Putting together the series of postcards and clip art that became Jim’s Story was a lot of fun!  I used Photoshop, but I think you could do something similar with another good image editing program.  If you missed any of the postcards, the links are below, along with a link to step by step instructions to combine cartoon or clip art images with vintage pictures.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Step by step instructions

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Combining cartoon and vintage imagery

I’ve done a lot of projects in the past that used the colored autumn leaves, so just in case any of you are as nuts about them as I am, I thought I’d gather up some of the tutorial links for you so that you can make your autumn plans now and avoid the rush!

Transparent digital backgrounds
How to scan and use leaves in your digital work.

A photographic collage
Like the one shown above

Flowers from colored leaves

Leaf silhouette paper, part 1

Leaf silhouette paper, part 2

Twig lettering
Ok, not leaves, but twigs are pretty cool too!

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Get ready for autumn projects!

Once I get started messing around with Photoshop, I can’t seem to stop. One idea leads to the next, to the next, to the next.

Recently I was playing around with ideas about borders that can be custom-made to suit the style of the digital work you need to “frame”. One of those experiments was the glowing blurred border from a couple of weeks ago. Today, it’s a border with an inner edge that looks burned. My example shown here is fairly simple and crude so that you can easily see the effects. With a bit more work and finesse, I think the burned edge could look crispy and flaking.

Step by step instructions

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Photoshop border with a burned edge

Start with a beautiful picture taken on a clear sunny day.

Add a touch of menace.

Why would you want to do this?  I don’t really know, but it’s fun to know how!  With Photoshop, there are always multiple ways to accomplish tasks, but here’s how I did it:

Step by step instructions

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Creating a shadow in Photoshop

You all know that I love Photoshop and am totally devoted to it.  You also know that there are times when you may need to do photo editing away from home.  Then it’s great to know about online editors.

At  Art + Creativity, there are links to ten more online toys tools that you can use to jazz up your pictures.  The list includes Animoto, which I told you about before…a very fun way to turn some shots into a short music video

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Art + Creativity

Step by step instructions

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Creating a glowing blurred border

What are some of the uses?

• Print off your photos and “new” photos on fabric for your projects.
• Use the Photoshop results as inspiration for your fabric art.
• Trying “What If?” with your photos.  What if I made this black and white?  What if I swirled the colors?  What if I changed the colors completely?  What if I combined these photos?  What if I took the best from both photos and made a new one for my quilt?

Beth has some actual photo examples at her Meandering Threads bog.

What have been your experiences with photo print programs.  There are a number out there that aid quilters and fabric artists in today’s quilting world.

(Amazon image)

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Photoshop for Quilters…a Fascinating New World