Practice, Practice...

I have been practicing and this week has been about adding digital word art to photos. I have found so many sites that allow use of their digital word art for personal use. This is great as I create photo and note cards for friends and family but a little limiting for those cards and photos I want to create for my own cottage business. The rules for commercial use are very difficult to find and when you do, they aren't always so clear. So for me, if you are planning to sell it, make your own digital word art. I am going to tackle that challenge next week. I am pretty sure its rather easy, using different fonts, you create a layer for each word, or set of words is how I think it would work. This would allow you to create depth, change font sizes, change font color. weave fonts into one another.

In any event, here are some really interesting sites that I think you might find fun to work with in developing your own photos. Be careful and make sure you use them for your own personal use, or get permission. In many cases, the artist or creator asks you to give them recognition for their work.

I am posting a few photos that I have created for you review. If you are looking for resources here are some. Let me know if I can help you with any other additional information.

Oh, and you can purchase all kinds of frames, masks, word art, etc. But many of these also specify they are for personal use only as well. Make sure you check.

This one is free for both personal and commercial: This site www.LostandTaken.com provides textures, papers and they can be used for both commercial and personal use. Read the creator's profile. I like his willingness to help others.

Here is one for fonts: www.1001fonts.com..

I stumbled up this site www.jenzworld.wordpress.com and so far all of what I find here seems to be limited to Personal use only. This woman Elegant Word Art 2 has beautiful work and again, her word art is for personal use ONLY. If you want to use it for commercial use you need to contact her directly. I haven't heard back from her regarding my request yet. Her site is well organized and categorized and there is a lot to choose from.

The interesting thing about word art is that if you aren't creating your own then you are limited by the thoughts and ideas of others. Quotes are everywhere, and its not the quote that is protected, its the style, layout and fonts used. If you are learning photoshop you will learn quickly that you can and should do this yourself so that you can create and use your own thoughts and ideas freely.

I have posted one of the new ones I have done for my family. Please link to your sites and let me see what you are creating! In this photo I used the paper texture from Lost and Taken and Bethany's word art from ElegantArt2.blogspot.com

Check them out!

It's Fun, Challenging, Frustrating all at once...

I continue to learn in my digital photo shop class. Today's lesson involved adding layers or scratches, frames, text, color. It was so much fun and I am excited about the outcome of this photo. It was challenging because the computer sometimes locks up on me, and freezes, or I have to go back and watch the video to see what step I missed. I am learning about adding fonts to my libray, finding new sites for free layers, masks and grunge looking styles. It is so much fun. I am so proud of this creation and hope you will venture into PhotoShop and try your hand at making your photos stand out.

It can be frustrating as you learn to use the tools in PhotoShop, but patience pays off and before you know it you are moving through the program quickly and everything is coming out the way you planned. It does take practice.

I am thinking though that if I am going to take this seriously I will need a faster computer that can hold, handle, store all of my images, new images and templates. What do you think? If you use Photoshop how do you keep all your images organized? Any ideas? Suggestsions? I look forward to hearing from you.

I have posted the after and the before pictures. What do you think?

First PhotoShop Lesson with Jessica Sprague

I had my first PhotoShop Lesson today with Jessica Sprague and as an on line class it was easy to navigate, easy to learn. She teaches you different techniques designed for Digital Scrapbooking, but it also is helping me learn how to improve my photos, create unique accents to the photos, size them correctly for reprints and more. This is all from a free class she is offering this month in celebration of her website/company birthday celebration.

I definitely plan to take some more classes from her but for now, I am learning quite a bit and its free! I had a question regarding setting my workstation up and downloading some files, and I sent a note to them and immediately got a response within an hour! I was truly impressed.

Why I like this class? I can take each lesson at my own pace, go back and replay the class unlimited times as I perfect my skills. Jessica really took the time to set this up for any one to learn, the audio is clear, she gives clear instructions, and is available to answer questions should you get stumped. When I choose to learn more, the classes are priced reasonably and to me, well worth the minimal expense. Here is the sample photo I designed digitally using Photoshop Elements.

Let me know what you think!! The photo above was one of the first lessons. It included cropping, applying a brush, text art, and using layers. Its not the perfect picture layout as I am just practicing, having some fun, but it certainly opens up all kinds of ideas on how to portray my photos. Anyone can do this. Its easy once you become accustomed to.

Free Photoshop Classes! Registration Begins on Monday!

Hey everyone, join me at Jessica Sprague for her 2 year Birthday Bash. She is offering free Photoshop classes, giveaways and tips from other designers all on her site. Registration begins this Monday! Don't miss out. Its a great way to get your feet wet in Photoshop and if you are a scrapbooker a great way to learn digital scrapbooking techniques. I plan to attend and take all the classes. Can't attend? Jessica Sprague offers on line courses all year round. Costs vary, but once you order the course, you own it for life and can always go back and practice what you learned. I think this is the best training on Photoshop I have ever seen! Let me know how you do and what you thing!

Registration opens this Monday for the free class Photo Editing: Frame-Ups & Special Effects. In this brand-new class, you'll soak up dozens of awesome techniques to add effects to your photos, including brushes, frames, masks, textures, blending modes, filters and more! Don't worry about the class filling up-they've got plenty of space for you and your friends. But you have to register between June 22 - 28! So spread the word with our blog badges or by tweeting, posting on Facebook or emailing your friends and family.

Sharing what you Know..

Well, I said I would be taking a class on Photoshop soon, and I was so excited about it that I went a week early! The class is this Wednesday so once I have the lesson, I will be sure to let you know how it went and some of the cool things I learned. I am having trouble learning how to load pictures onto the Photoshop, I think I get confused when I am uploading from my camera. Another program called JASC keeps opening and I just get confused. Jessica Sprague is offering some free Photoshop lessons on her site at and I plan to take those classes too! The more I learn, the more practice I get right?

Which leads me to this weekend. My husband and I headed out to a National Park in our area to see what we could take photos of this week. It had rained quite heavily and so we headed to the Falls. It was a beautiful day and although kind of a long ride, we went out and spotted red tail hawks, the falls, dragon flies, birds. All kinds of fun photographs! On our way out of the park there was a crowd of people with cameras taking pictures of something on the ground. I wasn't wearing my glasses so asked a photographer what everyone was looking at. He looked at me and said "Oh its just a really interesting tree" and he walked away. I believed him. So I kept looking and looking trying to see what was so special about it, and then it moved.

There up against the trunk was the most beautiful fawn. Its mother was on the other side of the tree eating grasses and she obediently sat there waiting for her mom to return. I sat there for about 30 minutes taking shots, waiting for her to raise her head. It was such a special site. Kids walked by and I shared my binoculars so everyone could enjoy that special moment.

That to me is the point of art, nature, life. To be able to share it with others. Shame on that man for not wanting to share it with me. Perhaps he thought we would endanger the young fawn, but I suspect he was just being selfish.

This site is about sharing what you learn. About anything. Photography just happens to be my art right now, but I am learning scrapbooking, card making, jewelry design and more. I learn from books that I read, people that I meet, and places that I go. I do hope you will come on in and share a little or alot. Don't be like the man who was simply looking at a "very interesting tree". Delight in your knowledge and share it with others. There is a little kid out there who may never see a fawn in the wild who is just happening by, and you could be his entrance into understanding that the world is much bigger than the space we take up. The photos above, are of the fawn and its mother. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

PhotoShop Elements 6.0 Learning as I go...

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a patient person. Well I have been told that all my life, but I didn't believe it. Well, I sort of did, but tried pretending that I was very patient. I am actually very patient when it comes to others. Patient in traffic, patient when the person in front of me cuts me off, or doesn't go through the light, even when they are on a cell phone. Patient with children, patient with old folks. Just not patient with myself. Which is what I am so frustrated!

I have been trying to learn PhotoShop. Of course I have been trying to do it without reading the book, trying to figure it out blindly on my own. The whole thing just seems so complicated. There is so much I want to know. Questions like layering words over a photo, sizing a photo in odd sizes and then getting it to print that way, creating a collage, making my own note cards, all of it. In reality I think I want a little more than just Photoshop. I think I want to be able to design my own images and perhaps that is more than just Photoshop?

And then there is the computer. Working on a laptop with a less than reliable connection, everything takes forever, from uploading photos, to saving photos it seems to move so slow. So here is the question: What does a person need in the way of computer technology, design software, and printing? Where does a person begin if they want to learn how to create their own cards, letterhead, brochures, advertisements and more?

Is there one place you can go for all the answers? I don't know. But I intend to find out. In the meantime found a class at my local scrapbooking store that teaches digital scrapbooking using PhotoShop. The class is only $40 which to me seems reasonable and I am the only person who registered. Probably because people don't see the connection between Photoshop and Scrapbooking. The class is on Sunday, so come back and I will let you know what I learn. Hopefully the instructor will be patient with me!

I am posting a photo that I took with my new camera. Its either an egret or a heron, I am not sure. This is the photo I want to layer with text. I will let you know how it turns out!

What new thing are you learning? Are you taking photos? Developing a new skill? Please share with us!

New Camera, Exercise, Turning 50 and FUN!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...I turned 50 this month, had a reduction in my job hours, gained 30 pounds and life just wasn't looking all that rosy! And then my birthday came. My Mom decided it was important for my 50th birthday to be special and so her and My Dad bought me a new camera. When I found out I was speechless. It was an amazing gift. You see I had been using my company's digital camera to explore and practice my new found interest in nature photography. They had approved it, but after the job situation I just didn't feel the same there. I didn't feel like part of the team anymore, and just couldn't use it any longer. So it was back to the regular 35mm camera, waiting for your photos to arrive to see if you got good shots. It was different, but I would survive.

And then this wonderful gift. And you know, I started really thinking about it. It was so generous and so wonderful, but it was much more than that. It was acknowledgement. My parents saw in me what I wasn't seeing in myself. They saw my passion. Here I was at 50 with my negative voice saying "Who am I" "What am I passionate about?" Feeling down and a little unsure. And they were saying: "You are so creative, wonderful, passionate..." Well, those are what I heard!! LOL. My point is, we spend a lot of time second guessing ourselves and those that love us are showing us in so many ways how great they think we are. Maybe we just need to believe in ourselves a bit more and hang around those that think we are fabulous!

Well, as for the 30 pounds and the aching back, yesterday my husband and I took my camera on a hike and we caught so many wonderful pictures. I walked farther than I realized, the back pain is a little less painful this morning, I feel great and I have a feeling this camera is going to get me up and running again! I can't wait to get back outside today!

I am posting a picture today of a woodpecker. Its taken right outside through my screen door. Its not the best shot, but I am posting it because that is what this is all about. Learning. It could be a little clearer, it would be awesome in a tree with greenery in the background. But I live in the suburbs in a little townhouse with a small postage stamp backyard, and he was coming to the feeder, which in and of itself is a little odd because woodpeckers are typically insect eaters. Perhaps he too is having to adapt?

So, what are you learning today? What fear are you pushing through? How are you embracing the changes in your life?