Justify Your Text - How To...

Hi Friends!
It's Kairyn here with a "How To".

Have you ever seen those cute little journaling blocks where the edges of the text lines up on both sides for every line? Here's an example using Chelle's newest kit Something Fishy (available only at ScrapMatters:



See how it's in a nice neat rectangle, like print in a newspaper? The text is "justified". When I was a Paint Shop Pro and GIMP user, this was a quick option in the text options box. For those who use PhotoShop, it's also a simple thing to do. When I started using PhotoShop Elements, I was so sad to see "Left Justified, Right Justified and Center Justified" and that the plain old "Justified" option wasn't available. Then I read somewhere that is was possible, and easy to do... just "hold Shift and Ctrl and click J". Well, let me tell you - I tried selecting the text and clicking the buttons, I tried just having the text layer selected and clicking... I tried and tried! It was impossible and SO frustrating! I couldn't do it, and yet people were telling me it was possible!

I'm happy to say I've figured it out! Woo-hoo! It does involve "hold Shift and Ctrl and click J", but it's a bit more involved than that! lol

Alright, I didn't make any screen shots, because I'm thinking this is easy enough to explain... but if you don't "get it" just leave a message and I'll help ya out, okay?

Start with your psd file... decide where you want your text to be, click "T" to get to the text tool (or just click the text tool - but I LOVE using keyboard shortcuts whenever possible). Then click and drag with your mouse to create a text box. (This means, click, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to make a box the size you desire and let go of the mouse button.) Click inside the newly made text box and type your details. Then hold the Ctrl button and click A to select all of the text. We're nearly done... are you still with me? Here's the last step... NOW hold down the Shift and Ctrl buttons and click J.

Wah-lah! You should now have text that lines up on both sides, cool huh? I'd love to see what you did... leave me a comment with a link to your LO, and I'll come and leave you some well deserved love!

Blessings!
*Ü*
Kairyn

How'd They Do That? Gradients

Hi Everyone! It's Jenn (jk703) here to share a fun idea to use on photos, and even background papers.

Gradients That Fade

Start a New Document, by Right Clicking and Duplicating your photo in a New or Untitled file. Save. You will have the original if you need it by doing this step.

Within the Layers Palette, click on the "Mask" icon at the bottom of the palette.

This will add a layer mask, which you can see next to your photo. This fade is essentially a white/black fade, a transparent mask for your photo. The white in the mask will allow the picture to show through, while black will hide parts of the the picture. The middle grey areas will affect how transparent your picture will be.

Go to the Toolbars, and use the Gradient Tool.

In the top toolbar, you will also see the options that you can change for your mask. How it looks, the colors and the transparency.

Next, you will click on your layer mask in the Layers Palette, so you know you are going to create your mask in the correct location.

Now, click on the bottom of your picture in the middle and hold your mouse. Slowly, drag the cursor upward, diagonal, or whichever way you want the fade to show. Stop where you want the fade to end and let the mouse button go. A faded layer mask - complete.

First, here is my original picture:

For this example, I used the faint grey gradient in the lower right corner. There is a slight darkness that comes from the lower left corner. I was adding a little more shadow to make the sunrise really pop!

In the following example, I used one of the colored ones, specifically the yellow into orange gradient. I also adjusted the opacity so it wasn't so bright.

It added a fun color to my photo and really makes the colors of the sunrise stand out. A simple but fun addition to my photo.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and we would love to see what you do with your photos! Happy Wednesday!

Thanks for visiting!

Jenn (jk703/The Typative Scrapper)

How They Do That? High Pass Filter

Hi Everyone... It's Jenn (jk703) here to show a sneaky easy peasy tutorial to sharpen with a slight pop for your photos! Plus, we are going to learn another filter that is available in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. We are going to look at the High Pass Filter today...

The High Pass Filter adds a little pop to your photos within seconds and is really easy. The filter allows you to control the awareness and emphasis of the edges of objects that are in your photos. It is also used to sharpen your photos when they might just be a tad out of focus. Here we go...

Here is a Colin... my model for this tutorial! lol! My image is unedited and hasn't been processed at all.

1. First, save your image so the original will be available in case there are any problems. Duplicate your photo onto a new layer. (PC Ctrl-J and Mac Cmd-J).

2. Working on the new layer, choose Filter > Other > High Pass.

3. Set the radius of the pixels somewhere between 3 and 12. Click on Apply. I know that is a large range, but play with it, you can always undo! For my example, I used a radius of 4.7.

4. Now, in the Layers Palette, you are going to change the blend mode of the duplicate image, the one that is grayed out. Choose Overlay.

5. Play with the opacity of the overlay, and you will see slight differences in the edges in your photo. This brings out some of the color and allows for an easy simple pop.

Tips:

• To sharpen the photo without a color pop, try the Soft light or Hard Light blend modes.
• Adjust the sharpness based on what you will be doing with the photo - print or web versions.
• Try creating different layers, and changing the blend modes, and opacity to see what you like the best.
• Try it out on your layouts before uploading to the galleries! A little sharpness goes a long way!

Another example is my sandwich, yes... my life-like magnet sandwich! Looks realistic, right?!

Before High Pass:

After High Pass:

See the top of the sandwich and edges -- they are a little more defined with just a tad of a pop added to the color.

There you have it - an easy pop and sharpen! Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I'd love to know what you want to see here on Chelle's blog - so be sure to tell us in the comments! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Thanks for visiting!

Jenn (jk703/The Typative Scrapper)

How To: Add A Watercolor Effect

Hi everyone! It's Jenn, aka jk703 here for a visit! I've had a rough week already, so it is nice to be able to check out the forums, and pop into the blog here and share a fun technique!

We are going to delve into the Filters that you have in Photoshop! I know, you are probably repeating what I said when I first heard of Filters. "Fil... what - is that another tool in Photoshop?" The first one that I am going to show you is the Watercolor Effect. This is a part of the Artistic submenu in your Filters Menu.

First, here is Colin... don't mind the pic... it was taken after a bad haircut recently, lol!

OK... First things first. Open your image, and edit as you need. Save the file with a new name. This way you have the original to fall back on if there are any problems.

Next, in your layers Palette, duplicate your background image (your picture), and then turn off that layers visibility. Using the Eraser Tool, you will slowly erase the edges of your image, and with each pass, get a little closer to the main subject. Removing the image can allow for focus, as well as a cool option in the end!

Here is my Eraser's settings when I erased my picture edges.

Here is Colin, less the pesky edges. :) Below Colin, you can see my Layers palette and what yours might look like up to this point.

Up next is the fun filtering! In the top menu toolbar, you need to choose Filter > Artistic > Watercolor.

After you click on Watercolor, a big screen will pop up, and then your photo will appear -- a rather large version! I made mine smaller and started to play with the filter. First, here are just some of the filtering effects you can play with, and under each subheading are more! You have to try them all out!

On the right of the menu you can see the list of the filters that you can play with on your image. Next to that, on the right, there is a small area with different levels and options you can change. This potion will change for each filter.

So, for my example, I click on Watercolor and this is what I came up with:

It is a little hard to see, so I've added a closer view:

A nice little effect to change up your photos. That is it... nice, and simple! Remember above, I said to turn off the visibility of your original picture.... well, here is what happens when you turn it back on. I've added the picture of Colin close up again, so you might be able to really see the detail.

Take a closer look at the meeting point between the areas that I had erased and the areas that are watercolored. There is a slight blend of the original and the Watercolor Filter. Looks pretty cool! I know it is a close up, but on something a little more focused, I think this will look really cool.

Some final tips with the Watercolor Filter:

• For the best results - erase most or or all of the background before applying the filter.
• Lighter colored photos give a delicate feel, while darker colored photos will provide a moody after effect.
• If you lose a lot of details, duplicate your original photo and layering the duplicate on top of the Watercolored Filter layer. After moving it above, choose the Multiply Blending mode, adjust the opacity, and this will allow you to bring those details back.

Well... that is a fun technique... I hope you liked it! If there is something that you would like to see, just leave a comment. :)

Happy Wednesday to you all!

Jenn (aka jk703/The Typative Scrapper)

How To - Get more from your frames with the rectangle marquee tool

Hello everyone,

It's Kayla aka keepscrappin here today to share a tip with you. We all love our digi supplies and one of the things I love most about digi supplies is the ability to get more from them. Today, I'm going to show you how to get more from the frames in your digi scrappin stash.

I used Chelle's Creations awesome Spring Breeze kit for our sample layout.

Now, you might be thinking I'm crazy because I don't have a frame on this layout - but do I? (insert evil laugh)

Yes, I do have a frame on my layout. However, I didn't use it as a frame. See the two strips of white paper stitched down on the edge of my paper stack? That was a frame. I just used a little photoshop magic and changed that frame to something that would work better for my layout. And guess what - it was totally easy!

Here's how I did it.

I'm using PSE 7, but I'm sure you can do something similar in other programs.

First open the frame in your photo editing software and SAVE AS a different name so you don't ruin your original frame. I'm using the frame named - cc_springbreeze_double frame.png

I've added a gray background so you can see the frame in the photo.

Then, get your Rectangle marquee tool and select the first box in the option bar as shown in the image below.

Now, draw a selection to remove one side of the frame as in the image below - leaving only the strip of paper that is stitched down.

* Remember that you can reposition your selection by holding down the spacebar before you let up on the mouse to get it right along the edge of the stitched down portion.

Now hit delete.
Then, use your mouse or arrow keys to move the selection to the other side and to select the remaining unwanted portion of the frame.
Hit delete again and you've got yourself a new embellishment for your scrapbook page. Leave it as is or add some more embellishments as desired.

Easy Peasy right! You'll never look at another frame the same again, cuz now you know that it can be so much more with just a little photoshop magic. lol

I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and will share your layouts that you've made using Chelle's products with us in her designer gallery here at ScrapMatters.

Take care and as always keepscrappin'!

Tutorial: Basic Extractions

HI Everyone! It's Wednesday and I'm (Jenn/jk703/The Typative Scrapper) back to share a tutorial for you! Today I will touch on Extractions, using the Magnetic Lasso Tool.

Extractions are a time consuming task, and it takes a lot of practice! I, by no means am an expert at this, but I have the basics down! There are basic things that you can learn how to extract, and after you learn them, you could extract anything! There are multiple ways to extract images: Extraction Filters and Presets, Magic Wand, Polygonal Lasso Tool, Pen Tool and the Erase Tool. My example will show how to extract using the Magnetic Lasso Tool. It is easy to extract an object but very difficult to extract hair from a windy day picture. I'm going to start with the basic extraction of a person. Meet my son, Shayne. :)

OK… first things first. Open your photo, Crop, and complete any photo treatments and photo corrections. Save this as a new file, so the original will be available later, if needed.

Double click on your photo layer in the Layers Palette and the little Lock will disappear on your background, changing the picture to a layer.

Next, Choose the Lasso Tool from the toolbar, and choose the sub menu tool: Magnetic Lasso Tool. This tool allows you to slowly go over the edges of the image you want to extract, adding anchor points throughout the edges. My example uses a feather of 3 pixels, and a width of 7 pixels between automatic anchor points.

With your photo selected in the Layers Palette, slowly move the Magnetic Lasso tool around the edge. You will see anchor points popping up as you move along. If you accidentally went the wrong direction, you can slowly move backward to remove the last anchor point, or you can press delete. Unfortunately, I'm unable to get a screen shot of the anchor points - they disappear when I try!

Once you have connected your anchor points, you will have the marching ants around your image, the portion that you want to extract.

Next, you can refine the edges by clicking on the Refine Edge in the Magnetic Lasso menu bar. The items I use the most are the Feather and Shift Edge. The feather gives the edges a softer look, and the Shift Edge helps remove unwanted background colors from the selections edges.

Before Feather and Shift Edge:

After Feather and Shift Edge:

After you've refined the edges, you will choose Select > Edit in Quick Mask Mode. You image will have the background in bright red, and the image will remain in color. The red will be the section that is to be removed. At this point, you will either add or subtract to your selection by using the Selection Buttons.

Selection Buttons:


Choose Select > Inverse. Your marching ants will have moved from around your selection to marching around the background. Press Delete. You image is extracted, and the background has been replaced with the invisible background. Right click on the image in the layers bar, and duplicate it to your layout or project.

Hope you get to trying this tutorial out soon! See… extractions aren't soooooo hard, right?! I hope this tutorial is clear, and if you have any questions, please let me know by leaving a comment or PM-ing me over at ScrapMatters. Enjoy your week and Happy Humpday!
Jenn (jk703/The Typative Scrapper)

Today's Tips: Saving for the Gallery!

Hi everyone!!!! It's Jenn... aka jk703 here to share a little tidbit for you today! When I first started scrapping digitally, I was so green and so baffled most of the time! Things get easier as you learn more about your program, play with features and try new things out.

So, when I first started, I was so confused about saving for the galleries that I literally no clue what I was doing! Today's tutorial is to help you Save for a Gallery Upload! Hope you enjoy it!

For my example, I've used Chelle's Blessings Kit. It is a beautiful kit and perfect for many milestone pages, such as births, weddings, communions, and other events you would like to scrap! My layouts end up being 600x600 at 72 dpi. I usually scrap double pages, and will convert each side to it's own file for the web as well as a file for my album uploading.

This is my layout, it is linked to my Page 1 in the gallery, if you want to see how it turns out:

First, you should have your layout open in Photoshop.

Flatten the image by right clicking on the topmost layer in your layers palette and choosing "Flatten Image."

Duplicate the layer. You should have a Background layer and a Background Copy layer. You can re-name this Sharpen if you like or something you prefer.

Next, you will run the High Pass Filter on the duplicated layer (Background Copy or Sharpen if you renamed). Click on the Filter in the Menu bar > Other > High Pass.

My pages usually use a figure between 1.4 and 4. More than that makes my layout look off. Click ok. You should now see a grey box on the layer above your layout. Do not flatten at this point.

Next is the addition of a Color Pop, though this is optional. To add a Color Pop, add an adjustment layer to the original layout layer, Background.

Your adjustment layer is an adjustment in Hue/Saturation, and you will be changing the saturation specifically. My mouse moved, so my screen print changed when I took the "picture," so your Hue/Saturation should be highlighted on your screen. Click on Hue/Saturation. You will be brought to this screen.

The range can be anywhere from +1 to +10, depending on the colors and brightness of your photos or kit choice. Once the Color Pop is added, you can change the opacity to lower how much of a POP you want. Just make sure you have the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer selected in the layers palette, so you are adjusting the correct layer's opacity.

Flatten the image. Depending on your needs, you can save this version as a jpg since it is still full size. It will be ready for uploading to an album. If you are going to upload to a gallery, here is what I do.

First, choose Image on the Menu Bar, and choose Image Size. Change the 3600 x 3600 sizes (or 12 x 12) that are there to 600 x 600 (or 2 x 2). Click ok.

Next, choose Save for Web and Devices from the File Menu drop down. You will be brought to a different screen from your original layout.

In the top right of the Save for Web Screen, you should see an options panel or menu drop down, click on this. Click and choose, Optimize to File Size and a menu will pop up.

Enter in the number you wish -- I always enter 149.5, just to be sure I am below the 150kb limit. Click ok, and your image re-sets to the correct highest quality for the size.

Click save, and save your WEB version. That's it.... nice right sized, sharpened, gallery layouts - ready to go! There are multiple ways to sharpen and re-size, I just thought I'd share this one, as it is just my own method. That is a great time-saver to use that optimize feature, right?!

Once you get used to these steps, try to save them as an action! Then all you have to do is click the button and presto! :)

Hope this helps you get more of your layouts up in the galleries! We would love to see them!

Thanks for visiting today! Have a great week!

Jenn (jk703 or The Typative Scrapper)

PS... I saw the request for extractions in the comments.... I've put it on my list to complete a tutorial. Thanks for the input!