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Happy New Year!
by Cricket RawlinsDigital Deck Crewmember
I still am having a hard time believing that we are now in the year 2008! I am certain that an entire year has not gone by yet again, has it?
Since my last article here at S.S. Reflections, I have made a big decision in my digital scrapbooking endeavors. I have finally made the jump and have begun to learn Photoshop Elements 4.0. I purchased this software about two years ago, and I will sheepishly admit that I did not take much time to try to learn how to use it. I was under the impression that I could just load it onto my computer and whamm-o, I would be able to just use it! I was so wrong. It has been a long time since I have tried to “study” something to learn it and I suppose I was just lazy. After countless frustrations, I gave up. I had heard about another program, Microsoft’s Digital Image Suite. Having been told that it was very user friendly, and wanting to try my hand at digital scrapbooking and photo editing, I ran to the store and bought it. I will tell you that it was a real lifesaver for me. It was extremely easy to use and I was up and creating digital layouts in no time at all! I have always felt badly though that I did not give PSE a better try and vowed to learn it one day. That day is now! I have spent some time just learning the basics (small baby steps for me is the key) and I’m finding that while PSE is very different than DIS, using DIS has somehow given me an upper hand in learning PSE. I seem to be able to understand things a little easier this time around. That could also be because I have taken the time to read the manual, check out some cool tutorials, and not throw my hands up every time something does not work the first time (that in itself is a major accomplishment for me!). While I still utilize my DIS program, I am pleased that I am learning PSE. Bottom line is that I think both programs are excellent tools for the digital scrapbooker and I will continue to use both of them for my scrapbooking creations.
Beyond just a basic layout, I am focusing most of my learning right now on photo editing. My photography skills leave much to be desired (another area I need to take time to study more), and I figure that until I can sharpen those skills, I will learn how to “fix” my pictures using PSE. I have learned to crop my pictures, resize them, and to convert a photo to black and white. Additionally, I have learned how to add color back to a black and white photo in specific areas, and this proves for some fun pictures to incorporate into either my digital or traditional layouts.
I have a lot more to learn about PSE and I am excited to be sharing my journey with all of you.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Cricket Rawlins
cricketrawlins@ssreflections.com
Digital Deck Crewmember
Reflections Publishing Group, LLC
www.cricketstamps.blogspot.com
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