Nancy

[ktnoon60]

Nancy I like you new additions to your gallery. The layout for your great grandmother is gorgeous. Thats quite a name she had, glad her married name was shorter. Could you imagine spelling that name on the first day of school? Your spring flowers are beautiful, its still brown here flowers are still 2-4 weeks away.

Kt

[NMarti]

Terry
Thanks so much. Yes her name is quite a mouthful. Actually, the name was pronounced 'bixen schitz' . Therefore, you can understand them changing it to Bixon about 10 years after arriving here from Germany.

I'm working on one for my other great-grandmother, Anna Friedricka Henrietta Bodendieck (pronounced 'bone dick' - honest) She went by the name Sadie - nobody knows why. I love family history and those German names.:D My great-grandfather had 5 names!

[Robyn]

Hi Nancy,

That's a great addition to your gallery and the font you have chosen is just perfect for it!

[NMarti]

Thanks Robyn, I fell in love with the CD (A Formal Heritage) when I looked at it on Linda's site. There are some beautiful layouts on it. I ordered it Friday and it was here today - and I didn't even pay for express shipping. They are fast!

[Wendy]

Hi Nancy ...

Oh that is just beautiful ... and so nice to hear that about your family history :)

Wendy

[karen donnybrook]

Nancy, that is beautiful . . . beautiful . . . beautiful (that is an echo) :D

[Pauline]

very nice Nancy. I'm starting to feel like I'm spending more time admiring everyone else's work and not getting any done myself!

I love the cut out in the top corner. The possibilities are there, I just never thought of using the patterns that way! Looks great.

[kevq]

Nancy,
really beautiful!!!
You are tempting me to buy the Heritage CD.
I just love Linda's work.
Kev.

[NMarti]

Thanks to all of you! The layouts are beautiful on the CD. Pauline- that was totally unaltered from the CD other than to add the name and picture. On the heritage site they show other cutouts that are not included on the CD. I can see a great possibility for creating the cutouts and using them as mats but have to figure out how to do it. I think I know but if anyone has any ideas.....:)

[Wendy]

Hi Nancy ...

If you have a link ... and let me know which cut outs you mean then I will see what I can do :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Wendy
Here is the one I really like. I emailed them about why it is not on the CD and they have not answered back.
http://www.heirloomscrapbooks.com/ex/fishertarget.jpg

[Pauline]

Nancy that is nice. I wonder if you could make your own by making selections and cropping? Then you would have to add the drop shadow. I would think that you could make a template?? I'm sure if I tried I would pick the 'hard way' to do it!! Maybe after lunch I will give it a whirl. (there I am making excuses to not learn painter again! :( )

[Wendy]

Hi Nancy ...

I took a look at it ... and I think that it was done using a custom shape. Then the shape rasterised and used to cut out from the main layer ... next it looks as if they have added a slight bevel to the layer. Not too difficult to do ...

Could you send me a pm with your email address :)

Wendy

[Pauline]

Well I just couldn't let this challenge pass even though I just got the mail and my new Bert Monroy book is here!!!!!!! We'll be off to the deck together shortly!!

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/788/cutout2copy7hf.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cutout2copy7hf.jpg)

Yes, you can do it with the shapes tool, but here is what I did since in this case you want this particular shape.

First start with your bottom layer (the dark green) then make another layer on top that you want to cut out from. In my case I used your photo as the very bottom photo and deleted it afterwards, (meaning I had 3 layers). What I did was trace around the cut out to make a selection. I then went to the top layer while the selection was active and hit backspace to delete the selection from the top layer.
Next a simple drop shadow which also causes the drop shadow around the bottom of the top sheet, just like in the case of your original. It was pretty easy. I'm sure you could also do an emboss filter on top also.

Thanks for the challenge Nancy, now I'm off to read my new book. I'll let you know what I think Wendy, but I'm sure I'll love it.

Thanks so much Nancy, I have learned a new technique today because of you!!

[NMarti]

Pauline
Beautiful Job! Wow - you really rose to the challenge.

[Wendy]

I couldn't resist playing with this one either :)

... it was fun to do :)

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1mX0gPehZJBOj0dStN4iHSMkTIDA1

Wendy

[NMarti]

Wendy
That is just beautiful! I like the double cutout. Very pretty!

[Wendy]

Hi Nancy ...

It was fun to do ... :)

Wendy

[Jodi Frye]

Really nice Nancy ! I like this display alot. Don't ya just love that long name ? :)

[Jodi Frye]

I'm such a Shmuck....didn't see Wendy's and Pauline's....so nice ! I'm way behind on this forum again. Anyone know how to make time stop for everyone else ? :rolleyes:

[NMarti]

Jodi
I wish I knew! I need about 12 more hours in the day. I figure I can get at least 6 more if I stop sleeping! :D

Thanks for the compliment - I love the old german names. When I started the genealogy I used to joke that they have five names, put em in a bag, shook it up and the order they drew them out is what you got named. I have 4 ancestors with the same names - each just in different order. :rolleyes:

[virgo1]

Nancy,
That is a beautiful job. My greatgrandmother's name is Jessica Navada Long Warwick. And Sophi is so cute. Aw.:)
Eva;)

[NMarti]

Thanks Eva. My daughter just told me she would like to use the name Amalie someday if she ever has kids. Cool! My second daughter is Caitlyn Christina - named after her.

[Pauline]

Nancy, I'm not fond of puzzles, but when it comes to things in elements, I like a challenge and I couldn't resist. (if I didn't try I would have kept thinking about it.)

Of course Wendy always takes things that one step further and does the double cut out! Looks good Wendy. I didn't even take the time to add a picture. I had to get out on the deck with my book (which I am enjoying). I have saved the file though, so it might crop again in the 'finished' version.

Jodi, I don't believe that there would ever be enough hours in the day for creative/addicted people like us! :D I was tired 20 minutes ago, but here I sit!!

[Wendy]

Hi Pauline ...

So pleased that you are enjoying the book ... we are going into town next week so I am going to go into the shop and take a look at it :)

Once I start playing with images I can't stop ... I only intended to do the cut out, then I though add a little bevel, then why not add an image ... and so it went on (as it usually does :)

Today I really am going to take a break ... I'm going to spend the afternoon batch cooking. Otherwise we may just run out of food !!

Wendy

[Pauline]

:D Okay Wendy, let's see how you do with the afternoon off. :D I hope you don't get the shakes and go into withdrawal!

Even after I was off the computer and after seeing your sample I was thinking. You really could do anything with this cut out design, and get ideas from all kinds of things not just the shapes that are in elements. I hve a tablet, I could trace around any object I find and make my own. It does create a beautiful effect and much easier than doing it with paper and an exacto knife!!

I didn't get as far as I'd like with Bert's book yesterday. I will tell you that flipping through it and flipping through photoshop studio, there are a lot of projects in both books that he includes in lynda.com. For you it might be redundant, but I find it a perfect compliment to have it in paper form and see him do it on screen. He makes everything look so simple and easy to understand.

I have heard that the pen tool makes sharper selections too. Bert also writes in the book that a lot of illustrators fought the tool when it came out because it really isn't used like you would draw. Yes it's great for making those curved lines, but where the heck do you put the next point and how long do you do the drag and pull line. As he said, the only way to be able to learn is by practice. I found that the pen tool in painter is in fact different from the one in photoshop. It doesn't end up with a path channel, but I haven't delved deep enough to get it all figured out. (by the time I get around to it maybe Ray will have it mastered and help me. :D )

[Wendy]

Hi Pauline ...

You have How to cheat don't you ??? ... in my version there is a nice tutorial on using the pen tool, it helped me a lot when I first started using it. Nowadays I don't really think about where to put the next point .. I think that its just one of those things that you get used to.

By the way I found out the other day that selections (I tried it on the lasso) are more jagged in Elements than in Photoshop ... it really surprised me.

In 10 minutes I am going into the kitchen ... now how quick can I get back :)

Wendy
PS ... When you have dragged out a line with the pen tool it is easy to shorten or lengthen the drag ... but after a time you just seem to get the knack of making it the right length ..

[Pauline]

Thanks Wendy, yes I did try to tackle that one from how to cheat in painter, but I think part of my problems was I didn't know enough and there are some differences with painter. I was reading Bert's book again this morning and he has quite a lengthy bit on the pen tool, so that will help I think.

[Dorrie H.]

Wendy,
Your image with the cut-outs here (message #16), could that possibly be another tutorial. I would love to know how you did that. Maybe it's been explained before, but I'm at a loss right now. Anyway it certainly is lovely. :)

Dorrie

[Wendy]

Hi Dorrie ...

I'm working on a couple of things at the moment but I will put somethng like that on my list :)

Wendy

[Dorrie H.]

Thank you Wendy,

I always look forward to your tutorials....As Tony the Tiger would say----THEY ARE GRrrrr...EAT!

Dorrie

[Wendy]

Hi Dorrie ...

Oh its been a long time since I heard that one ... :) I used to love Tony the Tiger ..

Wendy