Made By Renee | scrapbooking

Digital - Crea Freebie

2010-10-18T07:26:00.006-04:00

New FREEBIE

by Dydyge

Free until
October 20th 2010

If this is your first time here, pop over to Made By Renee's Homepage for freebies, coupons, deal alerts and more! or visit me on Facebook!

Hokey Pokey!

2009-06-30T12:18:00.004-04:00

andrea sent me her kit, Hokey Pokey! It's adorable.. check it out at DSO!

You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! That song is fun and quirky, just like this kit. There are lots of fun pattern papers with birdies, gems, glitter, strings, swirls and flowers to play with. 17 Papers and 52 Elements

posted at

DSO

DST

DSA

RAK from andrea~

2009-06-15T11:53:00.000-04:00

andrea sent me an RAK! It is her kit, Play.. and it is so delightful! you can get it at DSO!

posted at

DSO

DST

RAK from shannon!

2009-06-01T19:31:00.008-04:00

Shannon sent me an RAK! It's her newest kit, Nadya's Cupcake and it is soooo cute!! you have to check it out, it's at DSO!

Inspired by her daughter's 2nd birthday and her love of cupcakes, it's a red and white themed kit perfect for summer photos, birthdays, or even a little romance.

Here are 2 Layouts I made from this wonderful kit :)

posted at

DST

DSO

Beautiful Things Mini Part 2 - freebie

2009-05-22T14:55:00.002-04:00

I have included more things than are shown in the preview! extra ribbons, paper etc!

download this mini kit here

Mother's Day quickpage and wordart - freebie!

2009-05-09T21:43:00.003-04:00

for mother's day :)

Please click to enlarge.. the preview doesn't do it justice.

freebie using soon to be released parts of my Beautiful Things kit. The zipfile includes quickpage with wordart and without. Also includes the wordart in a separate file.

download here

May Photo Op Stop Challenge

2009-05-09T21:30:00.004-04:00

for Jazzy's photo op stop at DSO.

I extracted his photo, used a hue/saturation layer on the background and his photo, lowered the opacity on the quote to match.

May Font and Scraplift Challenges at DSO

2009-05-06T12:44:00.006-04:00

For the May font and scraplift challenges at DSO. led by the awesome andrea and loucee (respectively). Gorgeous Posting bonuses!

Yugly font
urban scrawl brushes by Invisible Snow (they are super cute!)
paper by les brumes (who has wonderful textures on flickr)
scraplift of spring thy name is colour by chaos lounge

the font was kind of 'grungy' so I thought the brushes fit perfectly. my photo is old so it had that grungy feel too, along with the paper. I used part of the paper as an overlay (hard light) on the background photo.

Beautiful Things Wordart Mini Freebie!

2009-05-05T22:57:00.003-04:00

Please click to enlarge as blogger distorts images.

For the May color challenge at DSO led by kimb.

I have been playing with making patterns and wordart I wanted to get something out there in the beginning of the month for others to use.. I hope you enjoy this ~ sparkles are always fun! keep an eye out for additional parts!

I made this page from my mini kit.

download here

Beautiful Things and Bee My Honey - challenges at DSO and a freebie!

2009-05-03T15:58:00.007-04:00

Click to enlarge my Beautiful Things Quickpage (blogger distorts images)!

I made this page for the May Quote Challenge at DSO, led by andrea dickinson! She is DSO's designer of the month for May - but we get the prize!! andrea has given us a gorgeous freebie kit called Bee My Honey! This is a preview of the quickpages I made from it for the May Great Exchange (led by Shannon):

Be sure to click the image to see it better!

Since you made it this far, you can have my Beautiful Things page for free!

download here

Happy iNSD Freebie!

2009-05-02T13:18:00.003-04:00

Please click for a better view (blogger distorts images)!

stuff that didn't make it into kits, but are still fun to use!

6 papers, 2 wordart, stickers, elements etc :)

happy iNSD!! download here

Morning Glory Freebie - part 3 (and 4 hehe)

2009-05-01T00:48:00.006-04:00

Blogger distorts pictures, so please click the image to enlarge.

I hope you enjoy the next part of my Morning Glory kit! 7 elements, 4 ribbons, 2 borders, 3 papers, 1 edge, 3 uppercase alphas and 2 wordart (not all shown in preview)! I made it for DSO's April Color Challenge, led by kimb. It is kimb's 2 year anniversary so be sure to visit her blog for some goodies!

Be sure to add my blog to your blogroll so you can be notified when I update with new freebies.

download part 3 (alphas and wordart) here

download part 4 (elements and flannels) here

Morning Glory Freebie part 2!

2009-04-29T19:23:00.006-04:00

Blogger distorts pictures, so please click the image to enlarge.

I hope you enjoy the next part of my Morning Glory kit! 2 cluster frames, 1 doodle frame, 1 quilt frame and 5 papers! I made it for DSO's April Color Challenge, led by kimb. It is kimb's 2 year anniversary so be sure to visit her blog for some goodies!

Be sure to add my blog to your blogroll so you can be notified when I update with new freebies. This kit is getting pretty big and I want you to be able to grab it all!

download here

Morning Glory Freebie Part 1 - desktop, quickpage and paper!

2009-04-27T13:15:00.003-04:00

Blogger distorts pictures, so please click the image to enlarge.

I hope you enjoy the first part of my Morning Glory kit! I made it for DSO's April Color Challenge, led by kimb. It is kimb's 2 year anniversary so be sure to visit her blog for some goodies!

Be sure to add my blog to your blogroll so you can be notified when I update with new freebies. This kit is getting pretty big and I want you to be able to grab it all!

PS: After you drop your photos behind the May desktop (png), make sure you flatten/save as jpg file. Otherwise your desktop icons will look a bit funny! (my photos are not included hehe)

download here

Please visit this post for an additional quickpage from this kit.

forgot to add thanks to irisb477 in my TOU :)

Scraplift Challenge and a freebie!

2009-04-23T13:19:00.005-04:00

for April 2009 Scraplift challenge at DSO, using Livia's fantastic page titled : Chelly as inspiration. Challenge is being led by Beth Long. Be sure to click the image for a better view.

The ideas that inspired me : picture frame to the side with a border, the flowers, having a Word art tag and the "grungy" (yet sweet) feeling to the background paper.

all elements and paper Made by Renee from my kit entitled "Morning Glory"(soon to be part of the April 2009 Color Challenge - so watch for it!). Thanks to scrappin cop and delicious scraps for their CU items, obsidian dawn for the brush on my wordart tag.

Since you were so nice to stop by my blog, I'm going to give you this layout as a QP. Enjoy!

download here

April Quote Challenge and my slide converter

2009-04-23T13:04:00.007-04:00

Yep, that's me in that picture.

This is my page for the April 2009 Quote Challenge at DSO led by Andrea Dickinson. Be sure to click the image for a better view... and let me know what you think!

all papers, elements, cluster frame and edge made by me for my new kit Morning Glory.

CU items: thanks to delicious scraps, Tbugz, gunhild and polarfuchs. You can find their links in my sidebar.

This photo was a slide that I converted to a digital picture. The quality isn't that great, but I really love my converter because I can be assured I will have the pictures for a long time to come. It also converts negatives, which is pretty nice too. The only downfall to the converter is if your slide is too bright. I had one like that and it didn't come out at all.

Now that I have converted them to digi, I may feel safe enough to send my slides off to be developed into true photographs. I think that would be a nice pressie for my mom :)

The Great Exchange April 2009

2009-04-06T12:50:00.007-04:00

These are my 2 submissions to DSO's Great Exchange, led by Shannon! Here's how the challenge works:

Join us each month as we create items to share! Create one item to share and receive ALL that month's creations in return. For this month's Great Exchange, we're featuring Flitter Flutter and To The Moon by our April Designer of the Month - Melanie Ann. We'll continue with the QuickPage theme; this time we'll be creating 8.5x11 or 12x12 QPs. So come on, show me what you've got - post a preview (low-resolution marked with preview) in the Gallery and leave us a link in this forum. Send the full-resolution file in either PNG or JPEG format (a zip file is fine) to [Shannon] - and in return, you'll get ALL of the QPs submitted this month. How great is that!?!?

You can check out Melanie Ann's kit "Flitter Flutter" here and her shop here.

Book of Me Challenge

2009-03-28T10:43:00.006-04:00

This was done for the March Book of Me Challenge at DSO... it is led by Livia who has a GORGEOUS posting bonus (do 3 of her challenges and you have a really wonderful kit named I heart sunflowers!). You had to scrap 5 of your favorite things (right now).

Of the scenic photos Ive taken, these are my 5 favorite (right now). I'm definitely no photographer, but these pictures evoke certain feelings when I look at them.

Thanks to Mrs Wresh for the template and pimpyourscrapbook for the "wooden" background paper.

Little Roses.. Little Freebie!

2009-03-20T11:21:00.006-04:00

I made these a while ago.. if you like them, feel free to download them! each rose is on it's own layer to make one less step in using them! 4shared or box.net

I really love Kristin's new kit.. it's so soft and the elements are gorgeous! check it out on her blog, Digi Delights (each part is just $1 right now)!

Have a super great day!

PS: stop by kimb's blog.. she has some fantastic freebies going on!

Lyric Challenge

2009-03-20T01:55:00.004-04:00

I made this layout for the Lyric Challenge at DSO led by Livia. She has 3 challenges this month and if you do all 3 you get to collect a whole kit! The kit is super cute too.. it's sunflowers!

The layout is kind of plain, but I texturized the paper and extracted the picture. It came out how I wanted it to.

Making Embossed Paper (PSE)

2009-03-13T02:18:00.006-04:00

Embossing is a really fun and easy technique that makes your paper pop!

1. Bring a background into PSE or make a new one and fill with color, then texture or pattern (if you like).

2. Create a new layer above your background. Using your brush, paint some designs. Painting them into a pattern looks really nice (using the Patterns in PSE won't work for this tute).

3. Duplicate your background layer and move it to the top, grouping it with your brushed pattern layer. You can't see your pattern yet, but don't worry! Leave your blending mode on normal for all layers.

4. Select your brushed pattern layer and apply a bevel to it. I used simple sharp inner, but you can use anything you like.

5. Play around with the opacity until you get the embossing to your liking. You can change the light source and see how different the embossing looks.

enjoy!

March Color Challenge Freebie

2009-03-11T13:20:00.005-04:00

The March color challenge at DSO (led by kimb) is up and FLYING! Here's my contribution: 4shared or Box.net

I also made this bonus mini kit just for you visiting my blog :) 4shared or Box.net

thanks for stopping by and as always, please send your friends to my blog to download and do not send direct links!

blog awards and tag-you're-it!

2009-03-07T16:10:00.008-05:00

Shannon at Desert Designs gave me some blog love!

the lemonade stand is "..an award for the neighborhood spirit and friendship our blogs let us all share"!

wasn't that so sweet - why don't you go say hi to her? she has some great stuff to share and her daughter is a gorgeous dollbaby!

I'm going to pass them on to my good friends Holly and Shuranda!

I am also going to do the "tag" thing:

rules:

•Go to your photo folder in your computer

•Go to the 6th folder of photos

•Go to the sixth picture

•Put the picture on your blog and a description of it

•Invite six friends to join the challenge

•Link them in your blog.

so.. umm this was my sixth picture in the sixth folder LOL

I don't know what that is. but it was in my food folder so I am assuming that's what it is LOL. oh wait! I know what it is...

CONEY ISLAND CHILI DOG PIE!! it is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S even for non-low carbers. My husband loves it!

I won't be tagging anyone.. but play along if you like (and make sure to try that recipe - it's awesome)!

Template Challenge..and a Sneek Peek!

2009-03-07T07:48:00.007-05:00

I guess I am challenge crazy! This one was done for the DSO template challenge, led by Bunny this month. She has a really pretty posting bonus available!

fonts: cheri and angelina

template by bunny cates

papers, stitches and elements from the kit I am making for the march color challenge (I have added the rose colors.. you didn't get to see those on the sneak-a-peek.. but look how cute that cherry blossom tree is!)

Photo Op Challenge.. and 2 Freebies!

2009-03-07T01:44:00.002-05:00

I did this one a few weeks ago, but thought I would enter it into the March Photo Op Stop Challenge at DSO. It is being led by Jazz who always has fabulous wordart posting bonuses!

and just for stopping by - I am giving away the Vintage Paper and Cluster as Freebies! The paper doesn't have Sparky on it, it is just the antique white with lace behind it. The cluster inclues the postcard, kids card, string and lace! They are both very cute - make sure to click the preview to see them closer. Special thanks to Gunhild for her CU items!

download from 4shared

Quote Challenge

2009-03-04T12:24:00.004-05:00

This is for the March Quote Challenge at DSO, led by andrea dickinson.

You may not be able to see it, but everytime I look at this picture I know my sister is laughing hysterically.

her and that dog!

ribbon - lovely sample - bad candy
robinsegg paper - blossom love sampler - by chrissy snow
striped paper- blue paisley - by mommyscraps
heart frame - Dear Mother - by Helen Monteiro
Smile - Edwardian Script
quote and backdrop - Tempus Sans ITC

I really love that DSO gives kits as posting bonuses (they are really pretty!) and don't do the whole point system. I can't always do 20 layouts in a month just to get a buck off of some store item. I actually don't do challenges that give coupons as rewards.. maybe I'm missing out on something, but I prefer it this way.

March Scraplift Challenge!

2009-03-04T01:34:00.008-05:00

New Challenges at DSO! This is for the March Scraplift Challenge led by Beth ! She has a beautiful posting bonus up (hint hint: it has butterflies!!)

I really love these photos I took while driving. I changed them to "newspaper" black and white and then duplicated the layer. I changed the duplicate layer to Overlay, then sepia tone and finally turned the opacity down to 50%. I think it makes the BandW a little richer. There are some really nice actions out there for beautifying BandW but I forgot to load them into my PSE7.

papers, lace and bronze heart by Gunhild (CU items) and the buttons are from the scrappin cop (CU items). font used is Payrus.

Keep checking back for a new freebie sometime within the next week! It's for the Colour Challenge at DSO - and those are always fun! I'll give you 2 hints about my freebie:1) it has quilled flowers and 2) here's..

How to Fit a Picture into an Irregular Frame (or any frame!)

2009-02-24T01:21:00.003-05:00

The first thing you need to make sure of is that your frame and photo are on their own layers. Of course, I put everything on it's own layer to make editing easier. Then:

Activate your frame layer

Choose your magic wand tool

Click the main photo area (you should see marching ants in the part of the picture you want to keep)

Right Click; Select>inverse

Activate your photo layer

Hit delete

This should delete all of the picture except what was inside the frame.

4Shared and viruses!

2009-02-23T19:29:00.005-05:00

I'm sure you have heard about it over the last week or so.. but apparently 4shared has more in store for you than just free kits and quickpages! Read More Here

I personally have seen my anti-virus program stop 2 trojans in the last month. I do run 2 anti-virus programs (updating daily) and a malware program every day so I know my system is safe, but it sounds like these new ones are getting by and into other's PCs.

My husband is planning on reformatting my HD this week (we were on planning it anyways) and I have moved all of my important stuff to the extra HD I have.

I don't want anyone to be scared of DLing from me, so I have made an account at box.net (I suggest you do too). Like the posters above, I too believe it is coming through ads at 4shared and not through DLing. I have had that one ad pop up that pretends it is an anti-virus program more than once (I simply shut down my PC) and some other really strange (and pornographic) ads have popped up there. Box.net has no ads (at the moment).

I also do not want to be responsible for wiping out my husband's PC! My PC is one thing.. but if it happens to his he will be really angry!

Anyways.. be safe. I would recommend not DLing anything from 4shared and moving your stuff to another place. Also run your AVs and even have grisoft check yours out online.

Please note: I have had no complaints with any of my things, this is simply a preventative measure!

PS: another good thing to do is to make sure your popup filter is ON!

EDIT 3/3/09: apparently there is a bandwidth limit on box.net so I will include the 4shared links. Use firefox if you dont want troubles (although Ive not had any in the last week from 4shared).

domesticG

2009-02-20T04:19:00.010-05:00

Click to view entire layout!

I did this double page layout for the February Template Challenge at DSO hosted by teriann hanks.

The kit I used is from Andrea Dickinson and the alpha from Sir Scrapalot Designs

This is kind of out of the box for me.. thought I'd try something new with a grungy look to show off my new washer and dryer! and that's not me BTW haha that's Mrs June Cleaver herself - the original domestic goddess!

See my post on Made by Renee about Joaquin Phoenix and the Dosmestic Goddess!

Random Photoshop Brush Tips

2009-02-15T02:50:00.004-05:00

from Obsidian Dawn:

You know how the grass that comes with Photoshop fluctuates in color, each time that you use it? You can do that with any brush that you want! Here’s how.

Hit F5 to bring up your brushes tab
Choose “Color Dynamics”
One way to control the color is to choose two colors for your foreground and background colors. In the case of a blade of grass, say… light green and dark green. Then set the “Foreground/Background Jitter” bar somewhere between 25-75%. When you use your brush, it will now vary in color between the foreground and background colors that you chose!

Another way (or you can do the former and then ALSO do this) is by using the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness Jitter sliders.

Hue will change the color itself. Set it at about 10%, and your green will become both a blue-green and a yellow-green sometimes.
Saturation will change the intensity of the color. Set it at 20% or so, and your green will switch between a bright, vivid green to a slightly grayed-out green.
Brightness will change the darkness of the color. Set it at 20% or so, and your green will range between a light green and a darker green.

Play around with these settings, and you can achieve all kinds of color variations!

Other Brush Tips from Obsidian Dawn:

Under Brush Tip Shape Spacing: This will make the brush closer together or farther apart

Under Shape Dynamics Size Jitter: This will make the size vary more or less

Minimum Diameter: This will dictate the minimum size that the brush will be (as its varying in size)

Under Scattering Scatter: This makes the brush scatter about more or stay more along the path that you’re painting

Under Other Dynamics Opacity Jitter: This makes the brushes vary in opacity as they are painted - more or less

Freebie Quickpage!

2009-02-13T04:05:00.006-05:00

I thought I'd make a QuickPage to go with the Feb DSO Colour Challenge (click picture to enlarge). Of course, my little kit is still available for download (see this post).

download the QP from it's new home on box.net and enjoy! (4shared link)

3 Column Blogger

2009-02-11T02:44:00.003-05:00

Say - did you notice I changed my blog? I made it 3 columns.

Here's how you do it. Make sure to adjust your margins too.

After setting it up, I had to change my blog background to be wider. It is best viewed in 1024+ resolution.

Of course you can still read all my blathering and silliness in other resolutions.. but if you want to change yours, just right click your desktop > Properties >Settings. Then slide that little bar around until you get the resolution where you want it.

Thanks for visiting me.. and feel free to grab a blinkie! They are on the lefthand side.

Freebie and a challenge!

2009-02-11T01:42:00.013-05:00

click the preview to see it up close and personal!

I am so indecisive - I can never make up my mind! I made so many things to go with my DSO color challenge (led by kimb) kit that I had a lot of trouble cutting it down! Because I'm so shilly-shally, that's what youre getting!

Not only are there 4 soft fabric papers, 5 fishbone stitching, 2 flowers and 2 ribbons.. but I'm throwing in my favorite birdie, 4 star papers, a star arrangement and 2 bows (not shown on preview)!

Now I am in love with the fabric papers! Click on the preview below to take a closer look at the detail:

I know it's a bit different from the preview in my previous post, but maybe I will give that stuff away another day this week!

EDITED: Download it from it's new home at box.net (4shared link)

peace, love and honeybees.. whatever that means!

2009-02-10T16:42:00.003-05:00

This is for the Recipe Challenge at DSO. It is being hosted by Lynn.

The Great Exchange

2009-02-10T01:56:00.002-05:00

go check out The Great Exchange challenge at DSO! Its being hosted by Shannon.

The Great Exchange - February 2009 Join us each month as we create items to
share! Create one item to share and receive ALL that month's creations in
return. We will feature a different Designer and/or product each month

sounds fun doesn't it? and you can get my cute little quickpage made with kimb's Fresh Posey!

New Blinkies

2009-02-09T03:29:00.001-05:00

The top blinkie is 150x50 pixels - perfect for forums etc.

I told you they could be pretty :)

Puppy Love

2009-02-08T13:28:00.001-05:00

This is for Doodle's Dare Feb challenge at DSO.

Here is your DARE.
You will need to complete a layout using all of the following. The
theme is "LOVE"
2 photos
3 different ribbons
4 papers (they can be solid or pattern)
2 frames
journaling
stitching
1 felt element (anything felt)
Now remember, you can add to this list, but you can not take away
or replace. You have to use everything in this list on your layout.

I used:

Shazbutt I luff you heart paper

andrea dickinson Delightful pink paper (posting bonus)

The Queen and The Princess Designs: felt heart, teal (flower shaped) ribbon

WenchdGrafix Designs saucy teal dot paper

crops2dawn crinkly teal ribbon

beth long pink ribbon and pink heart paper (posting bonus)

LPand3Dogs heart frames

Dani Mogstad pinky alpha

PS I originally forgot to add journalling to my LO.. so the one on the forums has that added.

Element Sizes

2009-02-08T12:38:00.001-05:00

I found this info:

Brads, eyelets, corners, other small elements - 3x3 canvas
Tags - 4x3 canvas; several minitags can be put on the same canvas.
Alphas - 2x3
Monograms and Coasters - 5x5
Frames - rectangle/oval - 5x7
Frames - square/round - 5x5 or 6x6
Fibers, ribbon, necklaces, belts - 16x16 and either 1, 2, or 3" in width, depending on the size you're making. 16x16 allows for corner to corner on the diagonal, but 13" is a good size to use as well.
Remember, you want to make your elements larger than the size they will be
used, to ensure that when said elements are reduced in size they will still have
the same detail.
posted by vkimmycat at Digi Kreations

Beginner Blinkie Tutorial for PSE

2009-02-08T00:04:00.001-05:00

This is my first blinkie ever.. it isn't exactly what I would use on my blog, but I can tell you how it was done and I know you can make something beautiful!

1. Open a file. File>New. This one is 200 pixels X 80 pixels.. 300ppi, RGB. you can use transparent background if you like.

2. The bottom layer = the first image (frame) to be seen. For my example it is the Made By Renee with stars.

The first time I tried this I got it mixed up and kept putting my first image on top.

3. go to Layer > New > Layer. You can add another image or text on this layer. If you add text you will want to merge that with a colored layer to make a background. In my example I made a white background to match my first frame so that it looks like it is blinking and not just changing frames.

4. Keep making new Layers until you have all the images you want. In my example I have 7 layers. Made By Renee, stars layer, blink1, blink2, blink1 copy, blink2 copy and Made By Renee to end it (I did this so that image would stay up a little longer).

The blink1 image is a copy of my stars image with a few stars colored in yellow. My blink2 image is just a duplicate of blink1 with different stars colored in.

5. Now that you have it all done, click File > Save for Web.

6. On this page under Settings click GIF in the drop down box and also checkmark the animate box.

7. Go Down to the bottom of that screen (once you have clicked animate up top, the animation area will light up) and change the loop time to 1. You dont want to leave it on .2 because then your blinkie will go faster than the speed of light. And as Woody Allen says, that is: "..certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off." hehe

8. Go to the top and click OK. save it to your computer and you have a new blinkie. You won't see it blink until you put it on a webpage or preview it in a post on blogger.

Hopefully I will learn more about Blinkies this week and be back with a more advanced tutorial (and lovely blinkie for my forum siggy!). I am looking forward to making a more "scrappy" looking one.

PS: I used Bickley Script for the font and Flowing Stars for the brush

Freebie from Andrea

2009-02-07T11:50:00.001-05:00

Andrea has this freebie on her blog today - go check it out!

This next one is from Beth - look how sweet!

Don't forget to check out the other blogs on my sidebar, blogger lets you know when they have been updated last!

Scraplift Challenge

2009-02-05T13:19:00.002-05:00

I made this for the Scraplift Challenge at DSO (click the image to enlarge). It is being hosted by Beth Long and she has not one posting bonus but TWO!

Scraplift from Lani's 15 Weeks

she used a bright, patterned paper in her background... and toned it down by using a solid paper on top of that. I toned it down by using a muted rainbow color. I also used stitching and the minimilist use of embellishments. the font looks a bit like my own handwriting.. and I used an alpha set in my page too. My picture was one I didnt think could be used for scrapbooking.. it was taken on an old camera phone.

mommyscraps made the frame
LiviaY Designs Happy Day kit for the papers and embellishments.
pink chipboard alpha by sjs

Quote Challenge

2009-02-05T11:46:00.003-05:00

Please click for entire view

I made this layout for the Quote Challenge over at DSO (click to enlarge). It's being led by Andrea Dickinson and she has a super cute posting bonus just for playing!

Cookie Template: Sweet Shoppe (Setiadji)
Brown paper, pink heart and button embellishments, pink papers, necklace: LiviaY's Forever Mine kit
Green heart: Shazbutt for feb DSO colour challenge
Gold and pink sparkle papers used for chain embellishments: Crops2Dawn for the feb DSO colour challenge

Blog Design

2009-02-04T05:27:00.002-05:00

This was the first time I ever made a blog background or header, please let me know what you think!

special thanks to Livia!

I think I will try to do a three column blog next.

A little something I'm working on..

2009-02-02T15:32:00.001-05:00

for the February DSO Colour Challenge (led by kim of kimb's designs)

please click to enlarge

Brush Viewer/Converter

2007-07-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

There are lots of wonderful brush sets for photoshop in the web... too many to install them all just to see what they look like! now you can have the preview of a set without having to install it... without having to run photoshop! You can even adjust thumbnails size and you can have the preview of the actual size of the brush… you can also try it out!
people who publish brush sets on their personal websites need to provide users with previews. This software is able to generate images for every single brush and can also generate the general image from the panel of the thumbnails you have visualised. I think it's great, don't you? ;)

Luigi made this wonderful program called abrviewer. Download it, unzip it and run it. Then upload your brushes. Now when you click on your filename you can see mini previews of the brushes without actually opening any programs.

(If your program can't use abr extensions, try Ro's tutorial )

Luigi's program can also convert these abr files to png. Check out this nice little tutorial on importing photshop brushes to Corel Photopaint. All you need to do is export the brush file (using Luigi's program). ABR Viewer automatically exports in png format.

I like this program because I keep all of my brushes on another hard drive. I simply load them into PSE as I need them (Scrap Girls has a nice tutorial too). I can open abr viewer and actually take a look at a brush before loading it.

I'm so excited, thanks Luigi.

Brushes!!

2007-06-22T10:36:00.001-04:00

Ever wonder how people make all those amazing papers? They use brushes.

Basically, brushes paint a design onto whatever you put them on.

Check out my sidebar for some links! And don't forget to click "show all" to see the whole list.

If you have trouble using brushes with your program, Ro has a great tutorial.

Installing Fonts

2007-06-19T03:16:00.001-04:00

ok.. I'll admit. I love fonts.

I just found out about them this week.. strange I know, but being new to scrapbooking I just never had an idea that this was possible.

Here's the deal: once you install a new font, it will be available to any program that lets you choose fonts. Stellar!

Still not sure if you want to do this? Check these out:

Fonts for Kids
Movie Fonts

Ok, on to the tute!

1) download the font. Save the download in a folder on your desktop and extract it if it's a zipfile. most fonts should be .ttf, .otf or .fon extension.

2)Goto: Start > Control Panel. Choose the Category View and click Appearance and Themes in the right pane, then Fonts in the left pane.

3) Choose Classic View. double click Fonts. Select File > Install New Font. Now from here you can drag and drop the extracted file into your fonts (the icon should look like the other font icons.. double TT or an O type of picture) or under folders goto the folder that has your dl, highlight the font and click OK to install.

Once it's done installing, you'll have a brand new font to play around with!

Have fun!

Edit on 2/05/09: ok here it is a year and a half later! I don't actually install many fonts now. That really takes up a lot of space on the main HD. I do install a few here and there that I want to make permanent, so the above tutorial is still useful.

What I do is use a program called Font Xplorer (MAC version here). It lets you "..easily manage, activate and organize your existing font collection as well as find and experiment with new fonts". It allows me to view my font (in text mode), install it or temporarily load it.

Temporary loading is much better for me as I like to keep my fonts organized on another hard drive (with my brushes, textures etc). It's so easy. I open Font Xplorer, find the font I like (it organizes them based on your folders and favorites) and right click. Font Xplorer gives me the option to install or load. Click load and the next time I open PSE my font is waiting for me.

The only downside I see to this program is that if you are in the middle of a project and load a font, you can't see it. You actually have to restart your program. Otherwise, this is a gem!