SMJ Tutorials

MAC BLOG TUTORIAL

2008-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have to be totally honest. Mac blogs are so much fun to make! And kinda easier than typepad and blogger..but here's the catch..you have to have a Mac computer and Ilife or IWeb. But my mac came with those so no worries. But this blog was so much fun to make! Basically all you do is drag the images...in .png file format...and just click a hyperlink to each. I was able to rotate the buttons, shadow them, change the fonts, colors, etc..I mean WAY more easy to just create on the actual blog!!! I used the new Nature Guide blog pack....fun! The AMAZING Kristi wrote an awesome tutorial too for Mac blog users. ;) She ROCKS! Anyways, I hope that you Mac people are encouraged to try it. It's truly fun....:) .

Create Blog in iweb:
Written by Kristi Creed

1. Start one of two ways: If you already have your Mac Blog or Mac Blog created & want to customize it with Shabby Miss Jenn Designs, go to number 3 below. If you are just starting your Mac Blog, click on the “+” sign on the bottom left corner in iweb or click on “theme” at the bottom left. I chose the one called “white”. (Color can later be changed) or watch iweb tutorials.

2. .Choose Blog. (The Blog can contain everything the other pages include or the other pages can be added later). For now, only work on building the blog page.

3. Now it is time to customize the blog. You should see the page added on the left. Click on the one called blog. You can right click and click on rename and give it the name you want it to have. I call mine “home page”, but Mac calls it “summary”. Under “Blog”, will appear “entries” & “archive”...you will use those to add entries and look at your archive. For now, just work on the “Summary” or “Blog” so you can customize it.

4. Look at the first posting and click on it so that a text box forms around it. Using the handles, decrease the size of the box and make the space the size you want your blog posts to be. Now you can move this
box anywhere on your blog page. This is now where your posts will show up when you publish each time.

5. When you clicked on the blog post space, a pop up Summary box should have popped up and it will let you set up how you want your photo and blog post to appear. For placement, I like the choice on the bottom and for proportion, I like the choice of original (so my photo appears the way it was taken. Any combination can be chosen & it is up to you.

6. Next, look at the top portion of the blog page and you will see a title, a photo, text, & RSS feed. Delete the title & photo (you can add a “Banner” from a SMJ pack that you added a title or a photo to). The text you can either choose to keep or delete and use the SMJ “journal mat” she gives in her kit to have your journaling on it. Move the RSS feed over the left or right. Anyone who wants to know when you update your blog can subscribe to this.

7. Now, you are ready to use the Inspector tool on the bottom right.

8. Click on inspector and start with options across the top of the inspector. Start with the first one on the left which is site and then move to the second one which is Page & Layout. Site contains your site name, contact email, & how much space you have. There is an option for a username/password if you choose.

9. In Layout, this is what sets the blog look. The height, width, and header sizes can all be set. Then the page background and browser backgrounds can be selected. Click on image fill for this and choose a SMJ background from a Blog Pack for your browser background. For page background, I like to choose a color that goes well with SMJ’s blog pack background. (When you buy SMJ’s blog packs, she has done all the work of sizing your blog elements for you...meaning so they don’t take forever to load when someone visits your blog). For Page Size, you need to play with these settings and see what you like. These settings are what gives you ability to size it the way you want (depending on how big you want your header where your banner goes or if you want two or three column blog layout).

10. Photos & Slideshow are next. If you are going to want photos and slideshow, you can stop here and set that up. This works with iphoto.

11. Go to RSS next and select number of blog posts desired to show and how much of the post you want visible when blog is viewed. Choose if comments are desired.

12. Go to Text and choose the layout for the text (left/right, center or expanded) & color you want your posts in. You can also alter your spacing here.

13. After Text is Picture. Picture is nice because it lets you customize your columns by choosing the color of your column, the fill line, shadow, and opacity.

14. To create a column, click on the Text Box on the bottom left and move it where you want it. (For example to the left). Now, click on shapes next to Text Box on the bottom and choose the shape you want. I like the rounded corner shape. Now stretch this box the size you want for you column. (This is where you will add some of SMJ’s tab buttons from the Blog Pack with your links). Next, click on the column you created and it will show handles. Go to your inspector and click under fill and choose color fill & click on the color box that appears below it. You can now choose what color you want your column to be. I like to add a color that will closely match SMJ’s Blog Pack I am working with. Once you have done that, you can choose your stroke. I like the line stroke. You can choose the line, the color, and how big you want it. This will outline your column. You can adjust the shadow and opacity as desired. If you do not want color, you have the option of a few other choices for filling your column.

15. After creating your first column, you can create a column for your blog posts the same way. Remember, once you have created your columns, you may need to right click and choose move to back or front depending. If you want a three-column blog, make a left column, adjust your blog post area for the center, and leave enough space for a right column....and you will have a three-column blog. You may need to look back at #9 and set your width for this.

16. You are now ready to start adding your links to your columns. The easiest way to do this is to add the SMJ tab buttons for your categories. Under each tab button, I like to add a text box and add my links for that category in the box. For each link added, highlight the link and click on the arrow in your inspector and click “enable as hyperlink” and type in the URL. I like to click open link in new window. Tip: if you will go to the site you are going to link and copy it, when you highlight your link and click “enable as a hyperlink”, it will automatically put the URL in for you. The nice thing, is you can give something your own name different from the URL and by linking, it will take you to the correct site. By each category having it’s own text box, you can move the categories as you choose and make the column look the way you want it to look.

17. Next, add your photo frame to your columns...even more than one. You can add the journal mat here or under the banner. Just move everything where you want it.

18. Remember to add a SMJ blinkie to your site if you are using the SMJ blog pack so Shabby Miss Jenn can be given the proper credit she deserves for her hard efforts in creating her kits & elements. If you are using any stock photos, or anyone else’s elements, it is good to give each person credit. I try to do this under a category I call “Credits”.

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So please let us know if you have any questions...we are here to help ya! :)

Have a super day!

Smoochies!

SMJ and Kristi

ROUNDED CORNERS ON PHOTOS

2008-06-12T12:29:00.001-07:00

ROUNDED CORNERS TUTORIAL

Sooooo, here is how you make your photos to have rounded corners. :) Easy!

1) In Photoshop, here is your picture. You create a rounded rectangle with the 'rounded rectangle' shape-see to the left. Make that shape onto your photo. It will automatically create a new layer.

2) Next, you have to RASTERIZE the shape. SO go to "Layer" and "Rasterize" and select "Shape". Now your shape is rasterized. This number box at the top can determine how rounded you want your corners.

3) Next "Wand" the edge of the rounded rectangle to highlight. Use your "Magic Wand" tool to do this.

4) Lastly, click on the IMAGE..the photograph layer...not the rectangle layer...and delete the edges of the photograph. Make sure you double click the photo layer first so that it is a "Layer" and not the "Background". Next delete your rounded rectangle and you are done. Save your image. :)

Customize Your Blogger Blog...

2008-05-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

Have you all noticed the darling new blog kits at the Shabby Miss Jenn Shoppe? I have had my eye on them for awhile with no time to play...

Last week one of my WSU students explained that she was so excited about using one of the kits for her blog but when it came to installing it on her blog she needed some help.

That was a good enough reason for today's tutorial - and hopefully it will help a few people out there interested in customizing blogs - because after all a blog is just another way to scrapbook digitally.
First things first - you will need the RTF file included in your blog kit (RTF is the file extension for the text file that we use for the template in blogger). You will also need the RTF file for the sidebars which you can download here.

The video is 25 minutes long (I know, I know) - but seriously this is a complex process so hopefully you can hang in there with me. The result will be a super cute blog and new skills for your digital toolbox.

For those of you who are newbie digital scrapbookers and haven't edited much in Photoshop, you may want to watch this quick page tutorial to understand how to work with the blog elements in Photoshop - that is not included as part of this tutorial...

Last, but not least, have fun! After this tutorial the only problem you will have is trying to decide which one of these cute kits you are going to use for your blog... Would you please share a link to your new Shabby Blog in the comments section? We can't wait to see it!

Fun with Templates...

2008-04-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy today's fun tutorial on creating layouts using templates. We used papers from the Shabby Miss Jenn's Egg Huntin' kit and elements from the FlowerStand kit. The templates are available from Kissed Studio - specifically templates from this set. The fonts used were Century Gothic and Porcelain.

Click To Play

If you are interested in more tutorials please visit my site. Have a nice weekend!

"Happy Accident" Photoshop Workflow...

2008-03-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

Inspired by April Anderton's Recent Article and amazing layout in the April/May 2008 issue of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine, I decided to see what I could do to get a similar look. April's article talks about pushing the limits of digital by printing your digital layouts on favorite traditional textured and pattern papers (you know the ones you see in the store and then think to yourself, "I wish this was digital!"?) Using the technique in the article, you can create something that can't be done traditionally - it is hybrid scrapbooking at its finest...

When I saw Shabby Miss Jenn's new kit, Weeds n Daisies, I knew I wanted to try something similar - and I wanted to see if it could be done 100% digitally... While pretty much anything is possible digitally, some of us have to experiment our way to the final results - many of these "results" could be classified as "Happy Photoshop Accidents," and you will probably learn much more about Photoshop playing around with things until you have your own "Happy Accident." Today I am going to share my process...

I started with the paper and flowers - very basic I know - but every layout needs to start somewhere!

Now with the photo I wanted to use added on top...

I can hear you saying, "Ok, now she is going to adjust the opacity..." and you would be right - I am going to adjust the opacity to 57%...which produces this...

Not exactly what I was going for... So I am going to duplicate the layer (at this point you will have two photo layers - turn the copy off by clicking the eye next the layer on the layers palette)

Now I will up the opacity of the first layer to 66% and add a layer mask (click the item with the red circle)...Next grab your brush tool and select BLACK as your foreground color. Making sure the photo layer is selected, begin painting directly on the photo to remove the excess background...(If you make a mistake, select white as your color and paint over your mistake - the original layer magically reappears!) You will end up with something like this... I love how the paper is coming through...

It still lacks something though... So I make the second photo layer visible, change the opacity to 25%, and change the blending mode to Linear Light...

The results boost the contrast and take away the washed out look of her face... Create frame, embellish, and you get this...

A fun look. Keep in mind there are so many different ways to do things like this in Photoshop - play with your blending modes and layer opacity to achieve the look that fits your style.

Recoloring Digital Scrapbooking Elements and Papers

2008-01-25T09:38:00.001-08:00

Learn how to recolor your digital scrapbooking papers, elements and items in a few quick steps.

**One note - when clipping the hue/sat layer in Photoshop Elements - use CTRL-G instead of ALT-CTRL-G.

Enjoy!

Darling Layouts with SMJ Quick Pages...

2008-01-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the darling new albums at SMJ Designs? These are so cute - they make it so easy to quickly put together darling pages...

I decided to put together a quick page tutorial for you all - it is very informal and is two parts - but hopefully it will be helpful for the newcomers to digital who want a fun way to get cute pages quickly - hope you all enjoy!

Part One

Part Two

The Elf Trap...

2007-12-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

If you are like me, you are looking for some fun and inexpensive gift ideas - so I thought I would share a few ideas with you all on the tutorials blog. I like this one because it is a lot of fun and really easy to put together - without further adieu I give you The Elf Trap....

What exactly is an Elf Trap you ask? Well - the instructions explain it very simply (as does the poem at the bottom of this post) - but let's just say it is a simple tradition my children love - you catch elves with it - and when they get caught they leave candies or other special treats for all the children in the house...(last year one elf even gave my kids socks....)

Here is a photo of the instructions....

Now - how to make your own elf trap - simply buy a box with a removable AND replaceable top...The square nesting boxes work great for this- especially if you are creating them en masse...for the paper to cover the boxes I used Shabby Miss Jenn's really cool new paper from her XMAS Market kit - printed on my Epson printer with common sketch paper... did you know you can print on simple Sketch book paper with your inkjet printer and it works really well (and doesn't cost a lot?) for projects like this?

I just picked up a sketch pad at Walmart sized 12"x18" and then created a new document in Photoshop that size and dragged over two 12x12 pieces of paper - arranging them on the page so that when printed they look like a continuous sheet. I then used mod podge to adhere the paper to the box and then did the same process with the lid. I added ribbon and voila - I had a trap - the instructions were similarly done.

The last time I went to this restaurant I asked the waitress for extra coasters - offering to pay for them of course - and I got a nice little collection (left a nice tip as well). Anyway - I scanned in the coaster and made this template from it - (download it here)...

Basically I just moved the background paper over to the template and then pressed ALT-CTRL-G to clip them to it... (CTRL-G if you are in Elements). Then I added the other layers (coordinating papers, text and embellishments) I then printed the pages of the instruction booklet out and then used mod podge to adhere them - punched holes with my crop-o-dile (which incidentally is now available at Costco) and added ribbon to bind it together... Fun!

If you are still wondering how an elf trap works, here are the instructions...feel free to use them (with credit of course) for your own personal and non-commercial use this holiday season...

The Elf Trap

Each year around Christmas time, Santa’s elves work very hard.
Making presents, packing toys, they even clean Rudolph’s yard!
And as the elf way goes – they make every present and toy –
That Santa delivers every year to all good girls and boys.

What these elves do not always know – and oh they love to see –
Is what’s inside all those beautiful presents sitting under your Christmas tree.
And what you may not know – is that while you are asleep –
Santa’s elves will sneak under your tree and often take a peek!

They snap their hands and count to two and before they get to three –
They are inside one of those presents – right under your Christmas tree!
Just after they’ve seen what’s inside – they snap and count again –
And they are right out of that present before you can count to ten!
And they giggle and laugh and feel so smart because they think that nobody knows
But in good time they will be caught – for that is how it goes.

So what can you do about the elves and their mischievous game?
Well Santa made a rule – and the elves think it is kind of lame.
But we think it is neat – and we think you will agree –
All you have to do is put this “present” under your Christmas tree.

The next time an elf peeks - right as he snaps and counts to three –
Just as he appears inside – he will be caught right under your tree!!!
When an elf appears inside – it is the rule – they are caught!!!
And in order to escape – the must leave some candy – enough for every tot.

So the next time you go to sleep – put this box under your Christmas tree –
And hope that a little elf thinks it’s pretty – snaps and counts to three –
Then when he appears inside – you know he will leave you a treat.
And when you enjoy it the next day – we hope you think this “present” is pretty neat.

© 2002 Kayla Lamoreaux all rights reserved

Exploring the Versatility of Sentiments...

2007-11-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

I was having some fun with Shabby Miss Jenn's Holiday Card Kits and thought I would share a quick tip on making them more versatile...

Easy Peasy Christmas Cards...

2007-11-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

  Love these new Digital Photo Christmas Card Templates from Shabby Miss Jenn - ... I created a tutorial for beginning digital scrapbookers - it takes you step by step through creating your very own digital Christmas Cards - how to open the card, move your photo onto it, add a greeting, save for the photo processor and even how to save it to share with family and friends digitally!
Your family will never believe you did it all yourself! Also, your husband will never believe how inexpensive these masterpiece quality cards were to create - I won't tell him if you won't... ;) Check it out!!

Coloring Elements In Photoshop

2007-10-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

New Layout & Video Tutorial...

This weekend I had a lot of fun making this layout -

I chose the papers because they matched the colors my dd was wearing - how fun is that? I used Shabby Miss Jenn's Brand new Harvest Night kit along with her French Attic Kit. The flourish frame around the journaling comes from the Gracie's Garden Kit.

I decided to do a tutorial on recoloring the overlay and frame - so here it is...

Fun Hybrid Project

2007-10-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

My latest project is actually a little chipboard album of things in my home - documenting what they are and why I have them in my home.... you can hear more about it in the video below (sorry for the quality - I haven't figured out the magic solution for a clear YouTube video yet - so bear with me!)

If you want to see the album page by page, you can view it here - Home Is Where The Heart Is Digital Scrapbook Album...

Products used -

Paper is Hot Dog Mustard from the Playground kit by Shabby Miss Jenn

Stamp on paper, photo corners and stitching - Birds of Paradise kit by Shabby Miss Jenn

Quilted Hear from Shabby Miss Jenn's Gimme Some Love kit

7Gypsies chipboard album & Ribbons - from my stash...

For behind the scenes commentary of how it all came together you can watch the video...