Create Your Own Picture Tubes Tutorial

I love to share information with people.  I recently learned how to make my own picture tubes in Corel PaintShop Pro and want to share it with you.  I came across a handy tutorial that is already written out so instead of creating my own tutorial I'll just give you the link:

http://www.corel.com/content/pdf/paintshop/tutorials/286PictureTubes.pdf

If you haven't tried Corel PaintShop Pro yet, click the link below to get a free trial! 

MyMemories Tutorial: Where to Find What I Bought!

Here's a great new tutorial showcasing MyMemories Suite Software.  It covers one of their most  popular questions: How To Find Purchased Content in Your Software. 



If you don't have your copy of MyMemories yet, head over to their website and get $10 off using coupon code STMMMS42069 today!

Freebie Friday 2/3/12, Plus Tutorial!

Hello February and Freebie Friday!  Click the Designer Pack below to get this week's free scrapbook elements. This week's freebie features Valentine's cards.  As a special treat, I have a tutorial on how to use this download with the MyMemories Suite software!  Click here to get the tutorial. 

Click Here to Download

These free files are brought to us by MyMemories Suite.  MyMemories is my favorite digital scrapbooking software.  Please note that all of these are .png and .jpg files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software, however I hope you'll consider picking up MyMemories Suite to try it out!  Get $10 off the software with my coupon code:  STMMMS42069

Happy Scrapping!

Color Accent a Photo

If you have ever wanted to know how to color accent a photo, then this tutorial is for you!  Below is the tutorial text.  Click here if you want the full "Color Accent a Photo Tutorial" with accompanying pictures and screen shots. 

Color Accent a Photo Tutorial

This tutorial uses Corel Paint Shop Pro X4

1. Open the file you wish to modify.  Save this as a new file so that you preserve the original one.   For this tutorial, I will be using a picture of my daughter. 
2. Right click on the Layer Palate and pick Duplicate.  Alternately, go to the menu and choose Layers → Duplicate. 
3. Click Home on the Learning Center Palate**.  Click Effects then choose “Convert to Black and White”.    Alternately, you can click on the menu:  Effects  → Photo Effects  → Black and White Film.  At this point, the default settings should be adequate for changing the image to black and white.  You can always play around with the settings if you want to try for a different look.  You can also try some of the other effects such as Sepia to make unique and different image types.  Trying out different looks can be fun.  Use your creativity! 
4. At this point you have a black and white copy on top of the color copy of your image.  All you need to do is erase the parts of the black and white image that you want to show as color.  You can use both the Eraser tool and Background Eraser tool from the toolbar.  
5. Once you are finished and happy with your image, save the file as a .jpg file.  If you think you may want to come back to the file later and make additional changes, also save the file as a .pspimage file.  This way the layers you created will not compress and you can continue editing where you left off. 

Notes:

**To show the Learning Center Palate, Click Help → Learning Center. 

Before

After

For a printer friendly version click here.

What is a .png File?

What is a .png File?  (printer friendly version click here)

I'm surprised to find out that a lot of people don't know what a .png file is, especially if you are into photo editing or digital scrapbooking.  Here is a technical definition:

"The PNG format (pronounced "PING") was designed to replace the antiquated GIF format, and to some extent, the TIFF format. It utilizes lossless compression, meaning no image data is lost when saving or viewing the image. It is a universal format... ...does not have any patent restrictions and can be read and written freely by software developers and webmasters alike." (see entire text here)

My simple definition is a little different, as applied to digital scrapbooking and photo editing:  a .png file is one where the image stays exactly how you made it when you save it; most importantly is if you have an image that includes transparent areas behind it, the transparent areas do not become white when you save the file. 

Here is an example:

Here I started in Corel PaintShop Pro X4with a new image.  I added a single flower.  The area behind the flower is blank, or transparent (as indicated by the gray/white checkboxes).  If I want this area to stay completely transparent behind the flower, I save it as a .png file.  This way I can use the flower like it is clip art; I can put it on another picture, use it in a word document, etc. 

Here I have taken the flower and put it on a black patterned background:

If I hadn't saved the flower as a .png file, and instead as a .jpg file, this is what would have happened when putting the flower on the black background:

When saving the flower image as a .jpg, the transparent area behind the flower is filled with white automatically. 

From this simple example, you should be able to tell that using .png files are a key way to create awesome digital images and scrapbook embellishments!  You can also create great graphics to use in reports or any type of print you need. 

Here is an example of how I use .png files to create digital scrapbook pages:

For this page, I scanned in my daughter's ski pass on the computer.  I then opened it in Corel PaintShop Pro X4 and erased all the white background around the card and purple cord, then saved it as a .png.  This is a simple and easy way to add tangible items to a scrapbook page! 

For a printer friendly version click here.