is 'mother' - quite a surprise, ain't it..., and she made this layout to celebrate that. the tags she used for a few journaling lines, and the book at the bottom on the right hand page, opens up for more space for that letter to mom.
i got another mention on scrapscene, thanks angie! it is always so exciting to get hits from there, the visitors to this blog come from such diverse and interesting places! we are truly becoming a global village.
thanks for all your positive comments on the blogpost with the photoshop tutorial. i sometimes feel intimidated by some websites and their tutorials, and i tried to make mine as user-friendly as possible. i am a photoshop beginner, and i hope that we can learn this together. it is only through trial and error that we master a new skill, and i really hope to inspire all of you who have told me you have had photoshop for months/years and don't know where to start, to not just read the tutorial, but to actually do it! please let me know how it turned out, and if you manage to do it, send me the link to your blogpost, or email me your result. i would love some feedback.
you know what gets me? my 21 year old watches 3 video photoshop tutorials, plays with the software for 3 hours, and already he knows so much more than me. doncha just hate it when that happens? all i can hope to achieve is to stay ahead of my 11 year old.
glenda gave me a gift of the kit of the heidi swapp mirror album that heidi presented at the scrapbooking convention on 1 may. quite a few of the girls from my shop attended this convention. i started working on it straight away, and i loved it. it is meant to be a journal about 'me', and i decided to make it an inspiration journal, a place where i write all the bible texts and quotes from people that inspire me. so, when the day seems a little dark, i can page through that and i can be reminded of all my blessings, including the blessing of heidi swapp's inspiring talent, and glenda's thoughtfulness, and of course of GOD's eternal grace. i will show photos of it soon.
now, before i can go to sleep, i have to watch the final double episode of desperate housewives. i'm halfway through, and won't be able to sleep if i don't see the end...
love, jacki
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop
Posted at 10:18 PM in General Blabbering, Liza, Page Layouts, Shop and client activities | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
i had sooo much fun this morning. i did my first real digital scrapbooking! i downloaded a few free digital kits this week, and now i got to play with them:
the couple are mariska and ian. mariska is my cousin. all the digital goodies are from shabby princess, the promise collection, except the frame around the photo, that is from shutterfly, michelle coleman, renewal. did you see there are even staples in there?
i must say, my eye does miss the inking around the edges of the paper, and the sanding of the edges of the photo. and i miss having ink under my fingernails. but i did have fun. i do need to ask, if i don't have a blog, what do i do with this now?
as i mentioned before, i am part of typepad's beta team. we have been testing all sorts of new features for a few weeks, to iron out the bugs. so, if you are a blogger with typepad, you will be getting these features within the next few days. there are a few improvements, and they are quite easy to use. enjoy them!
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop
Posted at 05:29 PM in Digital Scrapbooking, Family, General Blabbering, Page Layouts, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Scrapbooking, Weblogs and websites | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
i use photoshop elements 6, but i'm sure it is very similar in CS2 and 3.
let me say this from the start: i'm by no means an expert. i have had photoshop for a few weeks only, and i'm still very much a beginner. there are lots of amazing free tutorials on how to edit your photos on the web, so i would much rather point you that way for advice way better than mine. but i did not find any tips on putting a cute frame around my photos, and that is one of the things that i was really wanting to do when i decided to buy photoshop. so let's learn this together:
lets start with the cast of characters:
one is wonderful and gorgeous and cute, and the other is carli... carli is the daughter of my sister, paula. i did some editing on the photo of carli, softening some of the background a little. make sure that your photo is cropped and edited the way you like it. that is for cleverer people than i to explain. head on over to digiscrap 101, if you want to know more about that. the frame is part of a digital scrapbooking kit that was free.
i always open the tutorial i'm using in one window, and photoshop in another. then i can switch between windows, and try the steps myself, till i have got it. so, we will all wait a few minutes while you go off, make that quick cup of coffee, close the office door, and open photoshop. remember to open a spreadsheet in a third window, so if the boss comes by, you can switch to that...
back yet? comfortable? ready? ok, here we go:
on your desktop, you open a new folder, and call it 'downloads'. i always have that, and download everything in there, so it is easier to find afterward. we are all going to visit a website called shutterfly. it's like a little field trip. let's all synchronize our watches, and meet back here in, say, 15 minutes time. but wait! before you go, let me tell you what to do when you get there.
you just have to click on the red word 'shutterfly', and it will magically open a window, and you can follow the breadcrumbs. spend a few minutes looking around. then click on the place in the sidebar that says 'digital scrapbooking freebies'. you scroll down to a place that says 'Thank you Michelle Coleman : What an Inspiration! (or, you can just click on this link, and it will take you straight there. it's a shortcut...).
see 'download 1.zip' etc? you can download all three, but the frame is in download1, i think. right click on that, and choose 'save target as'. choose to download it in your 'downloads' file. when it is finished, you have to unzip it. because you have to give credit to the designer when you use the product, and rightly so, i always rename the file, and mention the name of the website, designer and product, so it is easy for me to remember later who to credit. in this case my file is now called 'shutterfly, michelle coleman, renewal 3'.
when you have done all this, click on the 'downloads' folder, and check if it is all there, and what the filename of the frame is. (MCO DecoFrame). then go do some work for a few hours, to keep the boss happy.
open photoshop. just so we are all on the same page (get it? the same page? ok, sorry...), go to organiser mode. find a nice photo. you will not have a photo of carli. at least, i hope not, unless you are paula. and even paula will not have this photo of carli, as i took it. i digress...
with the photo open, click on 'fix' and then 'full edit'. while i'm doing this, my anti-virus software is running it's weekly full scan, so the computer is sooo slooow. you'll just have to be patient. like me. patient is my middle name. the editor mode will open with your photo, like this:
well now, that photo is just awful! please excuse me for a few hours while i go look for a tutorial on doing tutorials...
it will just have to do. you can't just leave a bunch of people sitting in front of their computers, reading this, and go off to figure it out. it's my homework for next time.
now, where was i? oh yes, in editor mode. where it says 'layers', you should see a small photo, and it should say 'background' and be locked. right click on the little photo, and click on 'duplicate layer', to create a new layer. make sure the new layer is highlighted, because this is where you are going to work. if you get this far, then you have full marks for part one. yaay! there is an amazing description of the concept of layers at pioneerwoman's blog. go read it some time. i cannot describe it better than this and this!
click on 'file', 'open'. in the top menu bar, find your downloads folder. and look for the frame. MCO DecoFrame, remember? double click on it. it will open in the editor, above your photo. use your mouse, and move the whole frame block to the right, so you can see the photo and the frame at the same time. use your mouse, click in the middle of the frame, hold the button in, and drag the frame over the photo. let go. it should be sitting there, on the photo, although the size and position may be wrong. we'll fix that. it's amazing what we can fix. close the box with the frame in it.
in the 'layers' box, you will see that there is a new layer, one with the frame in it. make sure this layer is selected. now you will be able to move and resize the frame. while you were moving your mouse around there, did you notice that the little arrow somtines get curved, or rounded? when it does that, you can click there, hold your mouse button down, and rotate the frame, turning the frame upside down. move it around until you are happy. when you are, you can click on the green tick.
with the frame layer still highlighted, you can click where it says 'opacity'. a little slider will appear. slide it till it is as light or as dark as you want it to be. i chose 60%, so it is a little softer. this is what you would have, if you used a photo of carli:
oh dear, these photos are downright embarrassing. i blush. so sorry!
actually, i did it on purpose, to show you that i am no expert in photoshop. no self-respecting photoshop expert would EVER let photos like this appear anywhere. only blonds would ever try...
now, i want to show you how to change the color of the frame. but i don't know how to do it myself yet. so, you do some work again, while i go see if i can figure it out...
{she leaves, and fiddles on computer...}
ok, i managed to change the color, but i am convinced that i did it the hard way, so i am not even going to tell you. but, if you want to try, right click on the small picture of the frame in 'layers', and duplicate the layer. then you can experiment with the frame, and if you don't like it, right click on the small photo again, and 'delete layer'.
when you are happy with what you did, right click on the small photo in 'layers', and 'flatten layers'. this will combine all the layers, giving you one. then, you can either close the editor without saving anything, thus losing all your work (some experimental work deserves to be lost...), or click on 'file', 'save as' and make a title that you will be able to find. and voila!
so i just spent half a day writing this tutorial. and, i get to call it 'work'. ha ha! did you like it? i tried to make it as detailed as possible, so that even if you have never worked in photoshop before, you should be able to follow this. please tell me if it works, or if you battled. did i inspire you to try? or did i put you off for ever? should i shut up, and call it a day? yes, i should...
you can also read my other photoshop tutorials: how to create a softened photo and how to make eyes 'pop'.
you can find other photoshop, papercraft and scrapbooking tutorials here.
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop
this post was linked to by: scrapscene and photoshop pack, paxton prints
Posted at 12:16 PM in Digital Scrapbooking, Family, General Blabbering, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Scrapbooking, Tips and tutorials | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
you know when you go to a big church? i mean a catholic church, like the big ones in europe. all marble and wood. it is huge and cool, and empty, and hollow, and just a little creepy and lonely. when you talk, it bounces around the walls and echos, and makes it seem even emptier..
well, this is what this blog has been feeling like. not catholic, but a little hollow and empty. thanks cheryl and ineke, for your hellos. please keep those comments coming! lets make this place seem a little less empty..
i know it has just been photoshop, photoshop, photoshop around here lately, and today is no different. i have been spending every available hour on playing with it. and i feel like i'm starting to get somewhere! i want to teach photoshop and digital scrapping beginners classes in the shop soon, so i'm learning as much as possible. lots of nights i have been taking my laptop to bed, and while the man lies snoring next to me, i spend hours working on it.
today's example is this photo of carli, my sister paula's daughter. during this process i will probably photoshop every member of the family, so your turn might be coming soon.
i can now go and print my photo like this, and put it on my page. the frame is in a free kit i downloaded from shutterfly by michelle coleman, called 'renewal'.
this is soooo cool! you like?
maybe i should do a little tutorial on this, seeing i'm the expert and all..
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop
Posted at 11:19 AM in Family, General Blabbering, Photoshop is my new best friend.. | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 05:17 PM in General Blabbering, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Weblogs and websites | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
i visit this blog every day, even if i don't have time to post, or have anything interesting to say, but nobody is leaving any comments! it feels like i'm talking to myself!
love, jacki
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop
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Posted at 01:21 PM in General Blabbering, Liza, Page Layouts, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Products, Scrapbooking | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 03:59 PM in Dealing with Ronnie's death, Family, General Blabbering, Page Layouts, Scrapbooking | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
so, as promised, i photoshopped my mom. as i am new at this software, i used mothers day as an incentive to practice photoshop, using a photo of my mom.
as you see, my mom is beautiful anyway. she certainly does not need any editing. but, since learning is all about practice, here is what i did:
first, i cropped the photo, to place more emphasis on my mother, and to get rid of some of the distracting background.
then i sharpened the color of the photo. the 'improved' photo looks brighter than the original, that one looks a little faded or washed out. the improved colour also brightened her eyes.
then i brightened her teeth. i also used the blurring tool so soften her wrinkles a little. not too much, they add character after all. you can see the effect most on her eye on the left, and on the forehead.
the background really bugged me. i used the paintbrush tool to remove part of the burglar bars growing out of her head. the part on the left has blinds behind it, and i was not sure how to remove the bars without making the blinds look funny, so i just darkened the colour of the bars using the paintbrush tool. now it is less distracting.
i'm sure there is a lot i could still do, and a lot i did in the wrong way. some of it happened by accident, so i'm not sure if i could repeat it. but i had fun, and i'm learning and i'm getting more confident. now, if i could just figure out how to use the blurring tool on my face every morning...
what do you think? do you have photoshop? do you use it? does it terrify you? tell me. i love hearing from you!
happy mothersday, mom!
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES
Posted at 02:21 PM in Family, General Blabbering, Photoshop is my new best friend.., Weblogs and websites | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 12:42 PM in Family, General Blabbering, Page Layouts, Scrapbooking, Weblogs and websites | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)