4 free grunge frames for PS and PSE!

I have a little something different for you today!  I designed some new  frames in Photoshop!  Unfortunately I didn’t have any new pictures to use for my examples, but I wanted you to see them in use.  They are .psd files that can be opened in PS or PSE and are 850 px wide.  Once you open the file in your software, all you have to do is click on the ‘PLACE PHOTO HERE’ layer and go to File / Place to insert the image of your choice from your computer!  Hope you like them and if you are interested in some other goodies, be sure to stop by my Freebies page!

 

Just 1 picture of my baby!

I’m so excited!  She did pee pee in the potty yesterday!  She asked to sit on the potty which she’s done many times before.  Mostly she just sits on it and doesn’t go but I love the interest she’s been showing.  Yesterday, however, she was all business.  The minute she sat down I could hear her going.  I jumped for joy and smothered her with kisses!  Throughout the day I had randomly asked her if she’d like to try going on the potty again, but she didn’t seem too interested.  I explained to her that she went in the potty one time yesterday and that today it might be fun to try going two times (as I held up two fingers for her).  I figured once she went twice, than I would offer some type of reward.  I promised her a call to Santa and the Easter Bunny to make sure they knew how good she had been.  She loves to listen to me talking to Santa (yeah, it’s not my first time talking to Santa)!  My plan is to get her to go in the potty one more time than she did the day before until eventually she is only using the potty.  Not sure how it’s going to turn out, but I have high hopes and a lot of faith that she can do it.  We’ll see.  I’ll try to keep you posted and let you know if it works!

 

Make eyes pop in Photoshop! (video tutorial)

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to make eyes in your images pop?  If so, I have a great video tutorial for you today!

Duration: 11 minutes
Software: Photoshop CS6
Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Touches on the following topics:

- duplicating layers
- dodge/burn tool
- layer opacity changes
- using filters (unsharp mask)
- creating layer masks
- inverting masks (to reveal effects)
- brush tool (using white to reveal)

2 free phone applications for the kids!

As I sit here typing this post, my little one is using the Talking Tomcat 2 phone application.  For those that aren’t familiar with this application, it is a freaking riot!  It allows you to talk to an animated cat that will repeat everything you say in a munchkin type voice.  I think my tot thinks she’s having a two sided conversation with it when all it’s really doing is just copying her.  She keeps telling it everything she is doing.  As funny as the application is, though, I wouldn’t recommend it to children of all ages. 

With the touch of a button you can make a dog come into the room and, how can I say this nicely, release gas as the poor cat rolls his eyes and grabs his nose in disgust.  If that’s not enough, it also promotes some serious violence.  You can tap him on different parts of his body like you are hitting him.  Sometimes, depending on how hard you tap the screen, he can be knocked out.  Other buttons include having a dog hit the cat with a pillow and smashing a cake in his face!  With all that said, this is NOT one of the applications I am recommending to the younger kiddies but for the older ones and adults out there that could use a laugh, you’ve got to download this immediately!

Silliness with my phone camera!

I’m going to overwhelm you with phone pictures today!  It wasn’t really my plan but, before I knew it, my image gallery was busting at the seams with image randomness (some of which I don’t even remember taking).  Apparently I use my phone camera more than I thought.  I’d start to wonder if people were finding me obnoxious but luckily I only snap photos of the family and they are pretty used to me being attached to some sort of picture taking device (whether it be my DSLR or my Android)! 

 

Anyway…

 

Tone your images in Photoshop! (a video tutorial)

I don’t know how you prefer your images, but I usually like mine to have a lot of contrast.  I’m not talking about so much that the whites and blacks in the image have lost their detail, but I do like to make the shadows and highlights really pop!

Then there are times that I just want to tone everything down.  Do you ever feel that way?  It was taking me awhile to figure out why I wasn’t completely happy with the processing of an image but then it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I was certain of the look I was going for!  I know toning can mean a different things when it comes to photography so the type of toning I am speaking of is when the overall colors/shadows/highlights of the image blend together to create a smoother appearance.  I guess the opposite of the toning I am speaking of would be less contrast. 

Some camera applications (oh, and a freebie)!

I know what you’re thinking.  Have some freakin’ instagrams right?  I’ve been having fun with some new phone applications!  It’s funny that even with all the new applications I’ve tried, I still revert back to Line Camera.  It has so many great features and I find myself using the clear effect on almost all of my phone pictures.  It’s great at boosting the quality of the image especially for people that have, excuse my language here, CRAPPY phone cameras!  If you are interested, some other great camera applications are: