Love Story Challenge 2020

[Cassel]

Trish, one possibility is that one command (the merge) is part of an auto-action. For example, if you want to add an effect to a vector layer, you can't and the program will tell you it needs to be converted to a Raster. There is a series of auto-actions that will just DO IT without asking. Maybe that is what happens? Check under File > Preferences > General Program Preferences and click on the Auto actions on the left. You should then see a list of actions that will be done automatically, without asking you first. See if one of them would be related to a Merge command.

[Barbara Hall]

day 6 bokeh background. Rahne the cat often mimicked whatever Teddy the dog was doing. He's staring intently at something, so she has to take a look as well.

 

I just realized I didn't do the background page correctly--I blocked out the original "inspiration" background and just included the dots. Oh well.

 

Added a layer to original background paper.

[Barbara Hall]

Minka: back in the early '50's, there used to be a radio program for children that had "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" as its theme song. I loved that program and can still remember all the words to the song!

 

 

 

Trish: your Tangerine page is stunning-wow!

 

[Minka]

Back at it. I experimented with leaving the bg white ... don't like it as it really faded out the bokeh effect. Maybe I didn't have enough color in them to begin with. Fun to play with though. Was trying to utilize them without making my paper look polka dotted. Guess you have to find a happy medium!

[trish williams]

Thank you Carole, I'll check it out, but I wasnt doing anything I hadnt down a million times before, and use to see those messages pop up, but there  really wasnt a reason for it.  I just seem to keep having so many hiccups with this 2020, I being to wonder going back to 2019,  roll on 2021 LOL.

 

day 6

[Peggy Jentoft]

I have not managed to use a second mask for either the same or for a different photo or photo extract like in the day one template. And on day five I had wondered if I could use the mask of the Dragon and put the gold behind it. But everything kind of fused together.

[trish williams]

last one for today x

 

Font is called Champion

 

 

[Gerry Landreth]

I discovered that my mother has a large collection of old photographs going back to a picture of my father's parents in the late 1890s. A project for another day is to learn more about cleaning them up. The photo I used today has a fold in it that I want to remove.

 

Creating a mask from scratch is an exciting tool for me. Many photos I had wanted to use earlier were close-ups that did not fit neatly into pre-made masks. This technique opens more opportunities.

 

Looking at other posts, I am inspired to expand my font catalog.

 

This picture is of my parents on their wedding day 26 April 1958.

[Cassel]

Peggy, check out this video. It might help with the principle of using two masks.

[Minka]

Gerry ... That is awesome. You are very lucky to have photos going back so far. Even if they do have a crumple or two in them. I like to say they've earned those crumples from being around so long. Sort of like facial wrinkles - I've earned every one of them from life's experiences! LOL I hope someone was smart enough to write on the back of those pictures who everyone is as it's so easy to not know who folks are as time/decades go by. Even grands and great-grands would have a clue if it said on the back.

[Peggy Jentoft]

Im doing something wrong, I can choose the color with the dropper tool but when   shift to the brush tool it reverts to the prior color , obviously im missing a critical step 

[redradar]

Here's my Day 2.  I'm having a little problem with the template.  When I use the eraser brush to try to erase some of the template artifacts, the brush is dark, not erasing.  So I left it the way it was; it still doesn't look as good as I'd like it to, though.

 

 

[Annie Tobin]

Barbara, Gerry, Lynda, Minka, Redradar, Shirley, Shutterpixi, Sue, and Trish ... wow! What delightful pages to peruse over my morning coffee. I would have commented individually but I would have been here all morning and today I have some cooking to do for a family event ... guess I can't play all the time, LOL!

[Shirley]

My day 6.  After my massive debar-col yesterday I have gone fairly easy today. I was having issues defining masks brushes and templates, all of which you can mask with in all sorts of different ways. Then I tried text on a curve, then a frame all of which went wrong. But I am not an easy quitter.  I have decided that there are a million ways of getting results from all the tools so getting any kind of satisfying result is a plus. I did enjoy using the e and b shortcuts today. I have used my wedding photo and created my frame.  My mask is from my psp mask selection.  I thought the colour around the black and white photo would be interesting. I feel I have learnt something new and satisfying today at the same time kept it simple.  Every picture tells a story  Thanks Carole.

[Peggy Jentoft]

this is way more grungy than intended  I originly took the bokeh colors from the picture  but  then went to the negative image with one layer from the original colors as it was just too gaudy. I whad made a different bokeh backgroung for a different picture  first and will probably do that one later . I still have to figure out why my dropper shortcut is not working, I useclipart graffiti from a kit called Carnaval

[Leslie Gifford Cook]

Wow, I still have to refer to  my notes to create a Mask, but with the notes it's getting easier.  I was able to make a 4-object mask this time and used the colours from other Niagara pictures to create the background.  The colours are a little bold, but right now it's all about the process. Hope you like my pics from the Butterfly museum at Niagara Falls.

 

PS I really like the keyboard shortcuts, but I'm not sure I will remember them for long. lol

[redradar]

Thank you so much for your kind words, dear Annie!

[Annie Tobin]

Hello Dear Scrapbook Campus.  Here is my day 6.  The photo is from Unsplash and was taken by Cristian Newman.  Font used is Xiomara.  Thanks for takin a peek!

[Gwen Norris]

I see I am way behind you all, but I will continue on. I am enjoying looking at all the lovey work.

 

This is my try at day 2.

 

 

[Barbara Hall]

Gerry: I've played around with removing creases and wrinkles using the clone tool. I start with the opacity at about 50 and density at 70 or so, take a sample under the crease and then move smoothly upward over a very small piece of the crease. A little at a time, I'm trying to make a more gradual color shift from dark to light, and the clone tool seems the best at doing this. I think it's easier to get rid of creases on clothing than it is on background. Getting larger areas of exactly the same color to look blended and smooth is harder. I worked a little on your picture and got rid of the most obvious creases.

 

Bottom line: Experiment with the clone tool. You may find it helpful in getting rid of lines and creases.

[Gerry Landreth]

Barbara: Thank you for the advice. I had read about the tool some time ago but never got around to working with it. Now that I have discovered the old photos, I will know where to begin. The difference is amazing.

[Cassel]

Barbara, those photos for the Day 5 layout are fun to look at. One suggestion I would like to offer: if you add some feathered (or blurred) edges, it would make the images a little wider with still focussing on the main subjects. That is if your photo has more "space" around the animals. For Day 6, your addition of the other background paper gives a great result!

 

Annie, I think the challenge is possibly because the background of that image you used was mostly one color. Is this possible? Or just because the mask had less fading on the edges? Just thinking out loud. That Bokeh looks like confetti falling over that couple! :)

 

Shirley, it seems like you are getting the hang of masks, even if you don't "love" them. Over time, with all this practice, at least, you won't get intimidated by them. And remember that every "miss" is an opportunity to learn how a tool works (or does not work).

 

Shutterpixi, that Day 6 layout is so simple and delicate. A great way to showcase that photo!

 

Sue, it is interesting how using a simple gradient for the background complements the photo so well. I love your frames and find it so effective when frames are still showing the fading of the mask.

 

Minka, typically, a Bokeh effect would cover most of the background as it is supposed to replicate a photo where various lights are blurred. But then, using dots LIKE Bokeh can also give a different effect. And since Bokeh is replicating blurred lights, it is always associated with a darker background, but then, you can always use the technique for something else. PSP is full of tools to use in many ways.

 

Trish, on that revised layout, you found a very effective way to keep the white details and make them fit perfectly on the page. We will have to look into why you got layers merged when you didn't want. For your Day 6, that is such a great photo you have! Nicely showcased!

 

Gerry, PSP is a great tool to help improve old photos. If you ever choose to upgrade your membership, we have two full-length classes on restoring old photos that you can look into. For this layout of yours, it is showcasing that special photo. I can surely imagine a whole album in the making!

 

Peggy, for the color issue, can you check if the checkbox for All tools, in the Materials palette is checked. It might have been unchecked accidentally.

 

redradar, when you want to soften the edges of a mask, you don't use the Eraser. If you look at the mask, it is made of black and white (and grey), so you would have to "paint" the area in one of those colors. And by adjusting the opacity of the brush, you can really soften the edges to your liking. You can even do that now, if you want to see the result.

 

Leslie, if you don't remember the shortcuts, it is ok. I still have to look for them when I need them. Notice that the shortcuts are always written beside the tool/command. And if you don't need them very often, you might be ok not to remember them. As for the Bokeh, if you were to use a darker background, the dots might end up softening a bit.

 

Gwen, out of curiosity, was the mask just inside the rectangular frame or would it have included the white areas above and below that frame too?

[Annie Tobin]

Here is another for day 6.  Photo again from Unsplash and was taken by Trent Haaland-Ylsjn.  Alpha is Organized Mess by Rose Thorn from Pixel Scrappers.  Thanks for takin a peek!

[trish williams]

Thank you for compliments Carole, I take it you are refering to Hubby and myself on the occasion of my sons second wedding xx thank you xx

 

What is dropper and brush relating too, I see it mentioned Did I miss something xx

[Annie Tobin]

Cassel, you are quite right. The background was all the same colour, so that would have been the issue. The photo, more often than not, determines the techniques required to showcase it. Thanks Cassel!