Strawberry Kisses

Well, shout box has discontinued their free plan & at this time I can't afford to pay, but you don't have to do any image verification to leave a regular comment, so please consider doing so. I will appreciate it.

I entered an abc challenge this month that featured the letter "P". I decided to use some adorable pictures I snapped approximately 30 years ago. I chose Strawberry Kisses by Wicked Princess Scraps to do the layout.

Isn't she cute? Jen, I will always love you.

Then I made a simple tag, making copies for friends. As always I used Adobe PSCS4 with "show transform controls" enabled. After opening a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels, I used the heart wreath frame as a base, filling the opening with paper 14, then applying the bevel & emboss effect to the frame. I adorned the frame with satin flower & butterfly, applying the bevel & emboss effect to both, then additionally applying drop shadow to the butterfly. I used a poser by Mystical Illusions (miz-Sarabeth cookie 2010-5). The font is Renaissance. Always remember to include tag info, usually in a smaller font.

Hope you like it.

Winter Frost

Last winter I made a desktop calendar using a kit called Winter Frost by Stargazer Musings. Soon after Shani invited her to access the Wicked Princess Scraps CT. I injured myself last week & have been playing off & on with my Adobe PSCS4 to distract myself from pain. I revisited Winter Frost & created a quick page, a layout, & a tag.

For the tag open a new blnk canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels and make sure "show transform controls" or your program's equivalent is enabled.

I filled the background with paper 2, then added frame3, and filled the inside of the frame with paper1.

I love Medievil Creation posers & for this tag I used Medi_odetteserenade2. Next I embellished the frame with branch6, poinsttia1, and pinecone1, and applied the bevel & emboss effect on all 3.

The font is called Diamond & I applied the hard edge effect I imported from photoshop elements.

Enjoy.

May DSO colour challenge - Puppy Love

My mojo has not been itself this month. I am struggling creatively. I stared at this month's colour swatch at DSO & nothing really came to mind for a kit, so I settled for a quick page that uses all the colours. I put a picture I took of a friend's puppy into the page.

Enjoy

Working on a new kit - quick page freebie

I'm working on a new kit, inspired by the October colour challenge at Divine Digital's forum. The challenge is layouts only, so I used some of what I have created thus far to do a layout. I also made the layout into a quick page freebie for you.

Enjoy.

a gentle soul who lit up our lives

Those of you who aren't animal people probably won't understand, but a very close friend just lost her cat Kelly to illness. Kelly was part of our lives for over 13 years, had a very gentle, loving nature & will be sadly missed. I wanted to do a layout & wanted a kit flattering to her colours. The other day I bought Bright Times by Lady Saphira in full size, & when I hunted down the folder on my computer to use it for this layout, I discovered I had already bought the kit in tag size a few months earlier - lol - I guess I really like it, eh?

It's very bright & cheerful & just what I needed. So I did a layout of Kelly, made a quick page version of the layout as a freebie for you & then made a tag with tutorial.

Tutorial for Beautiful Day tag

What I used:
Bright Times kit by Lady Saphira http://saphirasworld.de/scrapdesign
http://yourscrapaddiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_127&products_id=1127&zenid=3d158636ee35a59001e7037e0d83a910 (full)
http://yourscrapaddiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_127&products_id=1126 (tag)
Posers by Aisne http://aisne-creations.blogspot.com
Corel Paintshop Pro X with pick tool activated for easy resizing of elements

What I did:
1. Open a new blank canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Create a circle either with the preset shapes tool or the circular selection tool. Fill with background of choice (paper 2). Create a new layer & create another circle slightly smaller than the first circle & fill with background of choice (paper 1).
2. Copy & paste your background element of choice (fence 1). Decorate the background with other elements of choice. I used leaf 5, leafs 2, & flowers 1-4, 6 to decorate the fence, copying the elements multiple times & then pasting, resizing, & positioning as appeared pleasing.
3. Copy & paste another element if desired, resizing & positioning as desired. I used the butterfly, 3 times, applying a bevel effect. You may want to experiment with bevels to find the one that looks best.
4. Copy & paste your poser(s) of choice. I used blossom 1 & dandelion 3 & applied a bevel effect to each.
5. Enter desired text. I used Notnorval HMK 12 for the name. Use a smaller font for tag information, like Arial 3.
6. Merge visible & save.

Enjoy.

Kupid Kitty

The Valentine edition of the starving artists train is now chugging into stores & Wench Designs' contribution is a really cute tagger kit called Kupid Kitty http://thecreativitybox.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=290&products_id=4774The kit is created at 72 dpi, so I don't have any freebie qp for you, but I did do a layout with the kit, featuring my furry baby girl Smudge, & my brother's two furry babies. I also did 2 tags with accompanying tutorials.


Tutorial for “Tease the Cat” tag

What I used:
Starving Artist tag kit from Wench Designs called Kupid Kitty http://thecreativitybox.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=290&products_id=4774
Adobe PhotoShop Creative Suite 4.0 (Make sure “show transform controls” is checked to allow easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Use the circular selection tool to create a large circle & fill with background of choice (paper 23).
2. Create a new layer & use the preset shapes tool to create a heart in the upper left area. Fill with background of choice (paper 18) by using new fill layer with “use previous layer to create clipping mask” checked. Highlight both the shape layer & the shape fill in the layers palette, right click in the layers palette & choose “merge layers” so the shape & its fill become a single unit. Apply bevel & emboss effect. (If you are using PSE, use the “hard edge” effect; in PSP apply drop shadow.)
3. Select a cat element (cat 2), a mouse element (mouse 3), & a fish bone element (bone 2). Copy & paste, resizing as needed, & positioning so the mouse is teasing the cat with the fish bone. Apply bevel & emboss effect to each element.
4. Choose a candy heart sentiment (candy heart 3). Copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
5. Choose a decorative element (butterfly 2), copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
6. Enter desired text. To make text curve, highlight the text in layers palette, right click & choose “warp text” then adjust settings as desired. In this case I used Cataneo BT 14 & applied a style (true love bevel 3 from Krissy’s Scraps). Use a smaller font for tag information.


7. Merge visible & save.

Tutorial for “Hey babe, be mine?” tag

What I’m using:
Starving Artist tag kit from Wench Designs called Kupid Kitty http://thecreativitybox.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=290&products_id=4774
Poser by Sinful Mindz http://sindfulmindz.blogspot.com
Adobe PhotoShop Creative Suite 4.0 (Make sure “show transform controls” is checked to allow easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Fill with background of choice (paper 19).
2. Copy & paste heart box 2. Resize & position as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
3. Copy & paste poser of choice (maverick Cherry Luv 3), resizing as needed & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
4. Choose an element for poser to hold, if appropriate (box 1). Copy & paste, resizing as necessary & positioning in or by poser’s hand. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
5. Choose a candy heart sentiment (candy heart 4). Copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired.
6. Enter desired text. In this case I used CaslonNo540SwaD, using colours from the poser. I started font size at 14, but adjusted text size manually to be visually pleasing. Use a small font (Arial 3) for tag information.
7. Merge visible & save.

Enjoy.

Lovely Valentine

Scraps by Rags has recently placed a formerly exclusive kit into her other stores. Lovely Valentine is ideal for creating a lovely tag or page, a tag size kit created at 300 dpi.

I've made a layout, matching quick page for you, a tag & tutorial.

Tutorial for “My Heart is Yours Forever”

What I used:
“Lovely Valentine” kit from Scraps by Rags, tag size at 300 dpi
http://digifoxsstudio.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_46&products_id=1842
Poser from Medi Evil Creations http://medievilcreations.blogspot.com/
Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4.0 (Make certain “show transform controls” is checked to allow for easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Fill with the background of choice (paper 17).
2. Create a new layer. Use the preset shape tool to create a heart, fill with background of choice (paper 6) by choosing “new fill layer” with “use previous layer to create a clipping mask” checked.
3. Choose a flower (rose cluster 1). Copy & paste, resizing if necessary, & positioning in a corner. Repeat for the remaining 3 corners.
4. Copy & paste your poser of choice (medi-v-day love 4). Resize & position as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
5. Choose a bow (heart bow 6). Copy, paste, resize as needed, & position at tip of heart. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
6. Enter desired text. I used Bix Antique Script HMK Bold 12 for main text & Monotype Corsiva 12 for name, applying a style from TNT chocolate cherry collection. Use a smaller font (Arial 3) for tag information.
7. Merge visible & save.

Enjoy

Cool (Cute) Yule

When I saw the cute birds in Krazy Mom Designz "Cool Yule" kit, I wanted to use them to scrap the latest photos of my friend's adorable little girl. I recoloured everything to suit my photos with Kelli's permission. Then I made a tag & tut with the kit.

Tutorial for “Tweet Yuletide Greetings”

What I used:
“Cool Yule” kit by Krazy Mom Designz
http://yourscrapaddiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_176&products_id=1283
Adobe PhotoShop Creative Suite 4
(Make sure “show transform controls” is checked to allow easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Use circular selection tool to create a circle & fill with background of choice (paper 2).
2. Choose snowflake element. Copy, paste, & resize. Repeat. Use lasso tool to select larger dark snowflake of second set, choose edit>clear. Position snowflakes at top of circle. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
3. Choose a bird (bird 2), copy & paste. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
4. Enter desired text. I used Kingthings Christmas 12. Apply bevel & emboss effect. Use smaller font size (8) for word “from” & (4) for tag information.
5. Merge visible & save.

Enjoy

quick page & some tags

JT Designs has a cute kit called Candy Cane Lane & I've done a layout, created a quick page freebie based on the layout, & made 2 tags with accompanying tutorials.

The little sweetie in the layout is a toddler my friend is in the process of adopting.

Tutorial for “My Sweet Pals” tag

What I used:
Kit from JT’s Designs called Candy Cane Lane
http://digifoxsstudio.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_103&products_id=1606 (full)
http://digifoxsstudio.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_103&products_id=1607 (tag)
Poser from Medi Evil’s Creations http://medisaddiction.blogspot.com/
Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4 (Make sure show transform controls is checked to allow for easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels. Use circular selection tool to create a large circle. Fill with background of choice (paper 7).
2. Choose a tree element (element 82). Copy & paste, resizing as needed, & positioning off to the side. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
3. Choose a heart element (element 16). Copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
4. Choose a decorative element (element 45- snowflake dangle). Copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
5. Copy & paste poser of choice (medi-naomee3), resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
6. Copy & paste the teddy bear element (element 27), resizing & positioning beside poser. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
7. Enter desired text. In this case I used Kingthing’s Christmas font. To shape the text, click the text in the layers palette, choose warp text, then arch. Use a smaller font for tag information (Arial 4). 8. Merge visible & save.

Tutorial for “Greetings” tag

What I used:
Kit from JT’s Designs called Candy Cane Lane
http://digifoxsstudio.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_103&products_id=1606 (full)
http://digifoxsstudio.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_103&products_id=1607 (tag)
Poser from Medi Evil’s Creations http://medisaddiction.blogspot.com
Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4 (Make sure show transform controls is checked to allow for easy resizing of elements.)

What I did:
1. Open a new transparent canvas 700 pixels x 700 pixels & fill with background of choice ((paper 2).
2. Choose a frame (doodle overlay 1). Copy & paste, resizing to tag boundaries.
3. Choose a dangly element (element 32). Copy & paste, resizing to fit along top edge of tag.
4. Choose a decorative element (element 61). Copy & paste, resizing & positioning as desired. In this case I duplicated the element & applied the bevel & emboss effect to both.
5. Copy & paste your poser of choice (medi- hollieday ball 8), resizing & positioning as desired. Apply bevel & emboss effect.
6. Enter desired text. In this case I used Lauren script & applied a glitter style by Yarrow & applied the bevel & emboss effect. Use a smaller font for tag information.
7. Merge visible & save.

This kit has potential to spare. I've really barely scratched the surface. This month only the kit is on sale for an incredible $0.99!

Enjoy.

A layout, tag & tut

I've been playing with a kit from Butterfly Blush - her self titled Butterfly Blush kit.

It's on sale right now at Butterfly Blush for only $1.50. It's a really sweet little kit & I have done a layout, a tag with tutorial & a July 2009 desktop. I'm going to delay posting the desktop until the end of June, something for you to look forward to - lol.

“Treasure Friends” Tutorial

What I used:
Butterfly Blush kit by Butterfly Blush Designs
http://butterflyblushdesigns.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_9&products_id=66
Poser by BitsNBobs
http://exquisitescraps.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_188&products_id=325

What I did:
I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 to create this tag.
1. Open a 600 pixels x 600 pixels transparent background.
2. Use shape tool to draw a large heart in the center of the canvas. Use magic wand to highlight that heart. Fill the heart with paper 3. Merge visible.
3. Copy & paste the poser in the center of the heart. Adjust size as desired. Apply drop shadow.
4. Copy & paste butterfly 4. Position at an angle to the right of the fairy’s upraised hand, resizing as desired. Apply drop shadow.
5. Copy & paste butterfly 3. Angle slightly & position in left hand lobe of heart, resizing as desired. Apply drop shadow.
6. Copy & paste flower 2. Position to left of fairy’s feet, resizing as desired. Apply drop shadow.
7. Copy & paste flower 4. Position to right of fairy’s feet, resizing as desired. Apply drop shadow.
8. Create & position text. I used font Cataneo BT.
9. Merge visible & save tag.

'til next time
Enjoy.