Elements Tutorial: Adding Blue Sky Back to Photos

Have you ever taken an outdoor photo and noticed that there is little or no bright blue sky in the background like you originally saw? This happens to me sometimes and it gets frustrating.. I am going to teach you away to get that blue sky back using a tutorial I made for Adobe Photoshop Elements! Take a look at the before and after photos to see what I mean. I made this quite dramatic for the tutorial. Normally I don’t add that much blue back to my photo. Here are the steps to add the blue back and screen shots for each step so you can follow along more easily.



Step 1: Open you photo in Adobe Photoshop Elements.


Step 2: Click on the Create and Adjustment Layer button right above the layers palette on the bottom right side. Go down the Gradient. You will see this new layer pop up in the layers palette. A box will also pop up. The setting should be Linear, angle 90, and scale 100%. Also, make sure that Reverse and Align With Layer are clicked. Now click on the image next to the Gradient (it says "click to edit gradient") . A new box will pop up.



Step 3: First make sure the right preset gradient is in place - foreground to transparent (see 1a). Next, go to the bottom left black arrow like the one I have circled (see 1). Click on the color bar next to the word color (see 2). Another box will pop up. Go to the correct color you want. I chose a sky blue (see 3). Click OK.



Step 4: Go up to the top white arrow like the one I have circled. Slide that over the left until you have the right amount of blue on your photo. This is the opacity stop. It basically tell it when to fade the color. Now click OK on all of the boxes.



Step 5: To get rid of the color on the people follow these steps. Click back over onto to photo layer on the layers palette (see 1). Click in the magic wand tool on the left side tool bar (see 2). Go to white in the sky and click on that. Marching ants will light up everything (see 3).



Step 6: On the top tool bar, go to Select >Inverse.



Step 7: Click back onto the gradient layer in the layers palette (see 1). On the top tool bar, go to Layer > Simplify Layer.



Step 8: Your gradient layer should still be highligted (see 1). Go to the eraser tool on the left side tool bar (see 2). Now go over you photo and erase. This will erase the blue from the subjects of the photo! To get the marching ants to stop go to the top tool bar to Select > Deselect.



Step 9: This step is optional. If you want to make the blue skies just a little lighter, you can go to the layers palette and go to opacity. Move the bar to the left until it how you like it.



Step 10: Flatten your image and you are all done (on the top tool bar go to Layer > Flatten Image) . Save your image under a new name.

Welcome Our Newest Contributoring Artist!

Hello everyone! Today I am introducing a new contributing artist! But first we have to say goodbye to Sarah. She has done such a great job contributing for the past seven months and we will miss her. Good luck Sarah :)

Our newest contributing artist is Lisa Blastick! We are thrilled to have her :) She has this really really cool style and I know her posts will inspire you!! Lisa was previous featured artist, so you can read her intro here to learn more about her! You can also view her gallery here: Kaye222. I asked her some fun questions to get to know her better:



1. What is your favorite aspect of scrapbooking?
I love knowing that my memories we will be passed down to my next generation...with wonderful journaling to go with all the photos. I also love the designing aspect of scrapbooking because it lets me express color and beauty.


2. What products/kit clubs are a must have for you?
I love prima flowers and I also love being a pert of scrabook.com because i have had so support and inspiration there.


3. How many pages do you think you completed in 2009? Was it more or less than you wanted?
I really don't go by how many pages i complete a year. Some weeks my imagination goes well for new designs and then others it is in a bit of a rut.


4. Is there any secret advice on how you complete your pages?
I decide of colors first and then i work in photo that i have already. Some ideas come out of the blue and then others are inspired by other scrappers.


5. Name 5 of your favorite fonts.
I love lucida handwriting, popstar autography, ma sexy, scriptina and Party LET.

Here are two favorite pages by Lisa :)




Welcome Lisa! We are so lucky to have you!!

Big GREEN Giveaway.. win some green!

Today, I thought I would do a big giveaway! There are going to be two ways to win!

1. First is I am looking for reader's page to turn into sketches. I will give you full credit for your designs. I thought this would be a cool way to feature reader's pages! The day when I feature you sketch I will also feature your original srapbook page along with your blog and/or gallery link! So the first way to win is to send me ONE scrapbook layout that you would love to see as a sketch. Please send those to scrappingpam73@yahoo.com with "sketch" as the title of your email. I probably will not be able to make sketches of every page I get, but over time, I hope to try get to them. When you send in your page you will be entered once to win this rak.

2. The second way to be entered to win this rak is to simply leave a comment with ideas or comments on what you like or don't like about this blog! You are welcome to add more ideas of what you would like to see in this blog.

THE FIRST RAK is an American Crafts D-ring Album, American Crafts Umbrella Thickers, and Pebbles Chips. Here is an image of it.



THE SECOND is a $15 gift certificate to scrapbook.com!

You have until midnight June 26th to enter! I will RANDOMLY pick the winner one week from today.. on June 27!! So, please send me your page and leave a comment :) Good luck ;)

New Summer Template!

It's hot and muggy here again today! Great pool weather! Today I am sharing another summer template ... although you can interpret it any way you like. I made it into a 40th birthday page for my husband. I originally made this for the summer but it really fit the "40" theme!

Here is my page that I adapted to the template. You can buy the circle text path here.


Here is a preview or sketch of the template.


Here is a link to the digital layered template for Photoshop Elements! Feel free to interpret this as you like! Click on link to download the template:

http://www.4shared.com/photo/pkmLW4xh/pc_rays__circles.html

Hope you have a great day!!

Creative Ways To Use Products by Sara!

Have you noticed how beautifully packaged many of our scrapbook products are? I sometimes find myself drawn to the packaging of products as I walk thought the scrapbook store. I am sure this is a marketing strategy to increase sales but I say the jokes on them because we can use the packaging on our layouts as well as the product! Here I have created a layout using packaging from 3 separate products as an example for you:


This is the front side of the 3 product pages I will be using.


This the back side of the 3 packages.


Here is the final product. First I scalloped the edges of the large polka-dotted packaging for a back ground paper and then I matted my photo on the beautifully decorated Prima flower packaging. (Prima has some of my favorite packaging!) I used my last piece of packaging to make my cupcake wrapper and accented it with some bling.

Now go take a look at what packaging you have in your stash and see how you can use it on your next layout. Visit my blog (http://www.sarazenger.blogspot.com) for more examples of using your packaging on layouts.

(CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SARA)

Introducing Our Featured Artist for June 18!

Is it me or is this summer totally flying by?? It's Friday again and time for another fabulously talented featured artist. Today's artist has a really great style and pages that inspire me! I love the way she uses color and shapes on her pages. Totally cool!! The idea she is sharing today is really innovative! Please check out her blog to see more of her work: www.sarazenger.blogspot.com. Let's get to know Sara!!


I am so very honored that Pam has asked me to be a Featured Artist on her wonderful blog! My name is Sara Zenger and I have lived in the same area of Northern New York for my entire life - 30 years! There is something about 'Small Town' USA that has made my husband of 9 years and I want to stay and raise our 6 year old son in. We are close to both of our families and enjoy the feeling of ‘being home’. I am a full time working girl outside of the home, as the manager for my parents' convenience store. This is a business that my parents have owned and grown for 30 years and its very much a part of who I am.

However, 5 years ago I tapped in to my more creative side when I started scrapbooking and soon it became a full time hobby! I started to try and make a little money to support my habit and to show others how much fun and rewarding scrapbooking could be. I started offering 'Scrap N Chat Days' at local community centers one Saturday per month. These days have done more for me that I ever could have imagined! I am amazed at how many women came to me wanting to scrapbook but did not know how or where to start and once they gave it a try they have never looked back! I have met many wonderful people and made so many friends that mean the world to me. It makes me feel so good to know that I have helped so many women!

My Scrap N Chat Days still continue but now I have converted my garage in to a scrapbook room for 24 girls to come and enjoy with me! I am currently preparing to host my 7th weekend long retreat! My very first retreat had 12 girls in attendance and I was thrilled with that but as of my last retreat we were up to 72 girls and still growing! It just goes to prove that there are scrapbookers everywhere, even in small towns! I recently started my blog (www.sarazenger.blogspot.com) in hopes to inspire others to try something new and give them creative ideas. Recently, I was selected to me a member of the Practical Scrappers Design Team which has been a wonderful experience. I am happy to spread their word of using what supplies we have! I am excited to continue my scrapbook journey because I really enjoy the creativity and documenting my family’s story.


I will be posting her neat idea in a bit, so check back really soon! :) :)

Stamp Storage

How do you store your stamps? I see this question repeatedly in scrap forums. There are as many possibilities for methods to store stamps as there are scrapbookers! I thought I would share some ways that we store our stamps.

Stamps are one of my addictions. I really love using them when I make cards, to create elements for my pages, for hybrid and altering projects. I just love stamps. As I keep collecting them, storing my stamps has been a challenge.Nancy shared her storage for stamps (photo above). She mainly has clear acrylic stamps.She keeps them neatly stored away in D-ring style scrapbook (that she snagged on sale!). She uses the C-Line Memory Book Organizer Pages to slip her stamps in and place in her book.

Lisa does something similar with her clear stamps. She use a 3-ring binder with sheet protectors for storing her clear acrylic stamps.



My wood mounted stamps are stored in a set of plastic stackable drawers. Now this is great for keeping them all corralled but, as you can see in the photo, it’s not easy to see all the stamps that are in the drawer. I’ve seen some people that use a small lipped shelf around their craft area to place their wood mount stamps. It makes really nice display as well as storage. I just don’t have that much crafting space. So my solutions tend to be cost and space conscious. If you have the space to do it, it would really look nice!


I’ve also seen people remove their stamps from the wood blocks to make storing them easier as it saves on the space needed. Basically it turns the wood mounted stamps into cling mounted rubber stamps.

I have a growing collection of cling-mounted rubber stamps myself. Some are from a monthly kit. I wanted a solution that allowed me to keep all the stamps from a month’s collection together. I found these great binders from Univenture that can hold plastic inserts to attach the stamps to. The binders are only $1.02 each! I can get a complete monthly kit into the binder and they take up minimal shelf space. I’m thinking about regrouping my other cling mount stamps into these binders as well. Perhaps one for Christmas, one for birthday, etc.



Once I have the stamps arranged on the insert, I make an imprint of it. I adhere that to the facing page in the binder. This gives me a quick visual of the stamp images as well as the layout of how I have the stamps arranged.



At the same web page where you can purchase the binders, are downloads for formatting a binder cover insert. Now you could have fun making it really pretty using your traditional or hybrid supplies. But I’m on a mission to get my area reorganized and just simply typed in the title for my binders and printed them. I then adhere the image samples that ship with the stamps to the front. Simple, fast and done!

Dolores has this great clear plastic containers to store her stamps. She is able to store wood mount, clear, rubber, any type of stamps in them. I like that they have colors to them as well.



Heather uses a similar idea. She has some inexpensive plastic tubs that allow her to store her stamps and see what is inside. Being a frugal scrapper, I love ideas that save us money. As Heather said, she'd rather spend the money on supplies rather than storage!



There is no right way or wrong way to storing your stamps. Whatever works to keep them organized, handy and ready for use is the right solution. So, how do you store your stamps? Feel free to share your ideas with us. We love to hear from you.