Design House Digital

Posts Tagged ‘Photoshop’

2012 Shutterfly Wall Calendar – 20 Days of Christmas

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

This Christmas I am making custom wall calendars for my mom, dad, and Grandma!  It’s my first year doing this and it’s been a lot of fun.

I am printing a Shutterfly calendar. I know there are lots of places to do calendars, so feel free to use your favorite print company.

Collecting Birthdays and Photos

First, I emailed my aunts and cousins and siblings asked them to give me recent head shots of everyone in their family and a list of everyone’s birthdays.  Then I emailed them again, and then again. Finally I threatened the stragglers, and they eventually complied.

I have a Photoshop.com account and I use it almost exclusively for getting photos from family members.  I just gave them my username & password and asked them to upload pictures.  And they did…  after a few reminders!

Photoshop.com has a handy uploader application but it’s a downloader too.  All my relatives have to do is drag & drop their picture folders and the program will upload them.  My brother Jeff gave me 140 photos!  To get them, I had to navigate to his folder and click “Sync.” A few minutes later and I had the full resolution version of all his photos.

Photoshop.com is a free account, but if you want extra storage you can pay a monthly fee.  I have a Plus (paid) membership and 20 GB of storage but haven’t used much of it at all.

Creating a Calendar Project

First I created a calendar project.  Then I was able to add events.  There’s a white “manage all my events” link at the top left of the screen.  I clicked on it and added everyone’s birthday.

Adding Birthdays with Photos

Then, I wanted to add head shots of everyone on their birthday. This is the process I used:

  • Color-correct the photos you want to use in Photoshop Lightroom (or Bridge/Camera Raw or Photoshop or Photoshop Elements) and then export them to a single folder at a high resolution.  It is not necessary to crop the photos at this point.
  • Upload the head shots you want to use into a new Shutterfly album
  • Go into your Calendar, click “Get More Pictures,” and add the entire head shot album to the calendar
  • Go into each month of the calendar.  There is a nice list of birthdays for the month on the left side of the page.
  • Drag and drop each head shot onto their birthday.  Then double-click on the day square, click “Edit Picture,” and add cropping and effects to the photo.

Making the top half of each calendar month

At this point, you could just upload more photos and use Shutterfly’s wizards to create the top half of each calendar month.  I don’t like to do that, though!  I like to use DHD templates and graphics and make my own digi pages.  So this is what I did:

  • Download the Shutterfly Photoshop Calendar template for the calendar top half.
  • Open the template in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and save a copy for each month.  The template will have guide lines that mark the “bleed zone.” While you should fill the bleed zone up with the same background stuff you put on the rest of the page, be aware that anything outside the guides will most likely get cropped out.  So don’t put anything too good there.
  • Create your layouts.
  • Save your layouts.  Save one copy as a full .psd file, and another as a high-resolution .jpg file.
  • Upload your layouts to Shutterfly and add them to the calendar project.
  • Select the single-image template option for all of your month top pages, and drag & drop your layouts onto the correct zone.

My February Layout

In the above layout, I used one of Tiffany Tillman’s 52 Thursday Templates and papers from both Celeste Knight (Winter Woodland) and Agnes Biro (Dear Diary).

Make a Calendar Cover

Create a cover layout that is the same size as your other calendar layouts.  Then upload and drag & drop that in as well.  I made this cover using Celeste Knight’s Winter Woodland kit.

My Calendar Cover

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Hybrid ATC – 20 Days of Christmas

Monday, December 12th, 2011

I’m often asked the question, “What do you DO with your digital projects?”  Sure, I can leave them in digital photo frames, in online galleries … or I can print pages and turn them into hybrid projects.  Afraid to step into hybrid?  How about a little itty-bitty ATC card like this – it’s only 2.5” x 3.5”.

Begin by opening Photoshop (Elements or Creative Suite) and set a custom canvas size (or background) to 2.5” x 3.5”.  You could do something with rounded corners, or not.  I’ve chosen to create a rounded corner rectangle on a slightly larger canvas size, just for illustrative purposes.

Add a background.  I’m using Lori Whitlock’s Christmas Day kit.  Now, keep in mind, working on the smaller canvas will mean that your traditional papers, usually sized 12”x12”, will be huge!  You might have to do some re-sizing, particularly when adding elements, to keep things in proportion.  With this paper, however, I kept the measurements “as is”.

Next, add some elements.  Sounds like you’re building a scrapbook page, right?  Well, the premise is the same for an ATC, however, ATC’s tend to be a more artistic free-form project, with no photographs and no journaling (I hear many of you cheering right now!).

Print your ATC.  I’ve chosen to print on matte photo paper with the printer set as “best quality” to help retain the bright red color in Lori’s elements.

Cut out ATC and adhere to an ATC base.  I have some pre-made chipboard ATC bases, but you could use anything – corrugated from a box, really heavy cardstock, etc.  If you cut your ATC a little larger than the base, it will give you a little wiggle room for trimming.  I also like to then grab a very fine grit sandpaper (yes, just regular sandpaper) and sand the edges – single strokes from the front of the card over the edge, toward the back – to help blend the paper into the base.

Apply a thin layer of gel medium to the front of your ATC to protect the paper.  Depending on the type of paper and printer used, the gel may also bring out the colors on your ATC a little more.  I have both Mod Podge and Liquitex’s Matte Gel Medium – I prefer the latter for ATCs as it dries a little faster and doesn’t have the stickiness or tackiness of the Mod Podge (well, that’s how my applications of Mod Podge finish up LOL).  I’ve also experimented with a high gloss finish, but like the matte much better.

Tip: Make sure your ATC is well and truly dry before adding the gel.  If your print has not had sufficient time to dry and cure, adding the gel – even a light layer – may result in bleeding of your colors.

It’s traditional to sign the back of ATCs – so go ahead … sign!  This is your “mark” or signature on your piece of mini art.

Easy-peasy, right?  I chose to print everything on one layer, but you could also print the penguin separately, for example, and add him with some pop-dots for dimension.

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Gingerbread Man Bag Toppers – 20 Days of Christmas

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

We try to do gingerbread houses every year.  Last week we built an ice cream shop, and my boys got out their army men and turned it into a fort.

So, this year, it’s going to be a military base!  We started on it last week.

Gingerbread Project

When working on gingerbread house pieces, I make up several triple-batches of gingerbread.  Mostly because a triple batch requires a single bottle of molasses, so I don’t have to mess with measuring it.  Then, I cut out pieces from the first roll-out of the dough.  Once those pieces have been cut out, I don’t use the scraps on more pieces of the house.  Because subsequent roll-outs have weaker dough – which would result in weaker construction pieces for the house.  Instead, I cut them into gingerbread men.

This results in LOTS of gingerbread men as a by-product of my house efforts.  I like to give these out to neighbors.

This year I bought cellophane bags and printed out little hybrid bag toppers.  I used Robyn Meierotto’s Gratitude – Mini Kit to make the toppers.  I created a Photoshop file 4″ wide and 6″ tall, and put in a guide to mark a 4×4 square. That way I could send it to Wal-Mart to get printed, and then trim it to size.

I intended it to be folded, so I put half of it upside down and changed the drop shadows to match.

Gingerbread Bag Topper - Layout

Here’s the finished product:

Gingerbread Bag Topper - Front

Gingerbread Bag Topper - Back

I’m so proud of my little bags!

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Hybrid Poster: Kid of the Week

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

The other day my oldest son came home to school with a poster and parent homework.  I was supposed to make a poster all about him, for him to show off to the class.

I can use Photoshop and DHD graphics, and I can scrapbook old-school paper-style, but give me a pen and I can’t do anything worth showing to anyone!  So this is what I did.

Timmy's Kid of the Week Poster

I put together 5 digi files: 2 text ones and 3 photo ones.  I used Jen Allyson’s Nostalgia 2 and frames by Robyn Meierotto and Sara Schmutz.  Then I mounted them on paper Jen designed for My Mind’s Eye (the color schemes complemented one another nicely), and stuck a couple of Jen’s die cuts on the page.  It turned out pretty nice.

Part of the Poster

Part of the Poster

Part of the Poster

Part of the Poster

Part of the Poster

Part of the Poster

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13 Days of Halloween – Hybrid Paper Dolls

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Hello! It’s Decorator Jennifer Valencia here with another Happy Halloween Hybrid idea for you all.   This is one of my all-time favorite crafts to do with my daughter — paper dolls.  She LOVES playing with paper dolls of all varieties. We’ve done Dora and Diego, Disney Fairies,  Tuff Puppy, various Richard Scarry characters, and more.   We have often made paper dolls as big as she is (using easel paper), and small ones that fit into her hand.  Today I’ll give you a quick tutorial on how to make small Halloween ones.

Ghostie Paper Dolls for a 4-year-old

Playing With Halloween Paper Dolls

Probably you are thinking: “Seriously? I need a tutorial on how to make paper dolls?”  Well, sure, if you want to make the really cool ones, I say!  Also:  Isn’t it true that seeing something you know how to do can still spur your creativity or remind you of something fun to make?  I mean, I don’t necessary need instructions on how to eat a Snickers bar, but if I saw instructions on how to eat one, I’d probably start craving one, and then I’d get one, and then the Mars Company would have cleverly made $1.00.   (Off topic: Did you ever see the Seinfeld show where they all start eating Snickers Bars with a knife and fork?  Do you think candy sales went up after that one originally aired?)  And I don’t need instructions on how to dry my hands in the public bathroom at the mall, but they like to tell me anyway with cute little wiggly lines and a picture of hands on the dryer.  I found one that I liked at HappyPlace.com. Helpful in its own way, no?

Wash Hands, Get Bacon! From HappyPlace.com

Back to topic: Paper dolls. We use these for several things. First of all,  it’s fun for kids to plain-old-PLAY with them; my daughter tells stories about them and moves them around and makes houses and habitats for them.  Also, we can practice counting with them. Sometimes if I bring out a batch of brand new paper dolls, she is excited enough by them to practice counting in English and Spanish, and doing some addition and subtraction practice with me.  We can also work on fractions (1/2, 1/3, etc.)  We do this not by ripping a Tinkerbell into two even pieces, but by batching — 2 fairies here, 2 fairies there…1/2 in each pile.  (I just wanted to clarify so you don’t think we’re paper-thirsty crazed doll-killers over here.)  And if I make paper dolls based on animals or objects,  we can play vocabulary games in Spanish with them.  If you are learning another language,  this can be a fun and easy way to learn new vocabulary words.   Sometimes we play hide-and-seek with them, too:  She and I take turns hiding the paper dolls around the room and then have our very own Easter Egg Hunt to find them.

Deja Vu Check: If you’re feeling a sense of deja vu, it’s not a mistake. I have done these paper doll posts before for other holidays.  I’m sort of wondering how many more of these I can do before I wear it out?  One, two more? But there is nothing quite like rehashing my old wheels, so here goes!

Instructions: First, get a roll of clear packing tape, sharp craft scissors, plain white paper, and some cute embellishments from Design House Digital.  I recommend this kit called Life In October by Kate Teague. It’s an oldie but a goodie, because it has CUTE Halloween thingies in it, and the last thing I want to give a 4-year-old (at least MY 4-year-old) is creepy ghouls and goblins, kwim?  Those are great for other things…just not for kid paper dolls. After all,  I do not personally live in the Adams Family home. Nor do I want to wake up to a toddler nightmare.

You can find the kit here:

http://www.designhousedigital.com/kate-teague/life-october-illustrations

Directions: Start a 8.5×11 page in Adobe Photoshop or Elements.  Drag several of the embellies onto your page and resize them as desired.  We like to always make a “mom” paper doll and then “kids” for her. So if we have large ghost, that will be “mom,” and then I need to make some smaller ones to be her “babies.”  I’m sure you know this, but to resize an element: Make sure the appropriate layer is highlighted. Hit CTRL T to get your transformation box, hold down the SHIFT key, and drag one corner of your embellie up or down to make it larger or smaller.  Then hit ENTER to accept your new size.

Resizing a Candy Corn - If Only We Could Do This For Real, Right?

I like to fit as many of these as humanly possible to conserve paper, because every 1 cent saved is…well, I guess I just like to conserve paper. Good for the environment and all!  Print out your page and then coat it front and back with slightly-overlapping layers of clear packing tape. Smooth the tape down carefully so it does not create large air pockets.  Using tape to laminate the dolls is a total God-send, in my opinion.  It’s WAY cheaper than buying a laminating machine and laminating paper, it’s easy to cut, and it makes the dolls semi-permanent.  They can still get ruined if, say, then are immersed in a cup of apple juice, but they can handle damp or sticky fingers and still live to see another day.

Packing Tape - We Go Through These Like You Wouldn't Believe

Then, once your taping is complete,  cut out all of the dolls with your craft scissors.  Regular scissors will drive you insane because all of the images will have intricate edges that big old dull scissors will turn into cheap-looking mincemeat of a paper doll. And a cheap-looking paper doll is just not worth having, right?

When they are done, present them to your child, and have fun together!  Here are some images of my daughter’s paper dolls.

Playing With Halloween Paper Dolls

Showing Off A Paper Doll Spider

Thanks for reading along with me.  Please let me know if you decide to make some Halloween paper dolls…and post pictures so we can all “oooh” and “aaaah” in the gallery.  Please also comment if you already use or like the packing tape idea!  And now I will sign off. Wishing you gigantic candy corns….or not, if you don’t like candy corn…but definitely a happy fall season!

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