Text Workshop 2023

[Linda J Walker]

I'm calling this Day 2 & 3--I used my title for Day 2, on my Day 3 page. I'm not sure if that makes me efficient or a slacker ?

I don't know why, but my text became a 'floating selection'. It took me a bit of time to figure out what to change, so it was a frustrating evening! I imagine there is some reason you would want text to be a 'floating selection', but I don't know why.

 

[Cassel]

@Bonnie Ballentine Oh, I thought you were looking for something for the inside.

@Rene Marker Sometimes, a change in style is what is needed for a punch, and your layout does just that! That is a fun way to display a score with a photo of the monitor!

@MoniqueN. With recent versions of PSP, you can have individual picture tubes on separate layers. Depending on the number of elements you want to shadow, you can do that. Another option is to use a picture tube that might already have a slight shadow integrated. Some do, but others don't. That Romantisch layout is so elegant!

@Donna Sillia If you add more shadows, it will make everything POP! Discovering tools and commands accidentally is always a nice surprise!

@Linda Hitt I hope you didn't panic when your text disappeared!! It is a common situation that surprises a lot of users!

@nadine Beautiful page, and you are really customizing it to suit your photos and your stories! Great work.

@Pirkko Seppälä That cat makes me smile! Such a pose!

@Julie Magerka You know that you have to highlight the text for the color/font/size change to take effect, right?  I hope it will start behaving for you soon!

@Susan Ewart That is a fun memory to share with that camera!

@Ann Seeber Those papers of yours look great together in that page. It is a good practice to see our kit content "in action".

@Gerry Landreth I love how many ways you used for the Unicorn title!

@Anja Pelzer Such a delicate page!! 

@Corrie Kinkel Those little checkboxes can get someone to scratch their head!!! Glad you caught it.

@Marie-Claire Handsome cat. Do you bring Poncho too when you are "cat sitting"?

@Sue Thomas I didn't know we had antelopes in Canada! I learned something today!

@Louyse Toupin Beautiful page. Although I don't usually recommend adding shadows to journaling, in your case, you can possibly add a little bit because parts of the background paper is the same color as the text so it would add a little definition. Just an idea.

@Linda J Walker A floating selection might be used if you want to cutout part of an image in the shape of text. You can also want to have only a selection to apply an effect (greyscale/colorize, etc.). Maybe I'll do a tutorial or an article on that! Sometimes, those settings get changed when our mouse is "dropped", or something like that and it clicks unwantedly.

Keep those layouts coming and keep inspiring everyone else. It is so pleasant to scroll through those pages!

 

[Susan Ewart]

6 hours ago, Donna Sillia said:

I didn't make any plaids for my kit, so I created one in my color pallette. Fortunately, the restaurant matches. The pictures are mine. The fonts that I used are FlamingoShadow, Arial, and Gumondo, I think. The center paper is a texture in PSP that was yellow but colorized to the coral color with a little tweaking with Flaming Pear, Kyoto color. The left side is from the plaid with a gaussian blur applied.

That is a striking plaid.  I love it.

[Susan Ewart]

5 hours ago, Linda J Walker said:

Susan--my first real 35 mm camera was a Ricoh XR1, which I still have. But I don't know if I could still buy 35 mm film today. I bought my Ricoh when I graduated from high school because I could not afford a Pentax K1000, and the Ricoh was very similar and cheaper, and used the Pentax K-mount lenses. Good memory!

 

That is so cool, your Ricoh.  Not many people know that brand.  My sister in law sent all her old cameras to me recently (as did my brother - only he sent me his Nikon F3!) and one of them was a Ricoh XR1.  I had being mostly collecting cameras from the 20's up to the 60's but ended up also with  a number of 35 mm SLR's from my era of starting out.  So now I display them as well.  You can still get film too.  I saw some in a store recently.  I heard there's a bit of a revival in shooting film.  We sure had to nail our exposures, when shooting film, didnt we?  Often you couldnt re-shoot the subject if you blew your exposure.   

[Susan Ewart]

3 hours ago, Linda J Walker said:

I'm calling this Day 2 & 3--I used my title for Day 2, on my Day 3 page. I'm not sure if that makes me efficient or a slacker ?

I don't know why, but my text became a 'floating selection'. It took me a bit of time to figure out what to change, so it was a frustrating evening! I imagine there is some reason you would want text to be a 'floating selection', but I don't know why.

 

I'd say that makes you efficient.  I admire any one who can grow anything.  I manage okay to grow Parsley, Thyme and Rosemary, but nothing else I grow survives.  My husband says it's because I forget to water them..hahaha.  It's true.  I start out all gung ho, then I just neglect plants.  Going on that, I would have made a bad mother.

 

[kasany]

My first work "Polish Spring" where I used shots taken by my friends in March '23 and Carole's frame as well. I don't remember what font I used to write title, sorry.

 

[Cristina]

17 hours ago, Cassel said:

@Anja Pelzer Nice soft colors in that title. They match the page very well.

@Sue Thomas Thanks for pointing out that they were pine cones in the fill. The resizing of the image made it harder to identify what they were. That Red squirrel is adorable!

@Lesley Maple I'll have to find a way to get that effect in PSP!! Did you add shadows on the papers under the photo? I think it would add more definition, especially on a busy background.

@MoniqueN. Have you considered trying to add some shadows on the little elements inside the "Baby" title? I wonder if it would add some volume? Not a big shadow but just a little.

@Michele It is fun to see the fill on the top part of the text. A little unexpected but definitely in line with the theme!

@Susan Ewart I am curious to know what you put in the title. Are those confetti?

@Linda J Walker Glad to see that you are sharing the title on its own, even if the page is not ready.

@Julie Magerka The owl photo really makes me smile! For the title, since you have a patterned background, have you considered adding a little shadow on the letters as if they were cut out of papers?

@Linda Hitt Great way to customize a template. It is always a starting point, but the destination is often different!

@Hank Sobah I love how you layered that single fish on top of the title. It really gives it some depth too. Colorful concert page!

@nadine Nice idea to have the clouds on top of the fill! Templates are meant to be changed!!! ?

@Ann Seeber You might want to tweak the placement of the text as the overlapping with the decorative element is inconsistent. Maybe move the text a little downward or resize the decorative element a little to shift upward? That change in size for the title really gives that impression of jumping!!

@Cristina Due to the resizing, I am not sure so what did you use to fill the title? Are those confetti?

@Donna Sillia You filled the title with tiny Easter eggs, right?

@Louyse Toupin Did you place the scattered confetti and rotated a duplicate by any chance? It looks like there are two different types of shadows on them.

@Bonnie Ballentine What kind of pattern were you looking for?

@Corrie Kinkel Changing colors word by word is definitely another way to use this technique.

@Mary Solaas That yellow is really standing out! You might want to add (or add more) shadows on your papers to give them thickness.

@Pirkko Seppälä Awe... sweet photo!!! The whole family!

@Gerry Landreth Sand in the hair! that is no fun! But the picture is worth it!!!

Carole, they are not confetti; they are seed-bead tubes I created for the Buil-A-Kit workshop. I will increase the size as they are tiny, even in full size.

 

[Michele]

17 hours ago, Cassel said:

@Anja Pelzer Nice soft colors in that title. They match the page very well.

@Sue Thomas Thanks for pointing out that they were pine cones in the fill. The resizing of the image made it harder to identify what they were. That Red squirrel is adorable!

@Lesley Maple I'll have to find a way to get that effect in PSP!! Did you add shadows on the papers under the photo? I think it would add more definition, especially on a busy background.

@MoniqueN. Have you considered trying to add some shadows on the little elements inside the "Baby" title? I wonder if it would add some volume? Not a big shadow but just a little.

@Michele It is fun to see the fill on the top part of the text. A little unexpected but definitely in line with the theme!

@Susan Ewart I am curious to know what you put in the title. Are those confetti?

@Linda J Walker Glad to see that you are sharing the title on its own, even if the page is not ready.

@Julie Magerka The owl photo really makes me smile! For the title, since you have a patterned background, have you considered adding a little shadow on the letters as if they were cut out of papers?

@Linda Hitt Great way to customize a template. It is always a starting point, but the destination is often different!

@Hank Sobah I love how you layered that single fish on top of the title. It really gives it some depth too. Colorful concert page!

@nadine Nice idea to have the clouds on top of the fill! Templates are meant to be changed!!! ?

@Ann Seeber You might want to tweak the placement of the text as the overlapping with the decorative element is inconsistent. Maybe move the text a little downward or resize the decorative element a little to shift upward? That change in size for the title really gives that impression of jumping!!

@Cristina Due to the resizing, I am not sure so what did you use to fill the title? Are those confetti?

@Donna Sillia You filled the title with tiny Easter eggs, right?

@Louyse Toupin Did you place the scattered confetti and rotated a duplicate by any chance? It looks like there are two different types of shadows on them.

@Bonnie Ballentine What kind of pattern were you looking for?

@Corrie Kinkel Changing colors word by word is definitely another way to use this technique.

@Mary Solaas That yellow is really standing out! You might want to add (or add more) shadows on your papers to give them thickness.

@Pirkko Seppälä Awe... sweet photo!!! The whole family!

@Gerry Landreth Sand in the hair! that is no fun! But the picture is worth it!!!

Thanks, Carol. I used a picture tube for the flowers, but I'm sure you already knew that. ❤️

[Linda]

Hi, I have just started this, I have no sound on my pc so looking at the screen whilst having the sound from my phone.
I can not see to get the text to fill, I keep clicking and changing but the same result. 
Where am I going wrong please.
thanks

[Cassel]

46 minutes ago, Linda said:

Hi, I have just started this, I have no sound on my pc so looking at the screen whilst having the sound from my phone.
I can not see to get the text to fill, I keep clicking and changing but the same result. 
Where am I going wrong please.
thanks

You have to make sure that the text is highlighted to make the changes, otherwise, PSP might not know it is to apply on the current text, and think it is for the next one. Did you try that?

[Linda]

7 minutes ago, Cassel said:

You have to make sure that the text is highlighted to make the changes, otherwise, PSP might not know it is to apply on the current text, and think it is for the next one. Did you try that?

It was highlighted, the colour changed on the outline but did not fill. I will go back through it later and slower. 

[Ann Seeber]

LESSON 4 - FOG - I hunted up 3 photos on Unsplash to illustrate Carl Sandburg's poem "FOG". The stars are from my new kit. The colors are from my kit's palette. The cat footprints were from a free site that Google found. I was pleased that I got the text on a path to work properly the first time! 

[Donna Sillia]

12 hours ago, Cassel said:

@Bonnie Ballentine Oh, I thought you were looking for something for the inside.

@Rene Marker Sometimes, a change in style is what is needed for a punch, and your layout does just that! That is a fun way to display a score with a photo of the monitor!

@MoniqueN. With recent versions of PSP, you can have individual picture tubes on separate layers. Depending on the number of elements you want to shadow, you can do that. Another option is to use a picture tube that might already have a slight shadow integrated. Some do, but others don't. That Romantisch layout is so elegant!

@Donna Sillia If you add more shadows, it will make everything POP! Discovering tools and commands accidentally is always a nice surprise!

@Linda Hitt I hope you didn't panic when your text disappeared!! It is a common situation that surprises a lot of users!

@nadine Beautiful page, and you are really customizing it to suit your photos and your stories! Great work.

@Pirkko Seppälä That cat makes me smile! Such a pose!

@Julie Magerka You know that you have to highlight the text for the color/font/size change to take effect, right?  I hope it will start behaving for you soon!

@Susan Ewart That is a fun memory to share with that camera!

@Ann Seeber Those papers of yours look great together in that page. It is a good practice to see our kit content "in action".

@Gerry Landreth I love how many ways you used for the Unicorn title!

@Anja Pelzer Such a delicate page!! 

@Corrie Kinkel Those little checkboxes can get someone to scratch their head!!! Glad you caught it.

@Marie-Claire Handsome cat. Do you bring Poncho too when you are "cat sitting"?

@Sue Thomas I didn't know we had antelopes in Canada! I learned something today!

@Louyse Toupin Beautiful page. Although I don't usually recommend adding shadows to journaling, in your case, you can possibly add a little bit because parts of the background paper is the same color as the text so it would add a little definition. Just an idea.

@Linda J Walker A floating selection might be used if you want to cutout part of an image in the shape of text. You can also want to have only a selection to apply an effect (greyscale/colorize, etc.). Maybe I'll do a tutorial or an article on that! Sometimes, those settings get changed when our mouse is "dropped", or something like that and it clicks unwantedly.

Keep those layouts coming and keep inspiring everyone else. It is so pleasant to scroll through those pages!

 

I always have problems with using shadows even though I try to save the settings I use in workshops. I will review the shadows workshops again and maybe something will sink in.

[Hank Sobah]

Day 3 Titles Class - stagnant mind day, couldn't really think of anything special so I just played around.

[Rene Marker]

Day 4. I'm glad I finally figured out how to do this. I played with the different vector ways to do it to make sure I got it down. However, when using one of the preset filled-in arrow shapes the text wanted to go on the inside (black of the arrow) not around the outside. Curious if that is how it is supposed to be because it didn't look nice at all. I'm not sure I'll use this much but at least I know how to use it.

Another one of my Trine football layouts. Again used the Sporty Football kit from Kristin Aagard and a template from Scrapping With Liz in the Recyclables 75 kit. Both available at The Lily Pad.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Rene Marker

[MoniqueN.]

1 hour ago, Donna Sillia said:

I always have problems with using shadows even though I try to save the settings I use in workshops. I will review the shadows workshops again and maybe something will sink in.

I have the same problem. Yesterday I put a piece of paper on my windowsill and looked how the sahdow was and later on with thicker paper. If you see it "real" it looks like you understand the shadows better.

I even saved some shadows from workshops as a preset but with some projects it's still not looks ok, too much, too little, to dark etc ?

[Rene Marker]

27 minutes ago, MoniqueN. said:

I have the same problem. Yesterday I put a piece of paper on my windowsill and looked how the sahdow was and later on with thicker paper. If you see it "real" it looks like you understand the shadows better.

I even saved some shadows from workshops as a preset but with some projects it's still not looks ok, too much, too little, to dark etc ?

I have 24 drop shadow presets that I use. But even with the presets I will tweak them before applying them. Pretty much they are a starting point in my process. Some are my go to shadows to use all the time. Others get me close to the settings I might want. For example one of them were settings that Carole has recommended for strings. I made the preset then use it on a string but quite often might make slight adjustments for what I'm working on. The thing is that I don't have to remember the settings for all the various things. The preset can get me close to what I need.

[Cassel]

@Rene Marker If you are using a recent version of PSP, and you click ON a vector shape, it will think that you are trying to wrap the text inside. If you click OUTSIDE of the shape, they it won't. If you want the text on the edge, it is a little... on the fence. So you have to be careful in noticing the cursor change: when it tries to wrap, it will look like this [T] but if it will follow the path, it will have a curve on the bottom right of the T.

[Linda Hitt]

Day 4 project.  I used Carole's layout with a few minor changes.  Wings are from Marisa Lerin's Birdhouse In My Soul Kit.  The background is from Marisa's Garden Party Paper Kit.  The photos are compliments of my oldest daughter who is learning photography.

[Susan Ewart]

2 hours ago, Ann Seeber said:

LESSON 4 - FOG - I hunted up 3 photos on Unsplash to illustrate Carl Sandburg's poem "FOG". The stars are from my new kit. The colors are from my kit's palette. The cat footprints were from a free site that Google found. I was pleased that I got the text on a path to work properly the first time! 

Wow Ann!  This is fabulous.  The quote is purr-fect!  Those photo's are really give the layout a great atmosphere.  

 

[Susan Ewart]

15 minutes ago, Linda Hitt said:

Day 4 project.  I used Carole's layout with a few minor changes.  Wings are from Marisa Lerin's Birdhouse In My Soul Kit.  The background is from Marisa's Garden Party Paper Kit.  The photos are compliments of my oldest daughter who is learning photography.

BEAUTIFUL images!  Your daughter is a natural.  You will have loads of images to come I hope.  

[Susan Ewart]

32 minutes ago, Rene Marker said:

I have 24 drop shadow presets that I use. But even with the presets I will tweak them before applying them. Pretty much they are a starting point in my process. Some are my go to shadows to use all the time. Others get me close to the settings I might want. For example one of them were settings that Carole has recommended for strings. I made the preset then use it on a string but quite often might make slight adjustments for what I'm working on. The thing is that I don't have to remember the settings for all the various things. The preset can get me close to what I need.

Great advice, thank you.  

[Rene Marker]

39 minutes ago, Cassel said:

@Rene Marker If you are using a recent version of PSP, and you click ON a vector shape, it will think that you are trying to wrap the text inside. If you click OUTSIDE of the shape, they it won't. If you want the text on the edge, it is a little... on the fence. So you have to be careful in noticing the cursor change: when it tries to wrap, it will look like this [T] but if it will follow the path, it will have a curve on the bottom right of the T.

I was trying to click on the outside of the shape but couldn't get the [T] cursor. I was using 2023 which is still giving me problems at times. Just tried it again and it took 4 tries before I got it where it needed to be. 

[Cassel]

4 minutes ago, Rene Marker said:

I was trying to click on the outside of the shape but couldn't get the [T] cursor. I was using 2023 which is still giving me problems at times. Just tried it again and it took 4 tries before I got it where it needed to be. 

That is why the Fit text to path can be a good way to go!

[Rene Marker]

1 minute ago, Cassel said:

That is why the Fit text to path can be a good way to go!

My brain can't handle that just yet!!! How to use paths has always eluded me. LOL