Friday, August 17, 2012

Digital Talk and an Awesome Etsy Shop

There are many sources for digital clip art and paper.  I mentioned in a previous post about downloading free sets from a site.  Those work wonderfully.   However, what if you can’t find something you really want to put on your digital layout??  Where do you turn? 

I turn to Etsy (www.etsy.com).  If you have never been on Etsy the best way I can describe it is it’s a never ending online catalogue for supplies and handcrafted goods.  It’s one website with THOUSANDS of shops.  If you search “digital clip art” or “digital paper” you will find TONS of digitals available to purchase.  You want elephant clip art, they have it.  You want flowers, they have it.  You name it, they got it.  =]

One of my favorite shops is MareeTrueLove (http://www.etsy.com/shop/MareeTruelove). 

Maree's shop sells Digital Clip Art, Digital Frames, and Digital Paper Packs (available in 8x8 and 12x12).

Here are some of the awesome products available:

DIGITAL PAPER PACKS:

DIGITAL CLIP ART:

Here is an example of what you can create with MareeTrueLove digital art....

I purchased this set:

and created this:
This is available at my Etsy shop:
or


I purchased this set:

and created this:
This is customizable and is also available at my Etsy shop:



With products from MareeTrueLove, the possibilities are ENDLESS!
Please stop by her store and use the code BLOG25 and receive 25% off!!



Tuesday, August 14, 2012

FREE Facebook Banner Templates!!

When Facebook introduced the timeline feature, the first thing I did was search the web to find the dimensions of the banner.  It's 2.84 inches X 1.05 inches.  What?!  Who in the world owns pictures that size?

I made my own design for my facebook banner and then I decided to share the love and make a couple banners available to anyone who wants it. 

Click on the link below the banner you would like then
right click and select 'save picture as'.
Save it wherever is convenient on your computer. 

To put your pictures in the banners, open the jpg
in Photoshop or Microsoft Publisher
(or any photo editing program will work).











Have a great Tuesday!




 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Digital Scrapbook Page Tutorial

Since I hyped up the world of digital scrapbooking, I thought I would give a tutorial on how to make a page.

For this tutorial, I am using digital files downloaded from http://www.computerscrapbook.com/. 


I chose the "California Cool" set. 





Look what great papers and elements you get with this set!

Now it's time to get Microsoft Publisher open and ready to use...

Select "More Blank Page Sizes"


Select "Create New Page Size"

Create a 12x12 blank document with 0" margins.

To insert your background, go to 'Insert' and select 'Picture'.

I decided to go with the brown with teal dots background.

The paper you selected shows up like this above so you will
need to adjust the size by click and dragging the bottom right corner.

The next thing I do is select my pictures. 
Use the same steps used for inserting the background.

One of my pictures was taken using Instagram so it has a white frame around it.
To make all of the pictures look uniform I will put a white frame around the other 2.

To make a border around the pictures you have to right click on the picture,
then scroll down to 'Format Picture', then select the 'Colors and Lines' tab which is below:
I used 10pt weight for the border which seemed to be about the same size as my instragram border.


So now my pictures all look the same. 
The next step is to decorate.

Using the same steps used to insert the background
and the pictures, I added ribbon.
Circled in this picture is the 'Bring Forward' and 'Send Backward' buttons.
These are important buttons.
Notice that the ribbon towards the bottom is laying on top of the picture.
By selecting 'Send Backward', the ribbon will lay behind the picture.

Next I added the buttons for decoration. 
(Add them the same way as pictures and background)

I decided to add more ribbon. :)

For me, the last step is to add writing. 
I prefer to do it last but you can do it at any point.
I inserted the paper graphic and cropped it down using
the crop tool as shown on the picture.

After cropping the piece of paper, I realized that I needed to
move everything to the left.  Don't waste time moving each piece one by one.
Instead, hold down control and select each of the things that you want to move.
Then select 'Group'.  This allows you to move all of those items at once.


Next, select the 'Insert' tab, then click 'Draw Text Box'

Bear with me on this next picture.
I wanted to point out the green button that allows you to rotate the text box. 
The same button is on pictures as well. 
Click on the green dot and rotate the text
box so it aligns with the piece of paper.

One important part of this: always have your layout wrapping
setting set to 'None'.  If not, you're inviting lots of frustration!


Your last step is to save the document. 
I always save it as a pub document so I can edit,
then I save it as a jpg.

Here is the final page:

I HOPE THIS TUTORIAL WAS HELPFUL. 
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT
DANAJAGGERS@GMAIL.COM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS!

Stayed tuned for my post next week featuring one of my favorite Digital Clip Art Etsy Shops!



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Dana vs. The Sun (aka mighty freckle duplicator)

I know it's late in the summer but I thought I would share with you my 2 favorite summer items to beat the sun (and the almost inevitable freckle overload). 

For those you do not know me personally I have lots of freckles on my face.  Pair that with the fact that skin cancer runs in the family and what you get is an overcautious sunscreen freak.  BUT I can't stand putting regular sunscreen on my face.  It makes me break out.

  My first go-to product is one that I typically use year round.  It is "Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15."

This product is amazing.  It doesn't come off even if you perspire. 
You can find it at Clinique counters in department stores or here:


After I put on the tinted moisturizer, I put on
"Colore Science Pro Sunforgettable Very Water Resistant Powder Sun Protection SPF 50".


I didn't think it was possible to have a high SPF in a
 powder but this product proved me wrong. 
It is very light weight and comes in various shades. 

This product was recommended to me by my dermatologist. 
You get this product from some dermatology offices or you can order from here:


What are your favorite summer skin care products?