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Showing posts with label Word tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word tutorial. Show all posts

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, February 1, 2014

Layering objects in Word tutorial using Gecko Galz and Aurora Wings images.

 Hi All, I want to show you this card I made using Gecko Galz It's not Easy Being Green papers along with a digital stamp from our cross promotional partner this month Aurora Wings.   Poppies is the name of this stamp.  They work beautifully layered together.
This month I want to share with all of you how easy it is to work with digital stamps.  Although this card could be made with programs like Photo Shop or Gimp, not many people know it can also be made with simple to use programs you already understand like Word.  So I will take you step by step through the process on this card, I put all your action steps in italic to make it easier to follow, you will be amazed to see how easy this is to do in a program like Word.
  First I Opened Word, brought up the Gecko Galz paper by choosing Insert Picture, I sized it to my 5x7 card size (right click will bring up sizes), then I went to Insert Picture again and brought up the digital stamp, while I had that (second) image selected or boxed on my screen I selected Text Wrap and Place in Front of Text, then I moved the image on top of the green paper (it will still be in a white box, don't worry).   I went to Picture Tools and clicked on Color, then at the bottom selected "Set Transparent Color", went to the image and and clicked on the inside of one of the flowers, this made the white boxed background all fall away so I was left with a transparent image.  Then I sized and positioned it to my liking (to re size it grab the lower right hand corner of the box with your mouse, and push in or pull out to make it larger or smaller) on top of my green background paper.  I then printed it on matte matte photo paper.  Then I went back and removed the green paper by deleting it, and printed the Poppies image on white card stock and again on ivory.  I colored in the face on the ivory and fussy cut it and glued it on to the green.  Then I colored some of the flowers from the white close to her face and placed them to cover where the face was glued down, I colored in 3 more random flowers and placed them on to where I had already colored in all of the flowers on the green image.  (In hindsight I could have printed the image on ivory and not bothered with the white, colored in the face and a few flowers and glued it down.)  I went in to her eyes and colored them in with a white marker along with the centers of a few of the Poppies too.  I mounted it to a 5 x 7 card and printed the 4 x 6 Gecko Galz Its not easy being Green paper for the envelope insert.
That's it, although it may be a lot to just read, if you opened your Word program you would see how easy and how few steps this really is!   I hope I am able to help someone with this tutorial, I will do another this month.  Thanks for looking, I always appreciate your comments.  ~Diane

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I am linking up with Make it Monday Party, its been a while since I joined them.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Changing paper colors in Word.


 Lindsay's Stamp Stuff is having a great sale, 50% off  on May 25 and 26 so stop by and see what she has!  I made this card with the multi colored chevron paper from Lindsay's  Hugs and Kisses Valentine papers, that's right Valentines papers!  The paper in the set is shades of red, pink, yellow and green.  I pulled the image up in Word and went to my tools "change color" (I have added change color to my toolbar because I use it quite often) and I selected both the light blue and the darker blue right below it.  I love changing paper colors in Word, it makes your papers so much more versatile!  Of course I used my Perfect Layers rulers to get that clean 1/16" edge behind the lighter chevron layer.  That really gives it so much more dimension.  Follow my link and use Bove5% for 5% off Perfect Layers Rulers. The Tinkerbell stamps are from JoAnns I colored them with Letraset markers and Spica Atyou sparkle pens.  I used Stickles on the wings.  I printed the lighter chevron on copy paper and used it for the envelope liner.  I am sure Kayla will love this card, after all she loves Tinkerbell.  I used a Spellbinders die to cut the birthday sentiment and I trimmed it with StampinUp Stampin Spots Almost Navy.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane
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