Hey everyone, it’s Lu today to announce the Layout of the Week! As always, this brings about mixed emotions… I’m always excited to get to pick, but then slightly overwhelmed at making the selection! But having “too many” wonderful options is a good problem to have, lol! This layout caught my attention early on during the week, and honestly… how could it not? I’m a big fan of sepia tones, so the large photo dazzled me right away. It was the precious photo that was so mesmerizing at first, but there are lots of wonderful details that create an overall dramatic effect of the layout. In fact, it’s almost a layout within a layout! I love this technique, of using a photo for the background & then layering up.  It also features a beautiful blend job & and incorporates the title,  Innocence  just perfectly within the journaling.

From the very talented Jenelle:

 I’ve admired Jenelle’s gallery before, and so I am especially happy to be able to select this very special layout this week. Congratulations Jenelle (you have received a $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe, via email)… & thanks so much for sharing those wonderful memories with us!

Have a great weekend :o)  We’ll see ya back here on Monday!

LuLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 5 Comments

I know I’m not alone when I say that in my past life (before kids…LOL) I had much more time to focus on myself and my appearance.  Now that 3 little sweeties take up so much of my time, there isn’t a whole lot left over to spend on myself.  However, I L-O-V-E make up and beauty products as well as fashion, and feel so much better when I can actually spend those 10 minutes getting ready for the day.

Right after high school, I went to school to become a hair dresser and worked briefly doing hair and make up for photography and weddings.  Shortly after, I went back to university for a degree in Communications, but have spent the years since pursuing the perfect beauty products…and I am excited to share with you a handful of my faves.

Let’s start with a clean slate…or face… and talk about skin care.  I was a looong time Lancome fan, and still love their products, but about 4 years ago, I got hooked on a skin care line called Arbonne.  Their NurtriMin C RE9 anti aging skin care line is amazing, and I was an instant devotee from the first time I tried it.  I love how it leaves my skin feeling, and the clean citrus scent is heavenly.  Their Swiss formulated products are all natural, made from botanicals and have some wonderful and unique anti-aging properties.  You can see the full line of Arbonne products here.

Next up on my top pics list is a line called Make Up Forever, a French company that has been around since 1984, but has only emerged in the main stream in the last several years.  Make Up Forever has been widely used in theatre, film and broadcast and is best known for its use the Cirque de Soliel productions.  I have been cursed with dark circles under my eyes and have tried every concealer known to man.  Their HD Invisible Cover Concealer is hands down the best concealer on the market, in my humble opinion.  It is a full coverage product that is not cakey and does not streak.  The silicone applicator allows a smooth application with a small amount of product. 

Make Up Forever HD Liquid Foundation is another favorite in my arsenal. It is a full coverage light weight foundation designed for use with High Definition cameras, but you don’t have to be behind a camera to reap the benefits of this fabulous product.  I love the flawless appearance this product offers…Lord knows I need it!!!  Lastly, I love the staying power of Make Up Forever’s Aqua Lip Waterproof Lip Liner.  My favorite shade is Nude Beige 1C.  All of the Make Up Forever products are available at Sephora.

It is really important to “set“ a liquid foundation with a translucent powder.  Some powders on the market can be heavy and cause your face to look cakey and too heavy.  I LOVE to pair my foundation with one of 2 light and FUN powders from the Benefit line.  Most often I use the Georgia pressed powder which has a subtle peachy tint AND scent.  I am always impressed with how it alone makes my skin glow, and it doesn’t hurt that it is named for my home state…and that my husband’s nickname for me is “Peach”…LOL!  Alternately, I also really like Benefit’s Dandelion powder which has a pink-ish hue and sweet smell to match.  They are sure to perk up your face and set your foundation like a dream.

I am SO fussy about mascara, because I have the puniest scraggly eyelashes in the world.  Thank heavens that my kids got their Daddy’s gorgeous long lashes.  I have used Lancome’s Definicils mascara for years but recently discovered Benefit’s Badgal mascara which is a drier application and separates my lashes more effectively.  If you have puny lashes like me, give this product a try…I think you’ll like it.  You can also find Benefit products at Sephora or most any department store cosmetics counter.

Last but CERTAINLY not least is my most favorite lip gloss on the planet…Bath and Body Works Liplicious Pink Grapefruit.  I have used it for years and have about 4 tubes on the go at any given time.  I keep one in my make up bag, one in my purse, one in the car, and one on my desk.  I am A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D…seriously.  I’m sure that not every husband knows what lipstick or lip gloss their wife uses,  but ask my husband or my kids, and they can all tell you…I LOVE IT!

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sneak peak into my make up bag…and I hope you’ll go out and try one or all of these awesome products, I think you’ll be just as impressed as I have been.  I have been depending on my “full coverage” products to work over time for me this week (and next) while I’m back home in Georgia for a visit with my family.  Traveling alone with all three monkeys has been interesting to say the least, but thanks to my make-up partners, I’m still fresh faced despite being dog tired…LOL!  Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

KathyBeauty & Fashion, Uncategorized 8 Comments

Hello everyone!  Beckie here…I’m SO happy to bring you a special treat today – a brand new guest interview with Damien Symonds! I first “met” Damien through on-line photography forums and have learned so much from him regarding photo editing and enhancing.  Damien and his wife collaborate together as Belle Photography in Brisbane, Australia – and through his business (and the internet!), he has worked with people all over the world.  I hope you enjoy getting to know Damien and the information he’s here to share with us today!

Meet Damien (with his handsome little boy)!

What can you tell us about Damien Symonds?

Well, for three days per week I’m a stay-at-home Dad, and on the other two days I run my little home business, doing Photoshop stuff.

Despite my enthusiastic involvement in all things photographic, I am not a photographer, and couldn’t use a DSLR camera to save my life!  My background is in the printing industry, and for the first few years of my career I only used Photoshop to clumsily create a few logos.  On the basis of that feeble experience, I was lucky enough to get a job in the Image Enhancing department of a major newspaper a few years ago.  There I learnt Photoshop from the ground up from half a dozen tradesmen, who each had different methods and philosophies.  It was a messy way to learn!  I emerged from that job with an excellent eye for editing, but a horrible mish-mash of techniques.

From there I spent a great deal of time teaching myself the best ways of editing, and now I’m very proud of my skills.  I am developing a modest reputation as a “troubleshooter”, so people send me their hard-to-fix images.  I love that kind of work – the more challenging, the better.

My main passion is old photo restoration.  We live in an era where cameras are commonplace, and photographs are abundant.  But people bring me faded and damaged photos of their grandparents and great-grandparents, and I’m very conscious that those people probably only stood in front of a camera a handful of times in their entire lives.  Those photos are precious relics, and I’m always proud to preserve them.

Recently, my career has evolved again, and most of my time is spent delivering one-on-one Photoshop training courses with folk from all over the world.  I love to teach, and I’m determined that nobody should have to learn Photoshop the way I did (aimlessly!).  My hope is to give my trainees a solid foundation of knowledge on which to build their skills.

How did you get started in your business?

My wife (then my girlfriend) was studying photography at about the same time as I was learning Photoshop in my newspaper job.  We started a little photography business together, which I’m ashamed to say I’ve completely monopolised!  It’s much more of a Photoshop business than a photography one now.

We’ve never really advertised much, but our site has a modest Google ranking, so enough work comes our way.

What is your philosophy regarding photography and photo editing?

I have a saying: “A great SOOC is important, not for what it is, but for what it can become”
{Beckie’s note – SOOC is a commonly used term in photography circles that means “straight out of camera”, or an un-edited image}

There’s no doubt that a great photo begins in the camera.  The more you can get right at the time of shooting, the better the photo will be.  But I’ve never seen a photo come out of the camera that I couldn’t make even better in post-production.

I believe that Photoshop serves two purposes.  The first is to make bad photos look acceptable; the second is to make good photos look amazing!

What are your favorite tools of the trade?

Levels and Hue/Saturation.  Even if you took away all the other functions in Photoshop, and only left me those two, I could still do most of my work, and do it very well.

What resources do you recommend for beginners looking to develop their photo editing/enhancing skills?

The internet is wonderful, because there are resources available for everyone, no matter what “type of learner” you are.  If you learn well by reading, there are heaps of great written tutorials.  If you learn well by watching, YouTube is full to the brim with great videos that people have shared.  And if you learn well by doing, there are heaps of great training courses available.

Whenever I see people say “Photoshop is so daunting!  Where do I start?”, I always tell them to start at the Layers Palette.  It’s the beating heart of Photoshop – everything else stems from there.  Once you familiarise yourself with layers, everything else begins to fall into place.

It’s hard to have favourites.  I’m proud of all of my work; but at the same time I always look back at my edits and see things I could have done better.  Maybe the day I do a “perfect” job is the day I’ll retire!

Here are two of the very first restorations I ever did, and I’m still proud of them.  They took me quite a while to do!

{Before –> After}

{Before –> After}

Here’s a raw photo I enhanced for a customer recently.  This is exactly the kind of challenging photo I enjoy editing :)

{Before –> After}

One of the most significant improvements in recent versions of Photoshop has been the ability to adjust the white balance of Jpeg files by opening them in Adobe Camera Raw.  In the past, fixing light temperature problems in Jpeg files was difficult and clumsy in Photoshop.  But now, even people who don’t shoot in Raw format can enjoy the ease of white balance adjustments in ACR.  As long as you have CS3, 4 or 5, or Elements 7 or 8, you can do this.  If you haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to do so.  Correct white balance makes a world of difference to the quality of your photos, and I know how hard it is for your camera to get the white balance right every time.

If you’re really serious about your photography, I encourage you to try Raw format, if you haven’t already.  The power and flexibility of raw data is unsurpassed.

The main piece of advice I can give about editing is “Start big, and get smaller”.  It’s very important to edit the photo as a whole, before doing this and that to parts of it.  Photoshop has such wonderful tools for editing eyes, smoothing skin, etc, that it’s easy to dive right in to those things, and forget to make the whole photo acceptable first.

Imagine for a moment that you were editing a photo of me.  What if you immediately whitened my teeth a bit.  Then later on you decided the whole photo needed lightening, so you made a Levels adjustment to do so.  What would happen to my teeth?  All of a sudden they’d look crazy bright, right?  I’d look like some kind of cartoon character.  It’s very important to get the overall photo looking great, before turning your attention to little details. 

Well I don’t know about you guys, but after seeing those before and after shots, I suddenly wish I could un-delete a bunch of my own photos, LOL!

To see more of Damien’s incredible work, and to read through the tips and tutorials he has available, visit his site and his blog! Some that you may be particularly interested in:

• Converting to black and white
• Fixing skin blemishes

Damien has many other tutorials available, so be sure to check them out! Even if you prefer the ease of actions to the effort of editing your own photos, there are many tutorials you might find useful! Like this one that offers alternative techniques to cloning for removing distractions and imperfections in your shot.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing his work and learning more about the possibilities with photo enhancing and editing!  And many thanks to Damien for stopping by the Shoppe Blog for a visit with us today!  :)

BeckiePhotography, Special Guests, Uncategorized 15 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s Kylie, and I’m back with a Shoppe tips and tricks post on blending modes.

 For the Sandbox Product Spotlight, June 22, I created this layout:

I received a few questions about what technique I used to fade the larger picture into the background paper.  I’d only recently discovered the “blending” drop-down box in Photoshop and had to try it out. I’m completely self-taught and a very, very curious user – I love to play!! This was my second attempt at blending. I’m now going to show you exactly how I went about achieving my final layout. Please note that this may not be the “official” way, but as a beginner it works for me. Plus, blending really is all about playing and trying different options until you achieve the look you are after – sometimes a real case of trial and error!  I also hope that users of programs other than Photoshop can take away a tip or two that is relevant :o)

So on with the ‘tutorial’… I found that my layout contained too much negative space for my liking. So I decided to include another photo and add a little bit of perspective at the same time. However I didn’t want this new photo to take over the whole page so thought blending might be the way to go.

I added my photo to the layout.

Then I created a new layer which I called “blending layer” so as not to confuse myself. Using the custom shape tool, I added a rectangular ‘solid’ shape to this new layer. ( I did this because I had decided I would soften the edges of the photo and didn’t want to erase the photo itself – this is optional!)

 Ensuring that the newly added photo was positioned above my “blending layer”, I right clicked on my “blending layer” in the Layers palette and chose “Create Clipping Mask”.

Next step is to chose the eraser tool. Making sure it was a circle brush with soft edges. It was approximately 500 pixels in diameter (my initial layout was a 12” x 12” page). I started erasing the edges of my “blending layer” until I was happy with the shape. I then selected my photo layer and moved it around a bit until I was happy with its position within my “blending layer” clipping mask. After triple checking that I was indeed satisfied with my newly edited image, I then merged the photo layer and the “blending layer” into one layer.

I then moved my cursor to the blending modes drop down box in my Layers palette. Moving through the different modes I finally chose Hard light as the blending mode I was most happy with. Next, I played around with the opacity (the slider directly next to the blending modes drop down box) until I was satisfied – reducing it to 45% opacity to allow some of the paper design to show through. As a result I had basically created my very own photo mask and then blended it with my background paper. Too easy!!

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Read on for more blending tips and tricks: 

Since the Product Spotlight I have been experimenting a little more with blending modes. And I’m only starting to realize how many applications they have.  I’m now going to share with you what I have discovered so far. 

Here is a photo of some hydrangea flowers from my sister’s garden. I thought it would illustrate the differences with each mode rather well. So, I created a blending modes list for you and then with the help of Adobe Photoshop Help provided an explanation of each. Now it is important to note that your photo, paper(s), element(s), color of text etc., as well as the layer order, will ultimately determine the end blending result.

Blending basically controls how the pixels in each layer interact with each other.

Base color + Blend color = Result color

For my blending modes list example – the cardboard is the base color and the photo is the blend color. Again a different result would happen if we reversed the layer order of the cardboard and the photo.

Again, this is essentially a copy/paste from Adobe’s website HERE, so you can reference back.  Here is how they define/describe all of the different blending modes:

Normal

This is the default mode.  No change in layer.

Darken modes

Darken : selects the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change.

Multiply : multiplies the base color by the blend color. The result color is always a darker color. Multiplying any color with black produces black. Multiplying any color with white leaves the color unchanged.

Color burn: darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing the contrast. Blending with white produces no change.

Linear burn: darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing the brightness. Blending with white produces no change.

Darker color: compares the blend and base color and displays the lower value color. Darker color does not produce a third color, which can result from the Darken blend.

Lighten modes

Lighten: selects the base or blend color—whichever is lighter—as the result color. Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color do not change.

Screen: multiplies the inverse of the blend and base colors. The result color is always a lighter color. Screening with black leaves the color unchanged. Screening with white produces white. The effect is similar to projecting multiple photographic slides on top of each other.

Color dodge: brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing the contrast. Blending with black produces no change.

Linear dodge (Add): brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing the brightness. Blending with black produces no change.

Lighter color: compares the total of all channel values for the blend and base color and displays the higher value color. Lighter color does not produce a third color, which can result from the Lighten blend.

Contrast modes

Overlay: multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the base color. Patterns or colors overlay the existing pixels while preserving the highlights and shadows of the base color. The base color is not replaced, but mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original color.

Soft light: darkens or lightens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a diffused spotlight on the image. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened as if it were dodged. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened as if it were burned in.

Hard light: multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a harsh spotlight on the image. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened, as if it were screened. This is useful for adding highlights to an image. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened, as if it were multiplied. This is useful for adding shadows to an image.

Vivid light: burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the contrast, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by decreasing the contrast. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by increasing the contrast.

Linear light: burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the brightness, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by increasing the brightness. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by decreasing the brightness.

Pin light: replaces the colors, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color do not change. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change. This is useful for adding special effects to an image.

Hard mix: this changes all pixels to primary colors: red, green, blue, cyan, yellow, magenta, white, or black.

 Comparative modes

Difference: looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value. Blending with white inverts the base color values; blending with black produces no change.

Exclusion: creates an effect similar to but lower in contrast than the Difference mode. Blending with white inverts the base color values. Blending with black produces no change.

Composite modes

Hue: creates a result color with the luminance and saturation of the base color and the hue of the blend color.

Saturation: creates a result color with the luminance and hue of the base color and the saturation of the blend color.

Color: creates a result color with the luminance of the base color and the hue and saturation of the blend color. This preserves the gray levels in the image and is useful for coloring monochrome images and for tinting color images.

Luminosity: creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the base color and the luminance of the blend color. This mode creates the inverse effect of Color mode.

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After my research, for my next ‘blending’ layout I decided that I wanted to use this new-found technique to create a vintage look to my hydrangea photo. By again choosing the ‘cardboard’ paper from HopScotch and selecting Hard light at 75% opacity, I was able to achieve a vintage look without the use of a photo action. You can even see the creases in the cardboard emerging through the photo. Using textured paper as a blending base is a great way to add interest to another paper, photo etc. (As I did not erase the edges or change the photo shape in any way there was no need to create a new custom shape layer as I demonstrated in my Sandbox layout – I just simply blended the flower photo with the paper layer below – both the same size.)

Here are two more layouts where I have experimented with blending.

Dark paper – Lighten blend mode at 50% opacity  ~~~  Light paper – Soft light blend mode at 95% opacity

 Some other blending tips:

• Select a paper that will complement your photo – neutral is best with soft patterns or none at all
• Textured papers work well and provide interest and depth
• If using a strong patterned paper as a base you may need to softly erase, blur, lighten etc. some of the pattern under the whole or just part of the image – so that the pattern does not overtake the main details of your photo
• You can blend two or more papers together to create a totally new paper
• You can blend text with your base paper for a more defined ‘written’ effect
• You can use layer masks and gradients to create blending – I’ve yet to master this
• I’m sure that there are more that I have yet to discover! If you know of any, why not add a comment to this post. We would love to hear your ideas! :o)

I hope that this post has given those new to the world of blending some helpful information and a bit of inspiration to give it a go. I’ve started out with just a few basic blends and am now looking forward to mastering something a little more technical – I’ll keep you posted! It’s all about experimenting – so have fun – and you’ll be amazed at the different looks you can achieve!

Be sure to check in tomorrow for a “fresh” and fabulous blog post!

KylieInspiration, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized 16 Comments

Hi everyone! Denise here with this week’s Product Spotlight – Smarshmallows! It is on sale this week only for $4.88.

I love the colors in this kit, the orange and blues are perfect for summer layouts and especially boy layouts. Mariquita surprised us with some snow layouts too! There are some really cool graphic elements to the Smarshmallow kit, circles can be repeated with the stamps, buttons, and polka dot paper. Karen used the funky border in the kit to make a nice thick border on her layout, Trish has a handy tutorial Shoppe Tips and Tricks (Fun Edges). For my layout I wanted to use the stars as an embellishment and cut the stars from the paper using a Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) in Photoshop to really make them pop.

Some inspirational layouts and a Birthday Announcement by the Shabby Artists

I hope the layouts have inspired you to scrap some funky summer layouts (and winter!) with the Smarshmallows kit, on sale this week for only $4.88.

Happy Scrapping everyone!  Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for a great tutorial/article from Kylie about BLENDING!

DeniseProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 8 Comments