Quick PhotoShop Tip

There are many ways to make selections in Photoshop. Some are easy, some can get tricky. I find one of the easiest and fastest ways to select text for example, whether it’s been rasterized or not, and as long as it’s in its own layer is by holding down the APPLE (Command) key and clicking on the text layer. This method is more accurate than say using the MagicWand, especially if you’ve added effects or blending options. The same goes for selecting artwork in other layers.

This tip has come in handy many a times.

Try it!

Happy Scrapping!

How To Cut 5×7 Mats From 12×12 Paper

Here’s a quick tip I learned a few years back and still amazes me.

Cut 4 – 5×7 Mats out of 1 – 12×12 paper or cardstock and have a bonus journal square left over.

1. Using a cutter like Fiskar’s Personal Trimmer, open the swing arm and line up your 12×12 paper on the 7″ mark (fig. A).

2. Proceed to cut taking the blade down to the 7″ mark along the blade guide (fig. A).

3. Next turn the 12×12 paper 90º Clockwise, and repeat steps 1. and 2. (fig. B)

4. Turn the 12×12 paper another 90º Clockwise, and repeat steps 1. and 2. (fig. C)

5. Once again, turn the 12×12 paper 90º clockwise and repeat steps 1. and 2 (fig. D)

6. That’s it! You should have 4 perfect 5×7 mats and 1 journal square (fig. E)

Matting your 4×6 pictures couldn’t be any easier! Amazing!!

Blackout SVG Files

Here’s a tip I just learned about and have started incorporating into my paper piecing collections.

Blackout SVG files!

What are they?

A blackout file is an SVG file which contains the outline of an assembled paper piecing pattern.

Genius!!!

This makes it extra easy to assemble the patterns! Plus, makes the whole thing much sturdier!

Here’s a sample of one my latest paper piecing buddies and its blackout file:

So,

Send the pieces including the blackout file to cut and assemble the pattern by laying each piece over the blackout using the outlines as a guide!

Genius!

Happy Scrapping!

About the Craft Robo II

What about the Craft Robo II? I really love it!

Up until YESTERDAY I liked my Craft Robo. Today, I love it!

See, I thought that by being a Mac user I was limited to a very narrow area of cutting because registration marks had to be printed on whatever I wanted to cut. Narrow, because the marks had to be about 2 inches in from the edges of the paper/cardstock so the digital eye of the cutter could recognize the marks. Then, I always have had to try positioning the paper/cardstock in slightly different ways until the cutter finally recognizes the marks. And then, if I used a dark colored paper/cardstock or one with a busy pattern, the cutter cannot see the marks at all. I did realize that by oulining the marks with my trusty white Galaxy Marker it helped the cutter see the marks…..but come on…… a bit frustrating to get something cut.

BUT……..the revelation! Read the rest of this entry »

Digital Scrapbooking Tip for Illustrator Users

New to Illustrator? Here’s a quick tip on how to create a “stitched” look. Make sure you check out my other Illustrator and Photoshop tutorials.

1. Open a new file or a file you’re working on. FILE < NEW or FILE < OPEN…

2. Select the shape tool from the tool palette on the left. I’ll be using the square tool for this tutorial (Figure 1).

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Quick and Easy Digital Chalking Effect

Here’s a quick way to get a chalking effect in your digital layouts.

1. Open your layout or a new blank file, I’ll be using PhotoShop CS2.

2. Create a shape or place a shape if you’ve purchased or downloaded a digital embellishment.

I’ve drawn out this butterfly shape (figure 1) using the custom shapes tool. You can find lots of cool shapes there. I want to use this butterfly in a layout just as I would use chipboard or paper piecing in traditional scrapbooking.

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How To Create A Simple Single Photo Digital Layout

Digital scrapbooking is growing by leaps and bounds. Are you clueless when it comes to knowing how to get started? Here are 8 simple steps on how to create a single photo digital layout in minutes.

Step 1

Select a background “paper”.

Using a predesigned scrapbooking kit is the easiest way to get your feet wet. You can always design your own, but that takes a while. If you don’t have any kits to start from you can browse through my Shopping Nook and purchase one (they’re very inexpensive).

For this “how-to” I’ll be using my latest kit, Smiley Grunge, and I’ll be creating the layout in Photoshop CS2.

So then, go ahead and open the file you’ll be using as a background paper by clicking: File > Open > choose your file. Click OK. (Figure 1, 2 and 2b)

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Digital Scrapbook Layouts of the Week 1

I’m gonna try to select a “Digital Layout of the Week”, every week, and deconstruct the design process for the benefit of any newbies to the digital world and for the veterans, maybe we can learn something new! Please leave your comments and questions and I’ll be happy to answer.

This week we have two single photo digital scrapbook layouts, “Cuddly” and “Sweetie”. Here’s how these were created along with notes on the software used:

1. PhotoShop or Illustrator?

It’s up to you. If you want to edit your photos (ie. add effects) then PhotoShop is better. But, both have similar tools and are compatible with each other. I sometimes create patterns, doodles or a drawing of something (like the giraffe and bear) in Illustrator and later open them in PhotoShop and make the rest of the layout there. For this weeks layouts I used Illustrator only.

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