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Showing posts with label Tutorials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tutorials. Show all posts

Monday, February 24, 2014

Adding a Watermark and other fun things with Pic Monkey

Hi All, on with another tutorial, this one will show you how to make a watermark for your finished work in Pic Monkey and also crop you photo for blog presentation.  This sweet image also comes from Gecko Galz Pretty Seed Packs, they were all on the same collage sheet together.  This is a step by step instruction on how I add a Watermark using PicMonkey free photo editing software.  I do want to mention they have some really awesome photo editing tools if you sign up for the purchased version, but for this tutorial, the free version is all you need.  
We will start the same as before, pretty much the same instructions except you will be doing it just a little different.  Since I already added the watermark to the above card I will work with one I have not done yet.  I will walk you through the same paces just to make it easier for you.  I hate it when you have to go back to another tutorial to follow along with the one you are working on, so forgive me for repeating the same instructions.
 Go to PicMonkey, free and safe photo editing web site.
 Click on the icon that says edit, right next to the icon that says touch up.
 That will open a dialogue box (file upload) on your computer allowing you to choose where the item you want to add your Watermark to is stored. 
  Depending on your filing system (as in how you save your files), keep clicking on folders or whatever you have to click to open until you can click on the actual photo.  Once you have the photo click on it (the photo) and then click Open at the bottom of the dialogue box.  This one was in my Dropbox folder.
That will put the photo on the Pic Monkey editing page.
  On the left side column of that page you will see a bunch of tools, under Basic Edits, you want Crop, click on it and you will see a box inside your photo image.  You can click on the center and move the box, then drag the corners in or out, by using the click and hold (left side of mouse) to drag it into position on just the area you want to use.  Once you are happy with it framed exactly like you want, look to the Crop toolbar again you will see  a green Apply.  Click on that, the rest of the picture will fall away after you hit APPLY.
 Here I will show you a few more things you can do before you add your Watermark.  There are some fun tools tools to the left, there is the AUTO ADJUST button above the word CROP and there is a similar tool called EXPOSURE down the list.  You can use both of these tools to clean up some bad photography.  Sometimes using AUTO ADJUST makes it too dark, if you don't like the outcome, use the dark gray toolbar above the photo Open, Save, Share and that back arrow next to share.  That arrow will take you back a step.  I usually try Auto Adjust first, if I don't like it I undo it and try Exposure, sometimes I use Exposure to brighten it up them Auto Adjust to make it clearer.  Below is AUTO ADJUST.

Below are the options available in Exposure, I use the yellow Auto Adjust , then the Green Apply, feel free to play with the slider bars for brightness, highlights, shadows and contrast, if you don't like it say Cancel instead of Apply.

 While we are at it, if you have a crooked picture, ROTATE will straighten it out.  See the circle on a line under the word Straighten, just move the circle to straighten out your picture. (I tilted this one since it was already straight).
Have fun and try the other tools there too.  But for now, ON TO THE WATERMARK!
Look to the left, you are in Basic Edits the box icon, see the icon Tt, 4th one down?  That is TEXT click on it.
See all the lovely fonts there are to choose from?  Many are free, the ones with a crown need the premium purchased Pic Monkey, I use the ones that are free.
Click on the font you want, I use Arial.
Look closely at this page, to get here I chose Arial then "clicked on" ADD TEXT,  (you can't actually add your text where it says "Add Text", you have to go to where it says "Type your text here" to do it so follow carefully here.
See the box that says "type your text here" in the center of my photo? SINGLE click on that box and type in your watermark. 
 See the box on the right, that will not work properly until you type in the watermark, after you have it typed in single click outside the text box once on to the card background.  Now you can click back on to the watermark once and drag it where you want it, and use the tools on the right now.  You can change the color of the text by using the the circle you see between the the words Color and Fade.  You know Bold and Italic, then there is position, left, center and right.  Then you have size, you can use the circle, or if you want continuity in your Watermark you can also click the down arrow next to 142 and adjust the size, I set mine at 72. 
Once you are happy, click outside the box or on Save in the gray bar above the picture and the white text box will fall away.  I usually just click on Save.
Above is Save to my computer (the green bar, it opens this text box, you choose where you want to save it to.  I do not change the name on these files as I do not want to keep both copies, if you want 1 with and 1 without a watermark, you would change the name of the file by clicking on File name before you click on Save to my computer.
One last tip here, if you add an extra click to the page, or click on or off where otherwise instructed it won't let you add the watermark, that is why I was so specific as to when and where to click.  If it happens you can back button (next to Share) and start over.
Any questions, let me know, I am happy to help.
Thanks for looking, ~Diane

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Saturday, February 22, 2014

How to isolate images for enlargement on a collage sheet

 
I want to share with you how I isolate an image (crop for those of you who know what that means) so that when I make my cards I can make my image any size I want.  These sweet images are 2 of 9 images from Gecko Galz Pretty Seed Packs, they were all on the same collage sheet together.  So how did I blow them up to make them fit on my 5 x 7 card front you ask?  Well I showed you how to make the card in Word, but I did not show you how I isolated the images.  This is a step by step instruction on how I do it using PicMonkey free photo editing software.  I do want to mention they have some really awesome photo editing tools if you sign up for the purchased version, but for this tutorial, the free version is all you need. 
I am using one of the free collage sheets that Gecko Galz gives away every month just for signing up for the newsletter, a wise choice I might add.
 Go to PicMonkey, free and safe photo editing web site.
 Click on the icon that says edit, right next to the icon that says touch up.
 That will open a dialogue box (file upload) on your computer allowing you to choose where the collage sheet is stored.  After you have done this a few times it has a memory and will remember where you get things from and where you want to save them to also.  If the sheet is not in the first set of files you see, look to the left side of the dialogue file upload box, your choices (among many others will be desktop, or computer,) you will have to know where you have saved these collage sheets to, I saved mine to A Pic Monkey Tutorial here.
  Depending on your filing system (as in how you save your files), keep clicking on folders or whatever you have to click to open until you can click on the actual collage sheet.  Once you have the collage sheet click on it (the collage sheet) and then click Open at the bottom of the dialogue box.
 That will put the collage sheet on the Pic Monkey editing page. This was the free sheet I received in the Gecko Galz newsletter.
 On the left side column of that page you will see a bunch of tools, under Basic Edits, you want Crop, click on it and you will see a box inside your collage sheet.  You can click on the center and move the box, then drag the corners in or out, by using the click and hold (left side of mouse) to drag it into position on just of the 1 if 9 images on your collage sheet. 

 Once you have it framed in exactly like you want, look to the Crop toolbar again you will see  a green Apply.  Click on that, the rest of the picture will fall away.
Now look above your picture, you will see OPEN, SAVE, SHARE, and arrows pointing left and right.  You want to click on SAVE, you will be taken to another page where it will say Save this masterpiece to my computer, HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART, you will see FILE NAME, the name or title of the image, YOU MUST CHANGE THIS IN SOME SMALL WAY, ADD A NUMBER OR A LETTER, I USUALLY ADD THE NUMBERS 1-9 FOR THE 9 IMAGES.  IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE THE NAME, YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH ONLY THE 1 IMAGE YOU CROPPED in your storage, YOU WILL LOSE THE REST OF THE PAGE.  Also, be sure to keep the name of the collage sheet with the "addition " of numbers or letters, otherwise when you do another collage sheet 1-9 it will ask if you want to overwrite these you just did and it would then erase them if you said yes. (it would come up and say a file with the same name exists, do you want to change that file? saying yes would replace it)  Sometimes I forget to add the number, so when that message comes up you can say Cancel and go back and add your number). 
Image below shows original file name
Image below shows ALTER BY ADDING in the place where I want you to ADD the number 1
Then after changing the name, you can click on the green bar that says "Save to my computer"  the dialogue box will appear asking you to choose where to save it to, it is best to save it to the same place you took it from, I usually make a folder and put the images all together in that folder. 
  Once you have chosen where to save it to just click SAVE.
Now this is the fun and easy trick I have learned, you just clicked save and the single image is on your screen, all you have to do is click on the arrow that is next to the word "share", remember open, save, share and arrows?  If you move your cursor over it it will say "undo the last action", (you already saved it to your computer so undoing it here will not change that).
 That arrow will bring you back to the full sheet where you can do this again to the second image, that arrow will keep taking you back to the full sheet.  Once the full sheet is done, you can go to Open and start over by bringing in another sheet.  Just remember to save with an altered name by adding a number.
Well that's it, sorry it was so long, but I really wish someone would have shown me this when I first started working with digital images, it would have made it so much easier!
I will show you another time how to add a watermark using PicMonkey photo editing tools, and thank you PicMonkey for making them available to us all.
Thanks for stopping by, I'm looking forward to reading your comments on this.   If you have any questions, I would be happy to help.   ~Diane

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

More Word card making tips

Hi All, I just loved this set of 9 images from Pretty Seed Pack by Gecko Galz, so I made quite a few cards by merely printing them on Matte Photo paper.  So nothing fancy here, just print and go, you are done!  All I added was a bit of Ranger Distress ink to the edges.  I know these are really simple cards, you can dress them up with anything you like, Stickles, ribbon, fussy cutting, but I really wanted to demonstrate how simple and easy this really is.  Before I learned about digital printing I had no idea it could be this easy.  I thought you needed to know special programs like Inkscape, Paint, Gimp or Adobe Photoshop.  I get lost in those but Word is an easy program that most people understand, there is even an alternative to Word that is free called Open Office that I am sure could be used just as easily.
Here is an enabler alert for you, Staples Office Supply has the photo paper free this week at my local store, check a flyer in your neighborhood to be sure they are participating!  All you have to do is go buy it and fill in a rebate form to get all but your tax money back!  Maximum of two 50 sheet packs of 8.5 x 11, now that's a real steal!
Today's tip is more of a printer tip than a Word tip, I have the Epson WP4530, and I can not print a true "borderless" photo.  I had tried in the past to set this up to print right on a 7 x 10 card that would fold down to a 5 x 7, but the printer actually changes my dimensions and creates a small white border around the left and right side of the card.  Over the years and many printers I have tried to correct this to no avail.  I have found ways to work around it and make the card slightly smaller but it is a nightmare of work to set it up perfectly.  So the "easiest" way to print a true "borderless "5 x 7 card is to print it on to a larger size like 8.5 x 11, just make it 2 columns and place your image on the right side of the card, it is easier to trim it than to play with adjustments.  Well that's it for today, thank you for stopping by, and thank you for your sweet and encouraging comments.  ~Diane


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Sunday, February 16, 2014

How to make a card in Word

Hi All, this week for my Gecko Galz DT work I want to show you how easy it is to work with digital images in Word to make your own greeting cards.  This image is just 1 of the 9 images from Gecko Galz Pretty Seed Pack Individual collage sheet, it costs a mere $1.50 US.   I thought they would be perfect, just as they are, no need for further embellishing, and so easy to do.

To make this card I open a page in Word, use the 8.5 x 11 sheet size, set the margins to zero, change the orientation to Landscape and add 2 columns to the page (make sure the space between columns  is zero).  I push enter until I get to the bottom of the left column, then go to "Insert" and choose "Picture", find my image (which I had already cropped out of the collage sheet) click on it, and then press "Insert".  (By starting from the bottom of the left side, this will automatically place your image in the right hand column where you want it to be).  I then right click on the image and bring up the "size and position".  Since my card is going to be a 5" x 7", I set the height to 7.00", (sometimes that will make the width of the card an odd size like 5.6"),  in that case I then un-check the box that says "lock aspect ratio", and change the width to 5.00.  I print it on Staples Matte Photo paper (which feels more like card stock than paper).  Then all I have to do is score it with my Martha Stewart scorer, fold and cut off the unprinted edges.  Use distress ink around the edges for a more finished look. 

The envelope liner was printed using a different method that keeps the image sized in perfect proportions.  I learned this from my friend Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter.  I find my image on my computer, click on in and at the top of the page there is a print option, click print and it will ask you what size and how many, I choose 4 x 6 for the envelope liner and I also choose fit to frame, that's it, just click print and you are done!  It really does not get any easier than this!  I print my envelope liners on regular copy paper also, just trim the edge with fancy scissors.

Be sure to check out the Gecko Galz Customer Spring Fling Contest going on now through the 28th of February.  Some great prizes are up for offer, a $25.00 Gecko Galz Shopping Spree along with a set of Aurora Wings digital stamps. 

Well that's it, thanks for stopping by and thanks for looking.  ~Diane
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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Transform an old wine rack into marker storage.

Good Morning, I had the pleasure of doing a Podcast interview with Lindsay Weirich, the Frugal Crafter this week.  We discussed craft room organization and this was one of my ideas.  I made this organizer for my Letraset markers out of a wine rack I purchased at Salvation Army, it is an inexpensive one that expands or contracts to lay flat.  I measured the openings, they were a little bigger than 3"x3" so that is the size I made my boxes.  I made the boxes out of 12"x15"  Flexible Chopping Mats that I purchased in a package of 2 for a dollar at Dollar Treasure.  Very easy to make, I scored the mat with scissors and a ruler every 3".  I then cut the mat into 3 pieces: two 6"x12"pieces and one 3"x 12".  I used the 3"x12" to make the bottoms of the boxes and used packaging tape to assemble them.  You can also find glasses to fit into the openings, I originally used the POM ice tea glasses but they did not hold as many markers as these square boxes. I divided my markers into colors and I also have a box for Spica Atyou glitter markers and other unusual markers.  I made a 3 sided box for the bottom to hold my Souffle pens.  This sits on the top of my desk hutch so it is out of the way, yet still in sight.  I can pull a box of colors down to the desk to work with, or just grab them 1 at a time.  
I know you will enjoy listening to Lindsay's Frugal Crafter Podcast, she offers 1 every Friday and they are always packed with awesome ideas.  Well, thanks for looking and hopefully also listening this week.  ~Diane  
PS, you can hear me on Episode 3, Craft room organization below.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

BUBBLES OF FUN DESIGNER CARD STOCK


Bubbles of Fun Designer Card Stock
Hello everyone, remember how much fun blowing bubbles used to be? Today's post is a tutorial which I hope will inspire you to let loose and have some fun with your paper crafting. In fact this is so much fun you could invite your children, grandchildren or friends to do this with you. I will show you how to make the Designer Bubble card stock I used in this Birthday card.
Card Recipe
Brown card stock, bubble card stock, violet pink vellum paper and the cute cake in the center is card stock from DCWV THE SWEET STACK. I cut and embossed the cake and sentiment with Spellbinders Petite Ovals Nestabilities.
I dipped the edges of my ovals in a Vivid raspberry ink pad and added some pink glitter to the flowers I cut with Cricut Walk in my Garden, and then added a brown ribbon.
Bubble Card Stock Recipe
Plastic tablecloth or protective cover for your table, plates to catch the bubble drips, small bowls, water and 1 teaspoon of sugar per small bowl. 1 bottle of bubbles- I only used 1/4 of this small bottle for all 5 dishes. Straws, food coloring (I used Neon Bright's I found at $store)
Sorry my recipe did not give a measurement for anything but the sugar. I did approximately 1 part bubbles to 2 parts water (free pour) and I added more food coloring as needed.
Card stock, I cut 8 1/2 x 11 sheets in 1/2 to make them a little easier to manage. I also try different colors because you never know what combination will look best. Rubber gloves are optional and old clothes for the little ones.
Now let the fun begin! Mix your water, bubbles, sugar and food coloring with your straw and start blowing bubbles! This was so much fun, and the bubbles were such beautiful colors too! Put a plate or old pie tin underneath to catch the mess, I figured that out a little late.
Notice the difference in the 2 bowls of bubbles? You want your bubbles to look like the top picture BIG, not the little bubbles near the straw in the second picture. Small bubbles make a large dark spot on your card stock.
Hold your card stock over the top of the bowl and let the card stock smash or break your bubbles. Pick up the card stock and move it around to fresh bubbles and keep doing this till you fill the page with bubbles (you may have to blow more bubbles to finish the page).
This gets messy ,1/2 way through I added a plate underneath.
Above the card stock drying out on the table,
below you can see it brightens up after it dry's for 24 hours.
I do hope you decide to give this a try, it will definitely release the inner child in you. So now that you have your very own designer bubble card stock what will you create with it? I think it would be a great background to use as a frame on one of those cute images everyone colors in with their Copic's. Anyone else have any suggestions as to what you could do with your Designer Bubble card stock? Please share your ideas ~Diane

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Spinner Card


Be careful your flower petals don't get caught in the track.

Red card is my inspiration piece, I just modified the design.

Stampin Up Word Window punch and Dimensionals

I forgot to trim the dimensional to a round shape here




These are foam strips or dimensionals (sticky on 2 sides with foam in between)

So this is a Spinner Card or penny card. The pennies make the rattles or butterflies spin in circles as they travel up and down the slot in the card when you tilt the card from side to side. I used the Word Window punch from Stampin Up to make the track in the side of my card. You will need to line it up and punch it out a few times. I then took 2 pennies, added a foam dimensional to the top of one and placed the penny under the card inside the track. I then added the other penny to the top so they were stuck together with a foam dimensional. (Make sure your dimensional is mounted in the center of the penny. I sometimes find it easier to mount the pennies together and then gently wiggle them into the track.) Also, it works a little better if you trim the edges of the StampinUp dimensional to make it round. I used a 1/2 of a foam dimensional between the bases of the rattles. I used another foam dimensional to attach the stuck together rattles (or butterfly and flower ) to the penny on what is now the outside of the card. (From the bottom up you will have penny, foam, penny, foam, rattle or flower and butterfly.) On the back of the card front I add strips of dimensional foam so that when I attach it to the card there will be air space between the 2 layers of card. Hold the card between your index fingers on the 2 open ends (top and bottom on the rattle card) and tilt the card from side to side and the rattle should spin. Sometimes when it is new you have to shake it down the track to get it broke in a little bit. Sometimes I have to tilt it 15 to 30 times to get it to do an actual circular spin, but once it gets going it will keep spinning in circles. If your foam on the pennies is too big it may have to be trimmed down so it won't catch in the track. Make sure when you are holding the card and tilting it from side to side that you are not pinching the card closed anywhere near the edges or sides of the track, that will constrict the flow also.
This time I decided to add my inspiration piece. The red Thinking of You card was the first spinner card I made. I made it at a StampinUp party which is where I learned the technique. One year I made a Christmas card that had a snowflake that spun on the card, I wish I would have kept that one. The butterfly card is the last one I made. It has a lot of detail, I stamped it with white ink on a very heavy vellum, cut them out by hand, trimmed all the edges with a gold filigree pen, glued on rhinestones and colored chips and colored the wings with chalks. I love to go crazy with the details! Well, thanks again for looking. ~Diane
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