A Happy Distraction

Half-Off All Template Sets at ACOT

AHappyDistraction — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:41:29 +0000

Whaaa? Yup, I’m offering all 15 of my template sets for 50 percent off the regular price, making them $1.50 each. Each set contains 4 templates in PSD format. (PNG templates are also available upon request for Digital Image Pro.)

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Oops! I made too many . . .

AHappyDistraction — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:48:47 +0000

You know I just finished up two sets of WordArt. One is Spring Sprung and the other is Rain or Shine, and I think they are really awesome. You know I guess it’s been too long since I’ve done WordArt, because I couldn’t remember how many files I usually put in a set. Doh! I normally put in 7 files, but both of these sets contain 8 files instead. I should have known when those previews were giving me so much trouble. But that’s okay, that just means you get a little bonus file in each set. Plus, did I mention that through the end of the week, all my WordArt sets are 25% off – making them $2.25 each.

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25% off WordArt sets

AHappyDistraction — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:26:43 +0000

Don’t you love WordArt? Well, I do. It can just add so much to a page, quickly and easily. I have several sets in the store right now on topics that range from creativity to love to relaxation. And from now through Feb. 26 all sets are 25% off, making each one $2.25. What a great time to stock up on some great WordArt. See them all here!

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Ready or not?

AHappyDistraction — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:05:25 +0000

Please, please let spring be literally just around the corner. I’m so tired of winter. I had no idea it could snow so much in TN. Seriously, where did all that come from. The other day it was snowing like mad, hitting the ground and melting. Well, it was 55 degrees here today so let’s keep our fingers crossed that we’ll see a little spring soon.

In the meantime, maybe this one will get you in the mood for spring, even if it is an early spring. Bit of Spring features the colors of spring offset a bit by a little winter gray. Just right for those early spring/late winter moments. It includes 5 patterns (2 of which are recolored for a total of 7) and 4 solids; a glitter spill; a frog, butterfly, flying but, bird, and umbrella; sunshine and clouds; and lots more. See it all by clicking HERE.

Want just the elements or the papers. Those are also available separately.

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Eye Candy

AHappyDistraction — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:25:51 +0000

What’ve I been up to lately. Well, besides sewing and designing, I actually have been scrapping. See the results below. To see my full gallery click HERE.

[[Show as slideshow]]

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Correcting a Color Cast

AHappyDistraction — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:55:07 +0000

Sometimes I’m lazy. You know what I mean. Right? You know that little white balance button on my camera? Well I don’t really like to push it unless I absolutely need to (which by the way doesn’t really ever happen.) So anyway, I have the nasty habit of thinking, ‘hey, I can always correct it in Photoshop. No prob. Well a while back, I invented a way to correct color casts in photos. (OK, OK, maybe ‘invent’ isn’t quite the right word. Maybe ‘discovered’ or ‘learned’ might be better words. I don’t remember where I learned it though. So here’s a do-over, just for you.) So here ya go, a little tut on correcting color casts easily. Note: This works best with a photo that is properly exposed or corrected with the levels or curves too.

Here’s the picture we are starting with. You can see the slight yellow cast that often happens when photographing under tungsten lights.

So the first thing to do, is to create an adjustment layer for ‘levels.’ Here’s my levels dialouge for the photo above. See the little eyedroppers in the bottom right corner. The first is to set the black point, the second is to set the gray point and the last is to set the white point. For our purposes, let’s double-click the middle eye-dropper tool.

This will allow you to select a target mid-tone color. So what you need to do is find an area in the photo that is supposed to be white. But first, in the dialogue box, put the cursor in the R(ed) section by RGB.

Now you need to click the area that is supposed to be white. Now, this is important, after you click the area don’t move that little eye-dropper AT ALL. Take your hand off the mouse or drop your tablet stylus. I know it’s tough, but you’ve got to trust me here. K? BTW, I have found that it is really easiest to use a mouse for this or the touchpad of a laptop, but it’s very difficult to keep the cursor from moving with a tablet stylus.

Ok, remember under the RGB section of the color selector. Under R(ed), there will be a number. You need to change both the G(reen) and B(blue) sections to match the R number. Because you can’t use your mouse, you’ll need to use the tab key to advance to the next input box. You can see that my numbers all say 160. When you’ve finished inputting numbers, hit the ‘enter’ key.

Now, without, moving the eyedropper tool, click the mouse over the exact same area again. You should see an instant change. Here are both version of my photo, before and after. Cool huh?

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waiting for the weather

AHappyDistraction — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:10:31 +0000

Well, we’ve all heard about it – this impending severe weather that is supposed to hit anytime now. I keep peeking out the window for the first flakes. Let me make this clear – I really dislike snow and I really really dislike ice. I’m a homebody by nature but I hate the idea that I can’t go out if I want to, ya know. Nothing like ice and snow to bring on the cabin fever. Of course, this will be a rather uneventful day. The boys are both up. Trevor is playing Wii Sports and Michael is getting into things he shouldn’t. Today is probably a good day to clean the house – all except the floors. No point in that, because once the ice and snow arrive, the day will be a never-ending cycle of putting on boots, playing in the snow, wiping up mud, repeat. But the rest of the house could use the once over. And I feel like sewing but there is something awful burned on to the bottom of my iron and I can’t get it off. I wonder if Easy-Off will remove it. Hmmm.

On another note, I’ve been busy making WordArt. I think it’s my unnatural love of typography that makes wordart so enjoyable for me. (It’s funny, because sometimes I’ll see an ad or a commercial and I’ll say out loud what the font is and my husband will look at me like I’ve lost my marbles and of course, I have, but that has nothing to do with typograpy, does it.) So anyway, here’s a little more WordArt, Love & Marriage available now at A Cherry on Top!

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It’s about time . . .

AHappyDistraction — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:01:13 +0000

Okay, I debated when to make this kit available, but since I half-way announced it last week I thought now would be a great time. Plenty of time for folks to make valentine cards and super cute layouts. So here we go, Sweet Thing by yours truly. This one is truly packed with goodies, that would really be great for any occasion. Only at ACOT.

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New WordArt and more to come

AHappyDistraction — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:37:19 +0000

I forgot how much fun WordArt was to make. So anyway, here’s the latest, That’s Amore, a collection just right for Valentine’s Day, Weddings, Engagement and all those romantic moments. This one includes 7 files. Each file includes a shadowed version as well as an unshadowed version.

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Hey Sweet Thing

AHappyDistraction — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:32:40 +0000

Okay, so I had this color scheme in mind for a while – I wanted something just a little funky for Valentine’s Day. Then I kind of mucked around a while trying to figure out what to put in it – that’s how I work, I usually need a “plan.” But this time around I ended up just going with whatever was in my head and voila! I think it worked out pretty well. Don’t you? (No, I’m not fishing for compliments.) And hey there is so much in this that I needed 2 previews for it. Seriously that’s a lot. Lets see . . . holy cow . . . there are 26 unique elements in there and that doesn’t even count the variations on items like buttons and brads. So yep, if you have something in mind for the Day of Love, you’ll probably find it in Sweet Thing available very soon at A Cherry on Top.

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