KayDesignZ.com BLOG

Tutorial: Creating Custom Brushes for Digital Scrapbooking

2009-11-18T14:57:00.060-05:00

Achieve great effects by turning artwork into your own custom brushes. They are so easy! This tutorial features Paint Shop Pro 9, but at the end you will find links to tutorials in other graphics programs.

I'm using an image from my Snowflake PNGs for Brushes & Tubes element set, which you can find at the "Christmas Items" link in my shop at KayDesignZ.com. All items are just .99 cents through December 31, 2009!

To convert your image to a brush tip in PSP, choose File > Export > Custom Brush. The "Create Brush Tip" dialog will open (click on the image below to enlarge). Enter the "Name" for your brush (it's a good idea to include the designer's name for future reference and correct attribution). Then set the default "Step," which dictates the spacing between brush impressions when you move the brush (this can be changed later). If you don't select the "Save Variance" checkbox, no brush variance settings are saved with the brush. You can customize these each time you use the brush. If you choose to save variance settings, you can choose whether or not to load them when you use the brush. See the links at the end of this tutorial for variance settings.

Click "OK" to save your brush, and it will appear in the brush tip drop-list on the Tool Options palette of brush-type tools. Let's try it!

Open up a new file and fill it with color. I've chosen blue. Select "Paint Brush" and the brush that you just saved from the drop down menu of brushes. Now you can play around with sizes, colors, and layer properties. I chose the same blue as the background, but I chose to "Dodge" the layers to achieve this effect. Have fun!

For more information, check out some great tutorials at the Digital Scrapbook Place. They have several brush tutorials including: Brushes: Brushes (Beginner) [PS]; Brushes Palette [PS] [PSP]; Brushes, Installing [PS]; Circle Dot Brush [PSE 2 & 3]; Paths to Make a Dot Brush [PS]; PNGs to Brushes [PS]; Saving Brushes [PSP]. Also see Emma Powell's Tutorial: Paint Shop Pro Brush Variance Palette. A quick search of the internet will yield you many more results.

Free Halloween Digital Scrapbooking Kit

2009-11-03T03:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween with this free digital scrapbooking kit from KayDesignZ.com. It contains a haunted house, a full moon, a bat, a spider, a web, a dead tree, an iron fence, a black cat, 3 pieces of wordart, and 1 paper. To get this and other freebies, join here. It's free too! All you need is a valid email address to get your password. No spam - I promise!

All Americana Digital Scrapbooking Kit

2009-06-20T18:10:00.006-04:00

I finished my All Americana kit just in time for the 4th of July! Be sure to check it out. Here's a larger view. I've been BUSY, and I'll be loading several new kits over the next few weeks. Keep checking back! I also just joined FACEBOOK. I created an album just for y'all, so you can post any layouts that you create with my kits. I'd love for you to be a fan, so please visit me on FACEBOOK anytime. :) -k

Halloween Freebie for Digital Scrapbooking

2008-10-31T02:18:00.007-04:00

Happy Halloween with this word art freebie for digital scrapbooking--shown against one of my "Boo to You" kit papers. It's available with a free membership. This goulish word art coordinates with my "Boo To You" digital scrapbooking kit for Halloween, which you can see here. See all of my digital kits here. Don't forget that you can access all of my freebies when you sign up for a FREE membership here. Thanks for looking! :) -k

Halloween Digital Scrapbooking Kit

2008-10-29T14:33:00.007-04:00

My Maltese puppy, Mookie, says "Happy Halloween!" Be sure to check out my new "Boo To You" digital scrapbooking kit for Halloween. It's only $1.99.

Here's a larger view, and here's a layout using the kit.

Don't forget that you can access all of my freebies when you sign up for a FREE membership here. Thanks for looking! :) -k

Mother's Day Digital Scrapbooking Freebie

2008-05-10T13:01:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day with this word art freebie for digital scrapbooking. This playful word art coordinates with my "Queen for a Day" digital scrapbooking kit. Here's a larger view. See all of my digital kits here.

Don't forget that you can access all of my freebies when you sign up for a FREE membership here. Thanks for looking! :) -k

Mother's Day Digital Scrapbooking Kit

2008-05-09T18:24:00.002-04:00

Check out my new Mother's Day digital scrapbooking kit, "Queen for a Day." Here's a larger view.

Don't forget that you can access all of my freebies when you sign up for a FREE membership here. Have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

Mother's Day Quickie

2008-05-02T05:25:00.005-04:00

A Mother's Day quickie for you from my Touch of Spring Pressed Flowers. The alpha is a new one that I'm working on called "Doodle Crazy." See a larger view here. To access this and other freebies, sign up for a FREE membership here. Have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

A Touch of Spring for Digital Scrapbooking

2008-04-25T02:54:00.005-04:00

A layer of yellow pollen dust covers everything, but I don't care. Spring has sprung, and I'm so happy to see flowers, that I snitched a few and pressed them for you! Dogwood blossoms, azalea, daffodil, and phlox--I hope you enjoy this little bit of the South. See a larger view here.
To access this and other freebies, sign up for a FREE membership here. Have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

Environmental, Earth Day Freebie for Digital Scrapbooking

2008-04-11T05:15:00.005-04:00

A Friday freebie for the environmentally aware this week. To access this and other freebies, sign up for a FREE membership here. These doodles and word art can be used for both print and web. See a larger view here. Have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

Sweet Boy Freebie Quickie Page for Digital Scrapbooking

2008-04-04T05:18:00.002-04:00

A Friday freebie for boys this week. To access this and other freebies, sign up for a FREE membership here. This is a cute quickie for a 2x3" photo. See a larger view here. Just as with the girl version, it was created from my Be Mine Forever Alpha and elements from my pending Spring Fling kit.
Design Tip: Don't be put off by the fact that it's an 8x8" page if you're a 12x12" scrapper. Use the opportunity to embellish the page with a 12x12" paper that you already have. See an example here. You can add bows and other elements too--digital or traditional. Use your imagination, and have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

How to Buy Famous Trees

2008-04-01T03:29:00.008-04:00

Want a Sycamore tree that's been to the moon? Maybe a baby from the Elvis Southern Magnolia at Graceland? How about a descendent from the Honey Locust where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address? Authentic, direct descendents of these and other famous trees are available from the American Forests Historic Tree Program.

Earth Day and Arbor Day are this month, and you can celebrate both by planting a tree. So do the planet (and yourself) a favor by planting a tree--even if it's not famous!

Check out my new Garden Riot Doodlebugs & Flowers in the Elements Section. It coordinates with my Garden Riot Alpha and Topper. Spring has sprung! :) -k

Sweet Freebie for 2x3 Photo

2008-03-28T18:54:00.008-04:00

Time for another Friday freebie! To access this freebie and the other March Madness freebies, sign up for a FREE membership here. This is a cute quickie for a 2x3" photo. See a larger view here. It was created from my Be Mine Forever Alpha and elements from my pending Spring Fling kit. There just aren't enough hours in the day! Have a GREAT weekend! :) -k

Friday Freebie Easter Special Eggstravaganza Membership Giveaway

2008-03-14T15:56:00.008-04:00

Happy, happy, happy Friday!! Until the end of March, I'm running a March Madness Membership Special. If you sign up for a free membership, you get my Just Hatched Easter Mini Kit, 2-12x12 quickie pages, a 12x12 swirled-edge PNG, the "Bunny" Bag that's usually only available with a purchase, and this Easter photo card. Free, free, free!

Here's a link to show you what you'll get: MarchMadness

So sign up now--all I require is your name and email address. Offer ends March 31st. Have a great weekend! -k

Vintage Easter Stamps

2008-03-12T17:00:00.003-04:00

For those who like vintage, here are some cute Easter chick stamps in a Victorian style. I'll also be uploading a new topper later today, which was done in my Jelly Beans alpha. It's called "Belly Fulla Jelly Beans." :) -k

Hoppy Paisley Easter Digital Scrapbooking Kit

2008-03-10T17:04:00.006-04:00

My digital scrapbooking kit for Easter is now available. Check it out! :) -k

Friday Freebie: St. Patrick's Day Sparkle

2008-03-07T03:16:00.005-05:00

Wow. This week really went by fast. Here's a little sparkle for you. To download this St. Patrick's Day gif, just right click and "save as."

Here's a sneak peek at the Easter digital kit that I'm working on. Done in shades of green, blue, pink, and purple, the papers are paisley, solid, and polkadot.

I think it will be a fun kit, and it should be versatile enough so that you can go staid or a little crazy with it. I should have it finished by Monday. Have a great weekend. :) -k

PSP Tutorial: How to Leave 'em Hanging, or “Faux Effects for Digital Scrapbooking”

2008-03-06T16:07:00.017-05:00

For lack of a better term, I’m going to call this technique “layering.” If you can think of something better, let me know, but it’s almost 4:00, and that’s when I go brain dead!
I’ll use some elements from my “Kiss Me I’m Irish” St. Patrick’s Day kit. Layer the elements as you want them in your layout. The element that you are going to “erase” should be on top. Select the element. Here, I’m going to use the ring, because it is the easiest one to erase, although you could use the tag and the S.

Select the eraser tool, and adjust the size so that it is slightly smaller than the area that you want to erase.

You can (and probably should) zoom in so that you can really see the detail. I’m working here at 300%, because I’m old and blind. Begin erasing the first element. You could erase the left or the right here, but I chose the left because I will be erasing the right on the S, and I think it’s a little more interesting to do the opposite–your choice.

Continue erasing the ring until it’s “threaded through” the hole. Voila! You are half done.

Now for the S. Start erasing the ring on the side of your choice.

And continue until the ring is “hanging on” the S.

Add some shadows, and you’re done!

Pretty easy, huh? See you tomorrow for Friday Freebie! I’ll also give you a sneak peak at my “Hoppy Easter” digital scrapbooking kit. :) -k

“Kiss Me I’m Irish” Digital Kit for Scrapbooking St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-03T02:35:00.008-05:00

I worked a long weekend to get this ready for you today. I hope you like it! It’s got 11 digital papers, 6 ribbons, 7 Irish-themed vintage graphics, a wordart overlay with 5 Irish sayings, 7 tags and 3 coordinating tag rings, as well as a 26-letter digital alpha in the Celtic tradition with the colors of the Irish flag--including numbers, punctuation, and a few dingbats. Click here to see a layout using the kit. The digital kit is $3.99, and the alpha can be purchased separately for $1.99. There are views of the full contents of the kit in the "Digital Kits" section.

I'll try to post a new tutorial this week that shows you how to “attach” your tags with strings and rings. It’s a technique that you can use in any graphics or scrapbooking program. :) -k

Friday Freebie

2008-02-29T10:32:00.007-05:00

St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, the legend goes, and St. Patrick’s Day is based on this Christian saint's feast day. WHEN it is this year, depends on WHERE you are. The Vatican approved March 15 as the date for St. Patrick’s Day to avoid conflict with Holy Monday, which falls on March 17 this year. The Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York will still be held on March 17. In Atlanta, the 127th St. Patrick’s Parade is March 15. They will parade in Dublin on March 17. In Chicago, the parade will be held on March 15, and the river will be green. Whenever you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, here’s a cute freebie for your St. Patty pages. Download file is a 648KB 300ppi .png file with no shadow or background.

To download the file, click the picture to go to the signup page. Enter your name and email address. That's it! You'll get a password, and then you can enter the Members Area and download the file. You only have to sign up once to get future freebies. If you want to come back to the Blog when you’re done, click on the “Blog” link at the top of the page when you sign out. Have a great weekend! :) -k

Jelly Beans Alpha

2008-02-28T20:06:00.005-05:00

I finished the tie-dyed eggs, and I finished this cute Jelly Beans Alpha ($1.99). It's perfect for Easter but can also be used anytime for a playful layout. :) -k

Tie-dyed Easter Eggs

2008-02-27T15:19:00.007-05:00

Thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the tie-dyed eggs I'm working on, which should be ready tomorrow. I'll probably do a half dozen in vibrant magenta, purple, green, orange, and yellow. I learned some new techniques on this one, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I think I laid an egg! :) -k

Smoking Computer

2008-02-26T08:36:00.004-05:00

I had to take my computer to the Geek Squad yesterday. I've been creating so many graphics that smoke was coming out of its ears! I added 500MB of RAM, and all seems to be well. Now I can get back to cranking out Easter stuff for you. I haven't forgotten about St. Patty's Day--I just don't know what I'm going to do yet, and I've even got a little Irish in me. Not the same as having a little Captain in me, and isn't that a weird commercial? Everyone seems to be looking for a fire hydrant! :) -k

Friday Freebie

2008-02-22T13:03:00.010-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! I’ve decided to give away a little something every Friday. Today, it’s the last gasp of Valentine’s Day with this vintage heart, although I’d be willing to bet that 99 percent of you haven’t scrapped it yet! ;) The safest way I can figure to download freebies is to have you go through my site. Unfortunately, you’ll have to endure the long and tortuous process of becoming a member, which entails giving me all of your most personal details and filling out dozens of forms…not really – you just have to enter your name and email address. That's it! You'll get a password, and then you can enter the Members Area and download the file (about 2MB). Click on the heart to go to the Signup page. If you want to come back here to the Blog when you’re done, click on the “Blog” link at the top of the page when you sign out. Have a great weekend! :) -k

Garden Riot Alpha

2008-02-21T04:14:00.001-05:00

Howdy. I hope y'all are having a good week! I'll be adding a new alpha and topper tomorrow, so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek.

I have to say that this is my favorite alpha so far. It's called "Garden Riot" ($1.99). It also has some cute dingbats like a bunny and decorative numbers. I made a $.99 topper with it, which you can see here.

I've been working on it for a while, and it took several stages (some quite tedious for my poor carpel tunnel), but I think it was worth it. It just makes me happy to look at it. :) -k

Just Hatched!

2008-02-20T08:18:00.001-05:00

Well I definitely got a kit done before Easter! I don't know what happened, but I was suddenly inspired, and I came up with this "Just Hatched Easter Minikit."

See giganto view here.

Other ideas I'm working on are vintage chicks & bunnies stamps, tie-dyed Easter eggs, button chicks, and button eggs. And probably a card as well. Maybe something for an egg hunt? Yep. I just got an idea of what to do. See ya. :) -k

Working on Easter

2008-02-19T06:53:00.001-05:00

Hi all. I'm busy putting together Easter bits for you. Today I added the "Just Hatched Easter Alpha" (1.99) and a topper that I created with it. Before Easter arrives, I should have a full kit. More later. :) -k http://www.kaydesignz.com/

Blinkie Love

2008-02-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I figured out how to add blinkies. Tee hee! Thanks to "Vin Blog*Star 2007" at betabloggerfordummies. And I am dum. Or perhaps just dain bramaged from last week's neural transmitter fireworks in the push to go "live." Yeah, still loopy. :) -k

Survived It

2008-02-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

Finally got my site up. Then I went to bed. Now that I've tamed most of the technical issues, my brain is back on the fun stuff...designing! I'm working on some really cute things for Easter. It's coming early this year. At least it seems early--life is just flashing before my eyes! Does anyone know how I can post blinkies and FREEBIES on this blog? I could look it up, but I'm lazy. No, I'm tired of figuring out the technical stuff, I want to play with my colors! -k

http://www.kaydesignz.com/

Welcome to my BLOG

2008-02-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my BLOG. This is my first post! It should be interesting to read tomorrow as I'm going on about three hours sleep in as many days. My storefront will be up and running tomorrow (I hope), so stop by and check out my goods. I have mostly Valentine's Day items right now, like the Floral Heart Buttons pictured here. It's all digital for scrapbookers and graphic artists. WHAT IS THE DEAL ABOUT THIS DELETE BUTTON? Jeez, I never knew how much I used it until the technical gods took it away. Everybody's messing with me today. :p Anyway, I've got to go and do some tweaking on my site. This has really been a challenging experience (read FUBAR) for me, but I'm getting used it. Come on by and see my stuff!! -k

http://www.kaydesignz.com/