Tutorial – Uniquely You Tags

In our new kit, Uniquely You, Karen and I used some of the tags from my Tags – Watercolors 1 product. This little tutorial shows you how I created those tags AND, as promised, there’s a freebie at the end.

If any of you are fans of Tim Holtz, I’m sure you’ll recognize a lot of this. If you’re not familiar with him, take the time to check out his blog. He has a TON of tutorials and that’s where I got the idea to make these.

Step 1 – Gather up your supplies

The supplies I use for this include an old shirt (be sure to button it up … I’ve often forgotten and definitely regretted it), spritz water bottle, distress stain, distress inks, ink applicators, heat gun, craft mat, paper towels and, most important of all, tags.

Step 2 – Spread stain on your craft mat

Using the distress stain, spread it on your craft mat. I used multiple colors (which you really can’t see), but you can do this with just one color, too. You may have to pump the bottle a couple of times and maybe squeeze it to get it to puddle.

Read More

Batik Papers Tutorial and Freebies

Now that I’ve gone through my original 10 products, I wanted to show how I used a couple of my products — Transparent Overlays – Batiks 1 & Brushes – Watercolor Splashes 1 — to create some Batik Papers.

For the papers in the sampler, I used the distressed overlays. I created a new document in Photoshop (12-in x 12-in @ 300 dpi). I then placed one of the overlays on the layer above the background making sure it’s centered on the page. Using my watercolor brushes, I started stamping away on the Background layer.

I realize I could have created the background without loading in the overlay, but I did it this way so I could see how the background played against the overlay. It’s funny just how much different things look when you have a pattern over the top of the background you’re working on. Once I got something I close to what I liked, I used a little Gaussian Blur to soften it (you don’t have to do this if your already happy with what you have).

You can leave the overlay black, but I really was looking to make something that looked like batik fabric so I started playing around with coloring the overlay. There are a lot of ways to do this, but my favorite way (because I’m lazy) is by creating a layer above the overlay layer and clip it to the overlay. My reasoning for doing things this way is because I can play with color/blend modes without have to use the extra “clicks” to bring up the effects dialog. All I have to do to change the color is pick a new one and use the paint bucket to dump it onto that layer. I can then use keyboard shortcuts (CMD + or CMD – for the Mac; Shift + or Shift – for the PC) to change the blend modes and I still haven’t had to open the “effects” dialog.

Once I got the combination I liked, I added a textured overlay (a fabric for these) and, using my keyboard shortcuts, played around with the blend modes and transparency. All that is left is to save this out as a jpg and you have your batik paper.

Questions (maybe I can get someone to take now)??? If not, enjoy and don’t forget to download your freebie. Just click on the preview to download it.

HUGS!!!

Read More

New Filter, Tutorial & Freebie

One of the things that’s been keeping me busy lately is my work with Filter Forge filters. There is SO much to learn and a lot of learning comes from playing with all the components to see what you come up with. I’ve also ventured in to the realm of Surface filters which has it’s own gotcha’s one must deal with. My first surface filter is called Have You Lost Your Marbles?

 

I’ve always wanted to create a “bead” generator and this was my first stab at doing so. While this was a great learning experience for filter generation, it also gave me a chance to learn more about using Filter Forge in general … especially using the additional controls that come built-in with Surface filters.

Read More

Using Layer Styles, with Grain or a Direction, to Create Frames

I said I’d tell you how I made my wood frames and here it is …

Before I start, this is my “disclaimer” …  I’m doing this in Photoshop CS5 Extended on a Mac; however, I’m sure the process would be quite similar on a PC or in Photoshop Elements. I’m also assuming that you know how to install your styles. If not, Karen (aka SnickerdoodleDesigns) has a tutorial of how it’s done on her blog and she also includes these instructions with her products.

NOTE:  if a screenshot is too small for you to see the details, just click on it and you should get a larger image. If you don’t, PLEASE comment or send me a note using my Contact page.

Read More

Using Layer Styles to Create Frames

As I mentioned yesterday, I created some frames for you using some Photoshop Layer Styles from SnickerdoodleDesigns and I’m going to tell you how I made the square one. Just in case you’re not interested in seeing how I did this, you are more than welcome to just download this freebie by clicking on the preview below.

Before I start, I want you to know that I’m doing this in Photoshop CS5 Extended; however, I’m sure the process would be quite similar in Photoshop Elements. I’m also assuming that you know how to install your styles. If not, Karen (aka SnickerdoodleDesigns) has a tutorial of how it’s done on her blog and she also includes these instructions with her products.

Read More

Extracting Elements from Images

Previously published on http://www.jilbert.org …

I’m always promising to write a tutorial on how I go about extracting things from photographs … and naturally haven’t done so. The main reason I haven’t done this is I have SO many different ways of doing this and really didn’t know where to start. Luckily, I’ve run across some great resources on the subject of “extracting.” Rather than write the tutorials myself, I’ve decided to provide a listing of what I’ve found with a focus on the ones I believe best apply to extracting elements for use on Polyvore. I will also try to provide a comment or two regarding my thinking on the subject covered in the tutorial. Keep in mind, I am referring to “extracting” things, not creating “tubes” or “misted tubes” … that’s an entirely different subject and, hopefully, fodder for another post.

Read More