Considering the cost of the machine, you would think the Pixma MP960 would come with automatic settings for printing greeting cards, but it doesn’t.  And the problem is nobody else seems to know how to make it work either, until now…

For a 5×7 greeting card using regular 5×7 cardstock:

  1. Photoshop

The Photoshop file size should be 10×7 if landscape oriented or 7X10 if portrait oriented.

Resolution can be 300 dpi.  Put the back and the front of the card design in your file.

As a final step before saving your card design, do file/page setup/custom and make the size 7×10. Save the Photoshop file.

 

  1. Printing

When you get to the final print screen where there is a preferences button, click the preferences button.  Go to the Page Setup Tab. Select Custom.  Type in your paper size. Hit Ok.  Go to the Main tab. Select your paper type.  For greeting card stock, use Plain Paper and print quality set to High.  Go to the Profiles Tab. Click the Add to profiles button.  Call it 5×7 Greeting Card and save the settings. (Next time all you have to do is go to profiles tab to select your settings and make sure the print quality under the main tab is on High before hitting the print button.)

DO NOT turn on the borderless printing feature. It forces the machine to print at default settings and can never be adjusted for any custom settings you create.  Click Ok.  Load your card stock in your Pixma MP960 just like you would for regular 8 ½ x 11 paper.  Paper will be aligned with the right side paper guide.  Slide the left paper guide into place. Click the print button.

 

Note: You should not have to resort to “trial and error” to get your card to run through the printer correctly.  If any tweaks are needed, it may be to allow for the cropping that the printer does for the 1/8 inch border by adjusting the image in the original Photoshop file.  DO NOT adjust the file size.  Just change the image size using Edit/Transform/Scale so that it will crop where you want it to.

 

Note 2: Some greeting card stock is not heavy enough to take the ink. If you are reading this, maybe you could recommend some decent paper that is reasonably priced. I tried the stock that Walmart sells.  It could not take the ink coverage without curling.  On the plus side, the card stock came with blank envelopes, which is why I bought it.

I hope someone will benefit from my two days of frustration and wasted ink cartridges.  For the Canon people, I would like to see you add a greeting card print setting to ALL of your ink jet printers and ALL of your all-in-one machines from now on.  Oh, and Mom, I hope you liked the card I made for you.

Thanks.

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Recent Artwork – April 2010

Sign of the Blade

Sign of the Blade

I was tooling around trying to come up with a rock and roll theme, but no ideas were coming.  As I sat there, frustrated and bored,  I found a set of tribal art brushes by Obsidian Dawn.  I discovered this pattern in it.  I let myself “go with the flow”.  Poof! A really cool martial arts style design in Chinese Red came pouring out of me.  I love the paint splatters the most. I used my Plastics and Glitter Styles for the copper metallic paint in this image.  I also used my Black Cat Road and Glitter Glue styles.  The other styles were something I created just for this image.

Now maybe I can focus my rock and roll poster for my hallway….

ps. Brushes I used were by various other artists.

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New Freebies

I thought I would warm up my skills with some wallpapers.  A friend of mine bought a new iPad.  I made these as a gift.  On my menu go to Freebies/iPad-iPhone-iTouch. 

If you would like to make your own, here’s the sizes to use.

360 x 480   Pixels  at 72 dpi  for iPhone Wallpaper

1024 x 1024  Pixels at 132 dpi  for iPad Wallpaper 

Know that for the iPad, only a 768×768 frame in the very center is visible at all times because of the way the machine orients itself.  If you want to make wallpapers for other phones or want the iPad wallpaper template, go to www.digitalcitizen.ca.

I would like digital scrapbookers make their own phone wallpapers from the digital scrapping kits they have already purchased.  It’s just like decorating a tag.  Just dont overdo it.  There’s only so much you can put on a phone wallpaper.  I personally prefer one object on a simple background.

I think when I eventually get a smart phone, my papers will have blingitude.

Happy Designing!

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Scrapbooking Practice

I like to visit Penscrappers.com for a bunch of reasons. I originally came to the site because I wanted to win a free Wacom Bamboo tablet.  My other tablet is on its last legs and is about to croak. I cant afford to buy one of my own right now. So off to Penscrappers I go!  Here’s why I like the site:

1. Get free scrapbooking stuff to practice with in a quality resolution.

2. Study other people’s layouts to learn what I should be doing, what my personal style is, and what other scrapbooking styles I can attempt.

3. Get ideas and inspiration

4. Of course, Oh Yeah!  Maybe win a free wacom bamboo in the process.  (I personally have given up hope on winning, but if I do win, that’s icing on the cake.  The idea is to have fun trying.)

5. There’s a new contest every month.

So there ya go!  Get out there and get scrappin’, y’all!

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I thought if I add my notes to my blog, then it would be less likely for me to misplace them.  I am all the time looking for this piece of paper which describes how to suck the colors out of an image and load the colors into the swatches pallet. 

HOW TO SUCK COLORS OUT OF AN IMAGE

  1. Erase all of the default color swatches.    I made an action to clear mine.
  2. Open the image you want to use.
  3. Change the image mode to indexed color.
  4. Select image/mode/color table
  5. Save the custom color table under a new name.
  6. Open a new file.
  7. Open swatches pallet. Load the swatches.  In files of type, change to color table, look

Up your newly created table, click load.

DONE.

I use this all the time to create matching color design elements for my photos.  By elements, I mean frames (digital and brushed on), mats, or paper backgrounds.  I also use this technique to color match my styles to the photo.  Say I wanted to put a leather frame around my photo.  I pick up one of my leather styles, adjust the color using my swatches, and boom, it’s done.  Another example would be to create a printed photo of blocks of color that you can take to the lumber yard to help you choose paint for your house.  This has both manual and digital world applications.

Enjoy!

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New Digital Album Covers Added

heritage-II-book

We have just completed four exciting new album cover designs.  They are Love Potion Book, Heritage Book II, Wedding Gold Book, and Country Lilac Book.  Like all of the other books, these have a whole lot of thought, love, and work put into them.  Love Potion Book is more along the lines of fantasy art. Of course, it contains shades of pink with heavy gold metal accents. There is a bottle of pink potion mounted under glass in the center of the front cover.  Heritage Book II is like a digital Victorian diary in rich olive and rose tones.  The back cover is just as interesting though differently decorated than the front cover.  The gem of this book is the oil painting of a woman bathing on the front cover.  That alone is a fine piece of work that was crafted by the artist.  Wedding Gold Book is based on one of our Wedding Mini Kits.  It continues the theme of white, cream, and gold.  Finally, comes our Medieval/Victorian blend with delicate woodwork, ivory, and lavender fabrics/textiles. 

All of our digital books are high quality and quite versatile.  Print out the jpegs and put them in a binder.  Make your own paper by printing the inner pages on your printer.  Or go digital!  Add scrapbooking pages inside the covers or add photos and text to our digital pages.  Either way, our fun, imaginative designs become a wonderful album or journal.  We now offer a range of 20 book designs to choose from.  Stop by our album cover section and check them out :)

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How to Doctor Up Ramen Noodles

In this economy, families can barely afford food.   I have noticed that rice, beans, and ramen noodles are almost never in stock.  People are buying whole cases of the stuff.   As am I.  I figured if I am going to have to eat my weight in ramen noodles, I need a tastier way to do it than what is provided with the package.   I learned on my own how to make my own homemade soup using ramen noodles.  Here’s the recipe:

1 package of chicken ramen noodles

1 carrot (peeled into long thin strips with a peeler)

1/2 – 1 stalk of celery

half slice of chopped onion (optional)

1 tbsp chicken bouillon (I buy Caldo con sabor de Pollo from Fiesta.)

1 tsp lemon juice concentrate

Basil & thyme   (3 parts basil to 1 part thyme)   If I had to guess,  I probably use 1 1/2 tsp basil to 1/2 tsp thyme.

Black pepper ( pinch)

Put water and a pinch of salt in a pot.  Heat the water to boiling.  While water is coming to a boil, chop your veggies.  Carrots need to be finely chopped or peeled.  Once the water is boiling, toss in noodles and veggies.

Let it continue boiling for 7 minutes.  Drain most of the water off.  If I can turn the pan to the side and see at least 1/2 cup of water, I call it “drained” .  Put the pot back on the stove. Reduce heat to low (gas stove) or turn off heat but leave on the hot burner (electric stove).   Add your seasonings, lemon juice, pepper.  A word about the boullion.  What comes in the pack has very little flavor, but extremely salty.  I use 1/3 to 1/2 of the season packet that comes with noodles.  I do NOT use all of it.  I also add in my tbsp of Pollo de whatever.  Gently stir with fork.   Mine comes out spicy – not salty- and hot.  If yours is a little too spicy, have a peanut butter sandwich with it until you learn how to adjust my recipe to your taste.  (My dad believes peanut butter and ketchup can fix anything!).

Enjoy!

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Revolutionary New Product

I have developed a revolutionary new product for scrapbooking enthusiasts and photo album creators.  I have the first 3D digital album books for sale.  I say “books” because my books are complete. I provide the front and back album covers as well as two pages in between for the user to get started with.  My books provide a completed finish for your digital scrapbooking pages.  My books are fully customizable.  Check this out:

Add engraving to the metal plate that sometimes comes on the back of my books.  Suggest purchase of Metal’s Finest Styles from my styles section for this.

Add the metal plate and engraving yourself as in the case of the White Castle Book.  You choose the shape and size of your own plate, apply your own metal style and engraving.

Write on my inner pages and add your own photos to my pages.

My two pages can be used to create a title & chapter page or a dedication page for your album.

Add your own pages that you have created with digital scrapbooking kits you have purchased.   (Many of my books go with Blushbutter kits, but any digital scrapbooking kit can be used.)

Make your book as long or as short as you like via the number of pages.

Print out my paper designs to create colorful real paper stationery.

Print out my covers to slip into 3 ring binder covers.

Use my work to complete your digital slide show or other digital presentation.

My album covers make great computer wallpapers.

Wow!  As you can see, these 3D digital albums complete with colorful album covers are really versatile.  You can do alot with them. They are a necessity for a  complete digital scrapbooking presentation.

My books are lovingly created. I research my proposed theme.  I spend days planning my design and drafting a blueprint of how the book will look.  I gather materials and mix them in unique ways by thinking outside the box. It then takes me about 12 hours to create the front and back album covers because I take the time to get the colors just right, test the styles and textures, add all the fine littlest details to make it as real as possible.  I know how the book will perform as if it were a real book in front of me.  Once a design has been completely created, I then subject it to a final quality test.  Please don’t steal my labors of love. I work incredibly hard to provide my 3D albums to those who really want them.

My books are highly imaginative.  Nobody makes books like mine.  They are truly unique and very colorful.  Using the imaginagination, my books have interactive, moving parts.  They have hidden compartments, locket keys, or cages that contain potions, scrolls, etc. They bridge the gap between fantasy and reality.  The designs are fun, fully decorated, complex, or whimsical.  My books ensnare the eye and hold the mind captive because the beholder is so enraptured in its beauty.  If you read my product descriptions by clicking on the “ buy now” message in blue, you will notice that my album theme is further enhanced by a short background story about the book itself.  It helps me capture the right feeling that I want to portray during my creation process.  Plus its just fun to throw that extra something in there – like a cherry on top.

I checked out a local store to see if my albums could be physically manufactured.  If they were made, they would sell for around $200 – $600 apiece.   You can purchase my digital versions during the year 2010 ONLY for just $5.00 USD each.   I  have the style sets available for adding engraving plates or for adding further elements for scrapbooking within the inner pages.  I usually use my own styles, textures, etc. so all that stuff is available on my site for purchase.  Wow! what a deal!

Please take the time to check out my new product line.

 

Thanks,

Deborah

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New Video Tutorials

Beginning 2010, all of my tutorials from now on will be video tutorials.  What I am doing is unique to the internet.  I am offering to train on how to complete a project from start to finish. I provide all the files needed for the class. I provide an easy way out for those who get frustrated.  AND it gets better…it’s all FREE!  I will not be doing many of these projects like this since I am hoping to provide quality not quantity. 

I also provide single video tutorials on how to do one thing.  The first of these is seamless textures. “ Yeah, yeah, everybody has a tutorial on this one” you say. What I have seen is a broad concept of generally how to create a seamless texture, but they have not shown you my unique method.  My method is a three step process that truly and seamlessly repaints an image together so that the seams are not so obvious while at the same time balances out the light in the entire image. It’s not hard for a person to do, but it does take some practice. 

Special credit goes to my husband who finely tunes my videos for me after my rough edits.

I try to add videos regularly so please stop by and check them out.

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Freebies Page Refresh

I have refreshed my freebies page with four new items. These four new free downloads are: Set of 84 Script Fonts – A collection of my favorite script fonts; Xmas Card Template – See also my new video tutorials for how I made this template; American Indian Gradients – for jewelry, blankets, etc.; Denim Doodles Brushes – More than just butterflies, stars, and flowers – includes alien doodles.  My freebies do get changed out, so please come back and visit me often.

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