Goodbye to Summer :( broken butterfly wings

OMgosh friends, I can't believe the summer is gone! And look how long it's been since I last posted! I trust that you have all had a wonderful summer full of fun family times together.

As for me, I've been spending a lot of time with the kids. I taught my nine year old daughter Georgia how to sew, and she'll soon be surpassing me in her sewing skills, I'm sure! My little son Luca (6) has learned how to swim and loves getting dumped by waves at our favorite little beach getaway, down at 89th street Virginia Beach :)

I have a very special freebie for you today from Georgia, who came running inside with this precious little find - real butterfly wings! It was a bit sad to find these wings on the ground like this, and we do wonder what happened to this beautiful butterfly, but the wings left behind are a gift from nature, and so we thought you might like to use them in your designs.

Click on the image to get the larger version, then right click and save to your computer. This is a jpg, so open it in Photoshop and select the white area with the magic wand and a tolerance setting of 1. Go select>inverse and there you have your beautiful wings! You may use these commercially. If you can give a credit to my daughter 'Georgia Gandolfi', that would wonderful.

Photos that Pop? Get in on the Action!

As a designer of digital scrapbook products, I've always felt that the photos we take of our beloved family and friends should always be the central focus of our layouts, not the designs we dress them up in. After all, design trends come and go, but photos are forever.

One way to make your photos really POP is with Photoshop actions.  If you look around at some of the gorgeous photography blogs out there created by avid 'mama-razzi' photographers,  you'll find that a lot of these photographers are using actions or plugins on their digital photos to get incredible results, often with the touch of a button. Let me show you one example (below).

Here is an adorable digital photo of my new nephew, Bondi, that my sister sent me this week from Australia.
I wanted to bring out the magic in the shot, and thanks to actions, I knew I could do this with just a few simple steps in Photoshop.

You can find all kinds of portrait pop actions for free on the internet. It's just a matter of trying them to see what  you like. First, use an action that makes the photo pop (lightens, and works on contrast issues), then use one that has a softening, skin smoothing effect (but don't overdo it here).

Here is the recipe I used for this shot. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust to suit the needs of your photo. If you're not sure about how to load an action or use one, google for tutorials (don't worry, it's really easy).
1. Run 'Color Boost' Action by Shannon Beauford, available for free here: http://www.atncentral.com/image_enhance.htm
2. Run a plugin on from Topaz Labs called Adjust 4 ('portrait smooth' or 'simplify' preset), available from  http://www.topazlabs.com/adjust/ . They are a bit pricey, but they do have a free trial version.
One of my favorite FREE plugins for portrait effects is 'Virtual Photographer' from OptikVerve Labs available at  http://www.optikvervelabs.com/. And of course there is always http://www.deviantart.com/ which has an incredible array of free Photoshop actions (always check their terms of use).

So, now you can get in on a little action and rev up the 'OOooh' factor on your photos
BTW ... isn't he adorable? Totally LOVE that hair!!!

As Seen In: Altered Hearts E-zine

This month's issue of the digital scrapbooking magazine 'Altered Hearts' features an interview with me, PLUS my steampunk brush set is also included as a freebie (personal use version). This is an amazing digital design magazine featuring tips, tricks and all kinds of wonderful resources. You can grab it here for just a few dollars.

As Seen In: Digi Shop Talk

Oohh, it's a little overdue to mention ... but I was the featured designer at DigiShopTalk to kick of 2010! Here is the kit for gold members on the site, and here are some layouts below that I created for the kit.

Freebie: Spring Bird Card

It's Spring here in the USA! I've been enjoying nature walks with my kids and waking up to the chirps of little birdies outside my window :). So in celebration of Spring, here is a little freebie for you - a 4x5 inch greeting card you can customise/print. Click to go to the larger image, then simply right click and save. Personal use only. 

Freebie: Designer Palette

I love collecting vintage children's books, particularly ones from the 1920's.  These books are a wonderful resource for designers, particularly in terms of the inspiration they provide when you are looking to add some vintage charm to your modern digital designs! 

Here is a FREE designer color palette that I created for you from one of the antique books in my collection. You can use this in all your designs both personal and commercial. Just right click and save! 

As Seen In: Somerset Digital Studio

Gypsy Chick is published in the 2010 Spring Edition of the Somerset 'Digital Studio' Magazine!

Digital Studio is a gorgeous magazine featuring 150+ inspirational digital layouts. You can find my layout (pictured below) on page 100 of the magazine. You can purchase the magazine from any Barnes and Noble store, or directly from Stampington.com here.

Like the layout? You can purchase it as a 'Quick Page' from my Gypsy Chick store at ScrapArtist.com here.
Other brushes used in this layout can be found in my store here, here, and here. Thanks to TKWhimsy for use of the 'TKDoodle Font' which you can find at http://www.thedigichick.com/.

© 2010 Gypsy Chick