Dearest Google

Dearest Google, You were my go to... I believed in you. You kept all my blog content and you gave me a Reader so I could follow and keep up with the other blogs you so happily provided us with. Now, you are taking my Google Reader away. My trust in you in broken. What will be next... my blog? (everyone's blogs) I can understand your frustration with Google + not taking off. But, please reconsider and let us keep our Google Readers? Yes, of course I can move my content and I will to another reader. But I thought you were my guy. You are my browser, my search engine, email, my everything!! And now you are my disappointment.
Sincerely,
~kimi~

To make up for my whine. I give you a rose. I guess this song applies....
"I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine,
there's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

A Creative Share Site :)

Hi everyone....

I stumbled across this new site. They are trying to create a market place kind of like Etsty but for creative items that were made by a mouse. It should be a fun place to find cool and interesting things.

It is called "Creative Market" handcrafted, mousemade.
New market site where you can sell and buy, fonts, brushes etc, Early members, who join, get some freebies, and if you use this link, I get some credits too :)

Click on the link below to join.
http://creativemarket.com/udvyJDl

If you join... don't forget to click on the freebie tab, and choose some goodies.
The freebies are only available until the site goes public. So if you are interested, you would need to sign up soon. =)

~kimi~

Snowflake Paper

Is there anybody out there?

Hi guys, yep I am still around!! Life just got in the way of my poor neglected blog.
I was looking for a paper to use on our Christmas Cards and couldn't find what I was after, so I made my own.
Then thought.... Let's Share!! :-)

So for everyone that hasn't given up on me, here you go.



Download here
kimi_Snow Paper
Normal Terms Of Use Apply. You May Not Sell It As Your Own.

I miss you all! {hugs}
~kimi~

Art?!

So everyone has their own interpretation of what ART is.
As photographers, we tend to fall into 2 categories. The minimalist. (a person who tends to stay true to his image)
For the sake of discussion, we will call the other... the "non" minimalist. :0)
Now I will gladly say, I am certainly a "non" minimalist!

I wanted to share one of my latest images with you. It is a picture of my daughter Holly. I saw an image by another photographer and wanted to try and capture something close. I love how the image came out. It truly does represent Holly. She is not the smiley happy kid. At 20 she has grown into her own person, she is deep and focused.

I used a simple Gradient Map to change the image to black and white.
I used the spot healing brush to tidy up her face.
I added a texture that had a brownish tone. I duplicated the texture so I had two layers. On the bottom layer I changed the blend mode to softlight. The layer that was above it was left on normal mode and bits of it were masked away using a layer mask.
I wanted the darker side darker, so one side of her face was darken using the burn tool. I had her leaning against a window frame. Truthfully my shutter was slow and I had to sharpen her face to get the image to work.
So.... go forth and look around. Find an image you like and try master the effect. It will push you to new levels.

I give you Holly as Art?!
You decide.....



{hugs to everyone}
~kimi~

A free textrure for you today!

Hi Everyone... Yes, I am still here. My creativity is still alive and well!
Not long ago, hubby and I snuck off for a weekend alone. I of course was playing with the camera on my iphone on one of our walks. So today I share with you one of the images I took. A perfectly good texture.
Taken with my Hipstamatic App. :0)




You can download HERE. Enjoy!!
One of the things I have been doing lately with my textures is this. Select a midtone color from the texture with your eye dropper tool. Select a soft brush and reduce the opacity of the texture a bit to see your subject underneath. (do this while you are still in normal mode) Paint directly on the texture with the selected color. This will keep the texture tone but get rid of the grungy bits on your focal point. Raise your opacity back up and finish the brushing. Now change your blend mode to soft light.
Easy Peazy!!

{hugs to everyone}
~kimi~

P. S. I did not include a TOU but you know the drill. Don't sell it as your own.

Pointing you to some freebies

A couple of wonderful finds that I have come across recently.
I am loving it more than I can say... Coffee Shops Velvet Cream Action.
I find myself using it on almost every image lately. So easy to tweak to your liking!
Dig around on her site. Add her to your Google Reader!! A Must!
Another wonderful share is Jessica Drossin's free Autumn texture.

I have a friend that loaned me his 200mm macro lens yesterday to play with.
Here is one of the first images I have taken with it.


I used the Coffee Shop Velvet Cream Action and added Jessica's texture.
Run and get them now. And... don't forget to leave them a Thank You!

~kimi~

I'm still here!

Hi everyone!!!
Yes, I am still alive. LOL!!
Don't you just hate it when life gets in the way. I had to take on a second job and my time has been so very limited. Please know... I miss you all. (heart hug)
I had to do something for myself. I was starting to feel so very unhappy. I decided it was up to me to find my bliss. I went searching and Jessica was offering a new class. Just what I needed!! sigh... No, I am still not finished with all of the lessons but I had such a great time and learned so very much. Anyway, I was inspired to create a few papers and of course I had to share.
So I have for you today... 3 damask papers. Here is a sample.


Click here to download. Enjoy!

And since my camera also keeps me sane, I have to share of few of my latest images...







I promise to check back in soon!
~kimi~

Applying textures to your images

I have had lots of people lately still asking about applying textures to their images.
So I give you a video tutorial. =)

Now, I went pretty fast because I knew it was going to be a large video, so watch it a couple of times if you get lost. All of the textures came from Shadowhouse Creations
They are all free but make sure you leave Jerry a big thank you!
If you have any question, leave them in the comment section and I will try to answer them. If you want to learn about running a sketch technique on one of your images, check over at the Photoshop Creative Elements forum. Lots of sketch techniques have been posted there in the past. (check it out)



{hugs}
~kimi~

Adding a copyright banner to your picture

Hi Everyone!!!

Well life is getting pretty much back to normal after the wedding.
It took at least a week for my mushy brain to start to return to it's normal functions. LOL!
So, as I look to what my future will be I have a few things in the works.
I have access to a building and I am thinking of opening a Studio. (exciting and scary)
I am also thinking of putting together some Beginner PS Element video classes. I have a site that has agreed to host the classes and it has access to a forum to ask questions and a gallery to post class images. I am just not sure if people would be interested. I would love to know how you learned to edit your images? Are you still learning?
I know, I was lucky enough to find a beginner class when I got my first copy of Elements. If not, I think I would still be fumbling around. I really would love to hear some feedback on this. Opinions, questions, 2 cents???

Now on to the video. I have a friend that sent me an e-mail with a picture attached wanting me to explain to her how to achieve the watermark on the image. So the easiest thing to do was to create a video to explain. I hope you enjoy it!!
EDIT: Rosie was kind enough to share how to make the copyright symbol on a Mac. Option+g

Click on the video to bring you to You-Tube, then look on the bottom right corner, second button over and click on expand. It will make it easier to watch. I thought I recorded bigger than I did. (sorry)



And here are a couple of pictures of Kristen from her Bridal shots.
Photography by Erin Falgout
Thanks so much to everyone for the good wishes!





{hugs}
~kimi~

Before and After Video

I know, I know.... I have neglected my poor blog sinfully!
But anyone that knows me, knows we are on Wedding Countdown.
2 weeks from today, my daughter Kristen will marry the love of her life. So bear with me guys, my crazy life will get back to normal soon.

I have a video for you today. Yes it has been awhile since I posted a video and watching it back, I think I must have said the word "um" at least 100 times. LOL!!!
In the groove, I am not. I know I tend to go too fast and use shortcuts without saying what they are. So if you have questions about something I did. Just post a comment and I will gladly answer. =)

Here is the before shot.


Here is the After image.


Here is the video of the steps I took.


EDIT: I had to change the upload to YouTube, it was too long for Photobucket to handle. It think it plays all the way through now. Let me know if you still have problems.

I miss you guys and hope everyone is well.
Thanks again for being a subscriber!
{{Big Hug}}
~kimi~

Playin with some new actions

I found this great new blog to follow.
Isabelle Lafrance Photography
I added it to my Google reader immediately!! Super great info with actions for both CS and Elements, to purchase and as freebies.
I tried her freebie called... "In the land of fairies" on my image.
The freebie pack can be found here. But don't just go and download, spend some time and browse around. Lots of wonderful information. Oh and remember to leave her some thank you love...

Kristen and Dustin and a bunch of pink balloons


Happy Weekend!
{hugs}
~kimi~

Do you want to improve your creativity?

Today is day one of "Creativity Boot Camp".
I hope to find the time to participate in some of the activities.
It is free and open to anyone!
Check it out! What a wonderful way to start your summer vacation.

Here is my entry for Ivory. One of my Grandmother's old plates.
It has such wonderful memories for me. You can see she loved it dearly.
It was well used and now sits on display in my living room.
I miss her...


Here is the Flickr site where some of the other entries or posted.

~kimi~

What's Your Play - no. 95

Working one of Dolcepics. You can go here to see the original.
This is open to anyone, so go ahead and give it a try.
Remember... there is NO right or wrong. Just your own creativity!

Here is my play.


I loved the vintage feel of the image. I added in an image of Kristen, moved the frame down and straightened it.
Happy Saturday.
~kimi~

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing hugs and kisses to everyone this Mother's Day.



~kimi~

How to install a font.

A quick video to help you install extra fonts into your computer.
You can find some free ones here at dafonts.com
Enjoy!



I know... the zoom went a little crazy. I forgot to turn that part off before I started recording. Sorry!
Post any questions you might have in the comment section.
Happy Mother's Day!
~kimi~

Do you want your images to look better?

Boy I sure do miss you guys. Work has gotten so busy and the wedding planning is in full force. We are only 3 months and 2 weeks away. Yesterday they booked their honeymoon and I am told, did the happy dance. =)

I belong to quite a few forums on the web. They all offer something different an unique. It is hard to say which one I enjoy the most or get the most out of but....
If you like to take pictures and want to improve your technique and style by getting info from professionals, yes professionals. I want to invite you to come and join the Phaunt forum. This used to be a private forum and as of today is open to anyone. You MUST use your real name when you register and post in the new section. Someone will come along and give you permission to get in. I can't begin to express how much I have learned there. So I invite you to come on over and expand you horizons. You won't be sorry. Yes, beginners are welcome.
Phaunt forum.

On a different note. I have found a new blog to follow that I really enjoy. I would also like to share that with you. It is called. It's Times Like These It is written by Johnna. Add this one to your reader, it is a must. Today she has free actions. Remember to tell her thank you. Everyone likes a thank you. :-)

Today, I give you Spring...


Happy Weekend!
~kimi~

I just don't get it?

A Rant for today...
OK, my life has become totally overwhelmed and engrossed with wedding details. I have spent loads of time finding wedding photographers and wedding info on blogs, then adding them to my Google reader. I then wait happily for them to post something daily. For hints of things I am forgetting to do, things I don't even know I am forgetting. Truthfully, they have been loads of help!! The internet really is a wonderful place. I read about wedding stuff (Weddings are all about stuff) and drool over some fantastic images. BUT... why the heck do so many of the high end photographers continually take engagement session images of couples with mad faces. Isn't this supposed to be the most wonderful time of their life? Scowling engagement images, what the heck am I missing here? Is this what they want to share with the family? Look back on and remember? I would love for someone to enlighten me. Maybe I am just stuck in Kristen and Dustin land. They cannot be together and not smile, it's an impossibility. Even if it meant scowling would save the world from coming to an end. They glow, they giggle, they HAVE to touch each other. Holly, the loyal sister, lovely maid of honor... makes gagging noises. =)

For today's image. I give you the lovely couple. One of the more sedate images from their engagement session. They may not be full out smiling but I dare you to say, they don't glow.



A simple way to have the same processing effect on your images.
Duplicate your image and change to a black and white.
Reduce the opacity of the black and white image until you like the muted tone.
Create a new blank layer above and fill with a soft yellow. Changing the blend mode to softlight.
Now reduce the opacity until you like the color amount.

Happy Thursday.
~kimi~

In case you are wedding crazy also. Here are a few of my favs!
None of these are who I speak of. ;-)
One White Dress
She Walks In Beauty
Snippet & Ink
The Bride's Cafe

Happy Easter!!

We had such Easter fun yesterday. Everyone came together for a big egg dye and hunt.
Kristie and Grace came over, dyed a couple of eggs and then hid the entire bunch for us to find.
We had a great time. Kristen fond the golden egg and won $5. Dustin found the most, he also cracked all but one of his eggs in the dying process. We had to laugh...
It was such fun, I can't wait to play again next year.

Here is my favorite egg.
It is done using food coloring, a damp paper towel and crumpled aluminum foil.


Here is a group shot of some of our dyed eggs. Can you find the golden egg? =)
I love this, It symbolizes our family. Dustin's, New York Yankee's egg, Holly's swirly artistic egg, Kristen's, zig zaggy egg, Mike has the Faberge look alike. Boy, did we laugh at that one. The second green one on the left front is the one Grace designed and the blue rabbit is Kristie's creation. Most of the ones that look like the one above are mine but Dustin got into my effect toward the end. I hope your day was filled with family and lots of colorful smiles.


I have two 12x12 Scrap papers to give away at "The Shop" to Celebrate the holiday. But I am off to plant flowers in the front yard so they probably won't get posted until tomorrow.
So sign up for notifications or check back. I hope everyone had a very blessed day.
~kimi~

have you seen Jerry's weeds??

Jerry at Shadowhouse Creations (AKA, Ghostbones) has been posting the most wonderful weed images using his free textures.
He has also posted an in-depth tut on how he made his "Thistle" image. Certainly a must read!!

Well, it is that time of year again. The yearly dandelion hunt. I drove around a few days ago and there were none to be found close to home. Kristen was kind enough to bring me home two she found today at school. We tried taking shots while she was blowing. Between her blowing too hard and my shutter speed not being fast enough... most were bombs. But here is one before we started.
I was using my 200mm zoomed all the way out to get the most blur out of my background and the smallest aperture number the lens had to offer for the smallest depth of field. And I searched for the perfect green background so the white would have contrast. I also focused on the weed and held down my focus lock button so the focus wouldn't change while I shot on continuous. Always good to add a little planning to your images before you start. =)




A little about the processing.
I started in LR. I used Matt K. preset "vintage New York 1 on the image before opening in CS3.
Then I added two of Jerry's textures. (Ghost 5 & A Painted 2, both blend modes changed to softlight)
The texture adds such wonderful depth of field. It seems to attach itself to the background and it gives the illusion that the flower is in the foreground. Granted both of those statements are true but it did not pop like this until the textures where added.

So I bid you to go forth and search out your own dandelions!! Be inspired...
Promise to post my next try. Hopefully I can manage some action next time. Live and learn, right?
Happy Monday!
~kimi~

The "Save the Date" cards.

I know... you are thinking I must have been abducted by aliens. I promise to start doing a better job of keeping up my blog.
Please forgive me?
I wanted to share the kids Save the Date card I designed. It has hit everyone in the family and Kristen said it was fine for me to share. =)

I started with a blank document in a 5x7 format.
Combined some of my textures from Jerry and created the background.
Browsed the web for inspiration and came up with this.
The Polaroid frame is the one that is for sale in my frame set at "The Shop".
The tape is mine also. I came up with most of the design on my own.
I knew we had a dark brown card so when we went out to take engagement photos, I processed the image to go with the theme of the card. I fell in love with the picture the minute I saw it. It is the oozing love image.

So here you go...

FRONT


BACK


I know that sending out Save the Dates is a rather new concept. Some of the older folks really don't have a clue as to what they are. (No, I am not calling anyone older) So, I wanted to make sure I added the words "invitation to follow". Here in our town you can't submit your engagement info to the local newspaper until about 3 weeks before the wedding so this has become the new standard for letting friends and family know about the good news.

I promise to be back soon. I have big things planned!
Happy Wednesday.
~kimi~

Happy Birthday to me, Freebie for you!

Yes, it is that time of year again. Time really does go by too fast.
So to celebrate I have posted a birthday freebie at "The Shop".
And because I have to have an image to go with every post,
Down here in Louisiana, I give you spring...



On my walk yesterday. My neighbors Japanese Magnolia blooming.
I ran the Orton Effect and added a tan colored texture, changing the blend mode to soft light.
pretty huh? =)

Happy Weekend!
~kimi~

Have you tried Wordle?

Jerry at Shadowhouse Creations posted a very cool image today. It was made possible by Wordle. I made one for Kristen and Dustin. I thought we could somehow use it on their thank you cards. All you do is type all of the words you want to use, I typed them in Word. Then you copy and paste into the word area on Wordle and hit go. You can use the randomize button and keep getting different patterns. Scrappers should love this!

Click on the image to get a bigger view.


It is such fun. Go and try it out!
Wordle can be found here

Happy Thursday.
~kimi~

Using Photo Filters

Let's talk about using a photo filter.

You will find this feature in Elements and in Photoshop under your black and white adjustment layer icon in your layers palette. The first thing the human eye goes for in an image is the brightest spot. Normally we want this to be a face or an eye to make our images really stand out. In one of the photos I posted a while back, it had the kids holding a sign that said "Marry Me". I used a small aperture so the kids would be blurry and focused on the sign. This worked ok. But every time I looked at it, my eyes still went to their faces before the sign. So I went in and played with a couple of photo filters. I added sepia, orange and yellow, adjusting the opacity until I liked the effect. Because photo filters fall under an adjustment layer. All I had to do was mask the color off of the sign so it stayed white. I am much happier with the image. Take a look at the new version and go back a few post to look at the original. Do you see it??
Which one do you like?



On a separate note...
I have been getting loads of request for some of the items I have given as freebies in the past.
Today I have posted for sale, all of my damask papers in "The Shop".
Take a look.

Happy Mardi Gras!
~kimi~

A video tip.

Hi Everyone...
I have new recording software that I am trying to learn, so I offer you a video tip.
Thanks to Joanie for letting me know this applies to PSE7 also.
Look for a big announcement coming soon! =)



Have a great weekend.
~kimi~

Shots from today.

Went out today in the cold and did some engagement shots for my daughter Kristen and her fiance Dustin. Did I mention... It was Cold!!!!! They are such a fun couple to be around. You can feel the love oozing out of them. Do you think love really oozes? I swear, it oozes! =) They are both 24 and it is so wonderful to think of the life they have ahead of them. (and of course the grandchildren I will one day be graced with) Here are two of my favorites from the day.

Marry Me


Love!



Let's talk a little about what I did in the processing.
On the top one I changed to a black and white using a gradient map. I duplicated the image, went into the filter menu under Distort and added a diffused glow. Reduced the opacity of the glow layer until it was only around 20% opacity. Added in 2 of Nicole Van's textures for effect.

On the bottom image, which I love, love, love!! It has the oozing love. =)
I changed the image to a black and white using the gradient map again. Added a copy of my color layer on top and reduced the color layers opacity until I liked the look. Then I got teary eyed and knew I was there. Added one of Nicole's textures here also. It is called.. Chic Washed.

Hope you had some Love today.
{hugs}
~kimi~

My tip again...
Do you know that you can use Ctrl + to zoom in on most web pages that you view. Try it on my blog. Ctrl - will zoom out. I do this all of the time. Some blogs fits nicely on my screen and some, I like the fonts and pictures a little larger. It works great when trying to read forums also.

Valentine Quick Page

Just had to share my finished product. I used the quick page offered in my Valentine Package. (posted today at "The Shop") It includes a 4x6 frame that is complete with grunge, texture and it's own built in shadow effect.
I love how the kids hands seem to work perfect!



Thanks for stopping by...
Hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday!
~kimi~

Unnoticed Beauty

Brittney over at the Phaunt forum has started a blog called Unnoticed Beauty. Her goal is to post an image a week regarding the beauty she finds in everyday things. So with that in mind I went out in the cold this morning looking for beauty in my own unnoticed world. I found a frost covered Camellia flower freezing in my front yard.
I give you my version of... winters petals.



I did very little processing. Selectively sharpening just the center. I added the sugar plum fairy texture from my 12 days of Christmas give-away. I changed the textures blend mode to soft light, bumped the yellow up a tad and added a vignette.
So my wish for you is to go out and find the unnoticed beauty in your everyday world.

On a separate note... No, I have not fallin off the face of the earth. LOL!
I am teaching an Beginner Elements class the last 2 weeks of January and I have been working on my lesson plans. Hopefully, I come up with a few goodies to share here. Hope the new year is treating you with lots of love.
~kimi~

A tip before I go. Do you know that you can use Ctrl + to zoom in on most web pages that you view. Try it on my blog. I do this all of the time. Some blogs fits nicely on my screen and some, I like the font a little larger. It works great when trying to read forums also. =)

A funky Christmas texture...

So I saw this really cool image on facebook yesterday morning. A clump of small red Christmas berries. She/He had a lovely fading background and at least one texture added to the image. It blew me away!!! The simplicity of the image, the background, the texture... made that little clump of berries into ART. I wonder how many times a day someone walks by the little clump without ever really looking at the possibilities? I tried and tried to find the image again so I could give that person the recognition they deserve but I can't. :( It is like it vanished into the night.
I knew I had no Christmas berries around my house and I had about 15 minutes free yesterday before I had to leave for work. I knew the tree next to my house had seed pods. So off I went to try and get the same effect. I had been inspired! But... while focusing on my little seed pods, I thought what a lovely background this is making. So with my camera still set to focus on the pods, I moved over so I got just the background. Looks like Christmas lights doesn't it. All it is, is leaves. Possibilities are everywhere!!! It screamed out... I am a texture; shoot me! =)
I added a few other bits to it for some jazz.

So here is my seed pod image before applying my texture.


And here it is with my texture added.


I did mask the texture off of the pods and gave it a soft vignette.
Now neither of these live up to the image of the little red Christmas berries but I found a texture I would not have had. "Possibilities"
It is the "On the 7th day of Christmas" freebie at kimi kreations "The Shop".
Enjoy!

Some info about the shot. I was using my 18-200mm lens. This had become my go to lens when I want a soft blurry background. Zoomed out to 200mm I get this dreamy blur of a background. So try and remember, the longer the lens, the nicer the background. I want to say my aperture was set to 5.6.

Now I am off to look for a small clump of red Christmas berries.
~kimi~

a MUST follow blog!!

Do you have any Ghostbone textures?
Well Jerry has started his own blog called Shadowhouse Creations.
He is posting freebies there and it has a link to all of his textures on flicker.
Go on over and subscribe, this is a site you don't want to miss!!
His creations are truly inspiring. =)

Hope everyone had a great holiday?
See you on Dec. 1st at "The Shop" for the 12 days of Christmas give-away.

Here is one of my latest image with 2 of Jerry's textures applied.


{hugs}
~kimi~

12 days of Christmas freebies

WhoooooHoooooo!!
The shop is going to celebrate the first 12 days of Christmas with a freebie a day!
The freebie will be available for download for 24 hours only, with a new one posted for the next 24 hours.
Those e-mails will go out to participants that have signed up to be notified at "The Shop".
Spread the word!!
So run don't walk and subscribe NOW!! =)
kimi kreations "The Shop"
I won't tell what they are... I want you to be surprised each day.
See you on December 1st.

{{hugs}}
~kimi~

Free Scrapbooking Paper

Hi Everyone.

Thing have been frantic here. We spent the week looking on the internet and going to every store close to us so Kristen could try on wedding dresses. We thought we had plenty of time for this. But she found one she loved that was being discontinued. She had to make sure that was the one she truly wanted. Of course it was the very first one she tried on. It looked so much like her. Young, romantic and beautiful. So that sent us on a dress frenzy. Now that THE wedding dress has been ordered. She is on to bridesmaid colors. This week it is eggplant. A gorgeous dark purple with a hint of magenta in it. That is the color stuck in my head so I made a freebie paper.
It is posted at "The Shop".
I do hope you have subscribed to the shop. I have some really nice goodies planned. I will start sending out subscriber notices to just those that have subscribed there. Some people are here at the blog only to learn, I hate to bother everyone with e-mail notices. So if you visit here because you like me and my freebies. =) Subscribe at the shop or you will start missing out.

Happy Wednesday!
~kimi~

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Hope you have a safe and happy day!


Freebie at kimi kreations The Shop Enjoy! ~kimi~
inspired by Skeletal Mess

Yah, Frame Set in the Shop!

Grand Opening Sale in The Shop!!
The first item went live today. Yippee
A frame set.



I do hope you have subscribed?
Freebie there tomorrow to celebrate!

~kimi~

Let's talk Clipping Mask

After reading Pioneer Woman's Photography post about making an image with rounded corners, I thought I would go over using a clipping mask one more time.
This concept is great because it uses non-destructive editing.

Here is one I made with an image of little Miss G.


I used PW's Lovely & Ethereal and her Seventies action on the image.
I used the rounded rectangle shape and made my shape. Distressed the edges, then saved it as a png file.

From the bottom layer going up....
You will have your background color, lets say white.
Then you add your mask to the next layer up.
Then your image goes on top.

You can clip your image and mask together a couple of ways.
Highlight your image layer. Hold down the alt key and click on the line between the image layer and the mask. Find that difficult? Go to Layer, Group with Previous. (top tool bar)
After your image is clipped, you can move it around or resize it as you like. But you image stays in it's original condition. Hence non-destructive editing. =)

Hope you try making your own!!
If you still need more help. Scroll way down and I have a screen shot. The post was labeled "Freebie time".
{hugs}
~kimi~

A Texture Tutorial

Skeletal Mess (aka Ghostbones) has posted a wonderful tutorial about how he processes his Art. Not at all what I was doing! Do go and give it at try! I just love it when I am learning something new!
Here is the tutorial. The Resting Place
I also just posted it as kimi's Kreative homework #68, so do check in if you get a chance and let's see what the others have come up with. =)

Here is my take on his instructions.


I used the same two suggested textures with the same opacities that he used. I did have to go back and use levels to lighten it after changing my blend mode to multiply. Lastly I used the burn tool and burned around the edges. See how the dark edges make your eyes go inward?

Happy Weekend Everyone!!
~kimi~

Holiday (mini) shoot pricing

Holiday (mini) Session Special

One of a kind photography

30 minute shooting session - $200

8 – 12 images posted in your online gallery for proofing

Your choice of 2 images processed

One 8x10 and three 5x7’s of each image selected

Custom Christmas Card Special

Use one or both of your images on your family Christmas Card

Custom Card Design - $20

Cards printed in a 5x7 size, front and back

Heavy duty card stock; envelopes included

Cards can only be ordered in packs of 25

One pack is $50

Additional images may be purchased at “a la carte” pricing.

Booking Sessions Now!

Contact: Kim Boustany 280-3873 (cell)

kimboustany.com

This offer is good until Nov. 30^th.

Christmas Cards will go on sale in "The Shop" next week.

I also have some papers and a frame set going in.

Two of the cards from last year...

My daughter got engaged!!

We had such a happy day yesterday. My daughter and her boyfriend came by to show off her new engagement ring. Now of course I knew this was coming. They had been talking about it for a while. He called me Monday to let me know Saturday would be the big day. He is a really great guy!! We made plans for all of the family to meet for supper Saturday night and to try and keep it a secret from Kristen. She did have her suspicions but nothing concrete. They had a picnic in the park and he proposed. aawwwwww....

So I give you pictures of the HAPPY couple.
Kristen & Dustin


Love...


Happiness...


Togetherness...


You can see why we now refer to them as the... HAPPY couple!!


They were just sooooo cute. I am not sure which one was more excited. =)
I wish them much love and happiness in the years to come and always.
Boy, time goes by quickly. Yesterday she was just a baby.
(tear, sob) Heck now I need a hug. ;-)

~kimi~

Please excuse this commercial interuption.

Do you want to improve you images?
Do you like to get freebies?
Do you like to participate in Challenges?
Do you like to learn while having fun?

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while. You could not have missed how my images have changed and grown. To be quite honest that happened after I joined The Phaunt forum. I paid the money to join the VIP section right away. Free Actions, Free Templates and more!

Well the site has changed to a totally fee based site. It is only $49 for a yearly membership or $29 for a six month membership. This month there is a $5 off code. 9CB8
If you are looking to change the way you process your images. Or maybe you are thinking of trying to book some work. You MUST join this forum.
The Free Actions and Templates are still there, but now they are for everyone.

So give yourself the gift that keeps on giving..... knowledge.
You deserve it! =)

Now as a thank you for reading my commercial.
Head on over to my Shop for a Free Texture!
kimi kreations, The Shop

Grace as black & white ART

Gosh.... no I haven't forgotten about y'all. =)
I have been busy working on things for the shop.

Our Camera Club is participating in an Art Walk here in town and I went with Grace and took this image today.
I knew what I had in mind and I think it worked out well.
I saw an image on Michelle Blacks blog and was trying to go for the same effect.
The Phaunt Forum is having an "Out of the box" contest this month, they are encouraging us to go out and look at other Photographers work, to get inspired. I was!!
Yes, parts of her face and arm are blown out. But in ART there are no rules. LOL!
I am going to print it tomorrow to see how bad the blown out areas look.
I kind think it lends itself to the feeling of the image.
Edit: my friend Sunny called it (sun-kissed) I think that is a lovely term. :)
I was really trying to achieve something that would evoke emotion.

So take a look and give my some feedback.
Is it good enough for an Art Walk image?



{hugs everyone}
~kimi~

Lets talk about using a Reader.

If you already have a reader. Please disregard most of this post. LOL!

Let me say before I ramble on, these are all my own personal opinions.
First, you should be using Firefox!!! Download Firefox here.
It will import all of you bookmarks from Internet Explorer.
Firefox will let you turn on color management so the images you post and the images you see are more true to life.
To set up color management in Firefox:
FireFox 3 can be colour managed. In other words, it can be made to recognize the different color spaces, i.e: sRGB and AdobeRGB and display them correctly. To set it for color management, in the address bar type about:config and hit enter. This will bring up a host of options that can be set manually. Scroll down to gfx.color_management.enabled. By default it is disabled. To enable it, simply double click it and restart FireFox.
Now you get some kind of dire warning box when you go to make the change. Don't worry. You will be fine.

Once you have Firefox downloaded and your color management turned on lets set up your tabs.
I am going to show you mine. Click here. You can see my Google Reader is set to open automatically in my tabs. I circled it in red.
To add a new tab, go to File, New Tab. Think of the sites you go to the most and do this until you have a tab for all of them.
Unless you add them to your READER. =)

So let's give it a try. Go to file and open a new tab.
Come back here and click on the Post button where is says "Subscribe to reader".
Choose Google. You will need to go through the set up process.
You should now have your Google Reader set on a tab with my blog showing.
Here is a link to what my reader looked like today. Click here.
Those are some of the blogs and sites that I follow. When they have a new post it shows in the reader, after reading the post, I click on the "Mark as read" button and it goes away. You can add to or delete any time you like.
So any site that has a button that says RSS is letting you subscribe through a reader.

Ok, you still with me?
Let's say you have two forums open on a separate tab and your Reader on a tab.
Let's set that up.
Go to Tool, Options and click on the "Main menu".
The first thing it says is STARTUP. Where it says, When Firefox starts choose (My Home Page).
Click on the button that says, Use Current Pages. This will open all of your tabs every time you start Firefox.

That is it! Let me know if you have questions? I will be happy to help.
If you want your tabs in a certain order you can drag them from place to place.
If you have internet e-mail, add a tab for that also.

You don't want to have a reader that you never see. So your reader should be on a tab that opens ever time you open the internet.
If after all of my screaming about how you should use Firefox, you are still using IE. You can do the exact same thing except you don't get the correct color because it offers no color management.
So let me know how you did?

{{hugs}}
~kimi~

Sunny left a comment about the latest version of Firefox and color management.
You can read it here.

The Shop is coming!!

I have been busy working on Christmas card templates and paper packages.
I am in the process of opening a small shop that will cater to limited commercial/personal use products.
It will be strictly off my blog and the links will be sent to you directly within a 24 hour time frame.
All freebies will now be given away at "The Shop"
So take a sneak peak and be one of the first to subscribe by e-mail or to your reader.
You do have a reader don't you? It is such fun! Mine is with Google.

I will admit, it is not much to look at yet but the first thing to go up will be a freebie.
Hope to see you as a subscriber soon. All freebie links will remain up for only 24 hours.
So subscribers will rule!! =)

Here is a peak at the front of one of the cards. I would love some feedback!
Does this appeal to you?



All cards will be in a 5x7 format with a resolution of 300 dpi.
Most will come in a png format for those that want to just pop in a photo and the PSD file.
I am going to try and keep it so you can buy only one card if that is all you need and not the entire package.
The card should run about $12.00
I know that it will be mostly professional photographers that are interested, for client use but I do hope my regulars will find something they like from time to time. ;)
kimi kreations "The Shop"

~kimi~

oh and yes, the birth announcement template will be sold. :-)
As per all the request... I will post tomorrow about how to set up a reader.

Before and After - Old Car

So every month the Camera Club I belong to has a Photo Theme Challenge. This month it is "the wheel".
I tried a few things that totally fell flat. One of the girls on The Phaunt forum posted some images of old cars that she had made into Art for her son's room. They were so cool! You take the inspiration where you can get it!! :-) Now my hubby had been saying that I should go and take pictures of this old car that was rusting out on the side of the road. Today I went. I passed by the car and it had no tires on it. Well, that is ok, our interpretation of the theme is very broad and I could still shoot where the wheel should be. I would give you that car parts name but truthfully, I have no idea what it is called. LOL! When I turned around to park behind it, I found tires. Yippee even better! Actually it had tires in the trunk and the inside of the car was gutted out and there where 3 tires in there also. Anyway, I took a bunch of shots. I know nothing about cars as you can tell, but the side logo said it was a Packard.

Here is my straight out of the camera shot.



Come on now, I couldn't leave the street and power lines showing.
Here is my finished product.



There are tires, that counts for wheels. =)

So I thought I would go over some of the things I did.
First I adjusted two versions of the image. One for the car and one for the trunk.
Then I masked in the lighter version of the trunk so it showed on the car.
I found a cloud image that I took at the beach last month for my sky and started masking away.
If you still don't know how to work a layer mask? Watch the video HERE.
I wanted it to look like it was sitting up on a hill, so then I cloned in some of the trash from the right side to the left side to match. Kinda hides my grass and sky line.
Next I combined all of my layers together using the shortcut. Ctrl, Alt, Shift, E
Now I have a brand new layer with all of my adjustments on it but my original layers are still in tact.
Next I ran a free Lomo action that I have. I wanted to post the link but they have so many now, I am not sure which one is mine. Do a search for free Lomo Actions. If you have Elements some have directions for you to follow.
I reduced the Lomo effect down to 61% opacity.
The grass was too green and overpowering so I opened a hue/sat adjustment layer. I choose Green from the drop down box where it says Master. I reduced the saturation slider and darkened it a bit. This will just effect the green. (love this, do this all the time)
I added two textures from my Nicole Van texture folder. Worked with the opacity of both until I liked the effect.
My tires looked a little dark so I use my dodge tool and lighten them up.
Using the shortcut from before I make a new layer with all my new adjustments.
I thought it was too sharp for an old car image and wanted a different feel.
I have a filter called the buzz simplifier that is no longer available. I ran a very slight buzz.
Do a search for that also. You never know what you might find.
Then I added 2 different vignettes. (maybe I will post that for our next tutorial)
Added a slight curves adjustment and finished!

I think it turned out totally groovy. What do you think?

The car also provided some wonderful texture images. Look for those as the next freebie once we past the 400 subscriber mark. {{hug}}
Hope you are having a Nice Weekend!
~kimi~

Cameron's Birth Announcement

I did a newborn shoot and designed a card to go out for his Birth Announcements.
It has been about 6 weeks so all of his announcements have made it to friends and family and I am not going to spoil any surprises by posting now. He is such a cutie!!
Oh, the baby smell.....

Here is Cameron, he was 6 days old.
The Front



It was designed to be a 5x7 card. This way the back was a large 5x7 photo that filled the card. Perfect for family to frame.
The Back



Of course with him as my model, how could they go wrong.
I am busy booking shoots and working on designing some Christmas Cards.
Hope you have a Happy Thursday!

BTW... we are almost at 400 subscribers. Must be Freebie time? =)
~kimi~

A P.S. The lab I use for printing is White House Custom Color.