January 2008 - Posts
Hi Everyone, If you have a few moments and like scrapbooking and altered art, please visit my blog and click on the link "annamarie's freebies" on the left hand side.
You should be able to touch this link and it take you directly to my blog dash board, look down a little and the freebie download should be right there.
Thank you in advance to anyone who tries, and I appreciate any feedback if it did or did not work. Thank you so much!
Hi Everyone, sorry I have been missing for a few weeks, I have been burning the candle at both ends for my job, day and evenings with co-workers out, and massive amounts of work to be done.
What time I have had left I have been also trying to work on some of my goals I set and have been accomplishing alot.
I will probably take a slight break from the weekly challenges because I committed to the ezine swap this time around. It's my first time trying that but it will take more work than the quick weekly challenges (times 10) and I want to do a good job with them for everyone.
But, this weekend I will get back into the blog and get this moving again. Marnie left me instructions on how to add freebies so I look forward to that. Even though I have been quiet for a few weeks, I have been thinking of all of you and have been making goodies to share as freebies when work finally quieted down and the full staff returned to work. I have been making brush sets, papers, embellishments, and more.
I'll be back on Saturday, and trying the freebie download feature again! See you soon! 
Okay Chameleon, this one's for you! I recently included these two types of ribbons on some digital rework entries so I'll share how they were made.
Both of these ribbons were made with the actions feature in photoshop. Actions is not a quick blog entry, I would have to put aside a separate entry for that and a separate entry per lesson. The questions I am addressing today are answering how were they made and how I got the ragged feature in the criss cross ribbon.
What is an action?
Basically, you record the movements that you make (when you first create something) then when you are done, you stop and save it as an action. Then these actions are put into your presets folder of adobe photoshop/or illustrator, etc. While you are working if you decide you want to use one of them you just open up your actions palette, open the one you want and like magic, it's there anytime you need it.
Once you have these actions, it's just a matter of pulling a different color, different background paper, whatever you want over the template, hit the action key and like magic, the computer now does the rest of the work while you go get some vitamin P, (that's Pepsi, ha, ha!) I'm a big Pepsi drinker so my husband calls it my vitamin P.
Sample # 1 the criss cross ribbon on the photo below, I was asked about how did I get that ragged look. Once the ribbon was made with the action key, it still looked new compared to the aged look of the photo so I used the MAGIC ERASER with a setting of 4. Just have the layer activated with the ribbon on it, activate your eraser and just tap one tap at a time on the ribbon in different locations. Tap as little or alot as you like until you get the feel that YOU want. So, the MAGIC ERASER is the tool that gave the ragged look on these ribbons.
Sample #2 was the Artella Ribbon:
This ribbon was made with an action key as well. As the action is playing it will stop to allow you to pick your own color each time, then it will stop again to allow you to add any text that you want, after you add your text it will complete the action and you then just save your ribbon.
Since, I am still troubleshooting the download capabilities in my blog, I can't just have the samples here for you to download, that is what I was originally planning, I am hoping aunt bobby can help me troubleshoot.
As a temporary solution, if anyone wants a freebie ribbon with artella's name on it or the criss cross ribbon - new without aged damage, please just email me and in the subject line add: artella ribbon request. If anyone has any questions about actions themselves don't hesitate to ask about that too.
And if anyone wants me to make them a personalized ribbon, I'll be happy to do that, Just specify color and text, one word obviously works the best because as you can see the ribbon keeps wrapping.
I hope to have a freebie download section within my blog in the future.
Thanks for visiting and I'll hope you stop by again!
Please click on the link below, then click on the file named artella-green.png to get your freebie ribbon, please provide feedback if this worked or not so I know how to troubleshoot for future freebie giveaways!
I appreciate anyone who tries and helps me test this download feature out.
It should take you directly to my dashboard for my blog, the file is bottom center, you should be able to click on the file and open it, then do a save as to wherever you want to save it.
Thanks Everyone!
http://artellacafe.com/controlpanel/blogs/files.aspx?app=annamaries__lets_inspire_each_other&folder=freebies
Today's Inspiration will be about making a flower and then showing how that one creation can change out again and again. I like this type of thing because I can make it once, save it as my master image, then when I need it I just make a copy and change it up, but I don't have to start from scratch each time.
Learning about actions is something on my wish list also, so when I have time to figure out that, I'll share that as well. I LOVE ACTIONS.
So, Here we Go, we will make a rose, then that same rose can be reworked into other looks, by just changing a few numbers!
Using Illustrator Software:
Step 1: Draw a circular path with the pencil tool, fill it with a gradient color you like, I like pink myself. Then just keep copying this on top of itself, reducing it in size each time until you have a fullness that you like. Make sure you can see edges of each layer, if not reduce it some more. Also, twist and turn the layer, so they have the jagged look that mine does.
Step 2: Now let's play with the filters
Step 2 continued flower:
Step 3: And let's play again with the filters, remember to go back to your original rose each time, you can experiment with continuing to work on the same rose again and again, you may LIKE the wild results, but my examples keep going back to the original and applying new figures to that.
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6: Now just experiment with any and all of the steps above, I personally like the Step 2 Continued look and tend to work with that.
Final Step 7: Now let's make it pop! Take your image into photoshop if you did not originally work in photoshop. This is the flower that Bill saw on a sample in my gallery, an expanded version #5. It was taken and drop shadowed and beveled and embossed, then a button added, see photo below.
And here is the full photo from my gallery: One thing I like to do is take just 1 item and see how I can push it, the photo was the start, then it became the background and ribbons, then the flower, then the background for the words INSPIRE themselves.
If you found this helpful and would like to see me do more like this, please let me know, as I develop my blog I would like it to become a vehicle to serve you. I welcome all your ideas/input/suggestions on how I can make my blog better and how I can be of service to you!
Thanks for visiting me today!
p.s. Bill you saw a version of Step 5 on my gallery below, but the background color of the photograph was used as the color vs. filling it with a gradient, then I kept making layer on top of layer, then finishing the steps above adding a little more punk. I hope that makes sense.
http://artellacafe.com/photos/annamaries_digital_gallery/picture7259.aspx
I love things that have either some glitter, shine, neon or something sparkly about them.
This time I decided to activate some glow sticks that I have in my stash, put them on deep blue paper, turn out the lights and use the night option on my new camera. After I took the photo, I played with it in photoshop, neonized it more, used Liquidity feature to run the colors more, etc., the I ran it thru my kaleidoscope software with amazing results. I am now addicted to Neon kaleidoscopes.
The simplicity of taking just one photo and putting it thru the software, produced 47 different backgrounds that I decided to go with. (there were dozens more opportunities, but 47 was enough for my stash, I HAD TO STOP, but I could have kept going, ha, ha!)
Anyways, I plan on using some of these as part of my custom scrapbook digital kits that I will make as part of my goals, and I also want to have things to give away as freebies.
Here is my submission for the Mandala digital challenge and the background by itself, and also as a scrapbook background!
Thanks for visiting, I hope you'll stop back for Inspiration #3.
This is my tribute to the team of caring people who have been helping me adapt and get up and running. This first inspiration is all about you!
Each of you are a piece of the puzzle that makes up the team! I thank you!
I personally have never made a new year's resolution. Or if I did, I didn't call it a resolution, I would say "I'm putting this on my wish list as something I want to do or learn".
For me I want to try some things that are new for me and things that will begin to prepare me for my retirement time, so I can start a whole new career of something I love.
1. I want to learn to work on-line.
2. I want to develop my own line of digital supplies, embellishments, papers, etc.
3. Learn about Blogging (what a coincidence, I'm already hitting this one, ha, ha)
4. Actually join an on-line community and learn to navigate and the in's and out's of one (I have a lot of work to do on this one, this is really out of my box, as the generous, patient helpers at Artella already know, ha, ha) (BUT, I'LL GET THERE!)
5. Be a lightworker and be of service whenever the opportunities cross my path.
6. Develop and grow my skills to someday be able to qualify to be a artella volunteer.
7. Develop my skills with digital photography.
Hi Everyone, we'll I'm officially here now I guess, I figured out how to set up my very first blog.
(Hint: if you are designing your own topper: use 810 px x 221 px, the instructions only listed the 221 and it took me several tries to get it to fit. Also keep in mind the hard codes in the upper right, as well as your name placement, both are hard coded. I tried to not put anything in my title part, so I could design my own, but it wouldn't let me. - good luck and have fun!)
I plan on changing my title portion out with new ideas of inspiration and blogging about how I did it. I invite everyone to send me any ideas you would like me to try out and showcase.
My first inspiration that I would like to share is my love for Kaleidoscopes. As you can see in my header design, I took a black piece of paper and put in on my work table. Then I put down a pinkish/purpleish paper, then I radomly laid out some glittery dragonflies and alphabets I have in my stash (I love things that shine & glitter).
Then I took a photo with my new digital camera. (I never had one before so I am learning photography too, but as you can see I haven't expanded into people yet).
I am just having fun putting together "things", taking pictures of them, then putting the pictures into my kaleidoscope software and WOW, I have just designed my own set of background papers for my digital scrapbooking.
Maybe another time I'll showcase the kaleidoscopes I made with a photo of my bunny. (I have a small mini black lop, I put him on the table on top of a piece of shiny gold paper, aimed some light at the paper and the bunny and took a shot! I have beautiful kaleidoscopes with black/gold/ shimmery star effects).
We'll, thanks for checking out my first blog of inspiration and I hope that you will return! Don't forget I would love to hear your ideas of inspiration as well, or any ideas that you would like me to try!
Bye for now!