Using ACDSee Photo Editor to do Quick Pages

Doing Quick Pages with ACDSee Photo Editor isn’t totally straightforward, but it is easy!

1. Open up your APD file:
2. Select all image objects.
3. Choose Adjustments | Light | Threshold…
4. Change the Threshold to 100 and click OK.
5. You should now have black pictures on your layout:
6. Select all objects and choose Object | Convert to Image (Render)
7. Select the Magic Wand.
   1. Change the settings to Tolerance 1 px and uncheck “Select Color Through Image”
   2. Click on first black image.
   3. Hit delete
   4. Click on every other image square and hit delete.
8. And you are left with a Quick Page with no images.
9. Save as a png file.

Note: The one time you may have issues with this method is if there was a black thing next to your photos. Then in the threshold step, change the threshold to 0, to get white blocks to delete. And hopefully you don’t have pure black and white elements next to your images. Then this method may not work.

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Fun with The Cookie Cutter Tool

If I was asked which tool is the most fun to use in ACDSee’s Photo Editor, I would have to say the cookie cutter tool. Do you remember being a child and helping your mom roll out the sugar cookie dough and make great shapes to decorate? And you know how that is a lot less fun as a parent because of the mess? Well, this cookie cutter is all of the fun with none of the mess.

Take a good look at this layout. See if you can find all of the shapes I made with this tool.

Can you find three? How about six? Were you able to get nine? I first used a star shape to crop the picture of the girls’ faces. I then used the same shape to cut out a red star to place behind them. I grabbed some more papers and used a border shape to create my journal box.  The flowers to the side of the box were made from other papers. I used the Transfer Mode of Multiply on some of the flowers to give them a sense of depth. Lastly, I needed some leaves for the stem of my flower. There is a heart shape that were turned into perfect leaves when cut from green paper, which were then rotated and skewed.

This is just one way to use this tool. But it is lots of fun and the possibilities in creating elements and neat shapes are truly endless.

Credits: Papers and doodles from the kit Lena’s World  by Nina Scraps.

Green Paper on leaves from Noble Castellana also by Nina Scraps.

Fonts: Artistamp Medium, Bradley Hand

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Hybrid projects using ACDSee Photo Editor

Julie Ann Shahin had invited me to be a guest on her creative team at her Everyday Digital Scrapbooking Blog. Have you seen it? It’s a treasure trove of projects & tutorials. You can learn so many things there. And I like how her categories make it very easy to find things. By clicking on ACDSee Photo Editor you can find both of my tutorials.

I enjoy using my paper scrapping supplies & mixing them with my digital scrapbooking. When planning the project I keep in mind that I can’t print larger than 8.5 x 11 and that keeps everything in perspective (& I can print too! :)   ). ACDSee Photo Editor has a 30 day trial if you’d like to try it.

Here are the two projects that I did for my stint at Everyday Digital Scrapbooking.

Timeless Treasures - materials & instructions

I love doing heritage type of projects & this one was fun!

Halloween Placement - materials & instructions

Do you enjoy doing hybrid projects?  Link us to them

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ACDSee Photo Editor & our DigiScrapping How-to’s

My sister-in-law stopped by today & mentioned that she had seen my photos from yesterday’s post on Photo Walking. Isn’t that cool that she reads our blog?! *waving at you, Nancy!* She’s going with us on our scrapbooking retreat next weekend & is great fun!

She mentioned that she had downloaded ACDSee Photo Editor & was playing with it. She was excited that she had done some creative things. But she expressed confusion about some things. In talking to her I realized that she was using the How-to’s that it comes with. So I wanted to link her (& all of you) that are using ACDSee Photo Editor to our resources here that are specifically for Digital Scrapbooking.

Digital Scrapbooking How-to’s - installed directly into ACDSee Photo Editor

ACDSee Photo Editor Tutorials - Heidi & I have written all of these for you!

If you’d like to request something - please ask.

• Your First Layout in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Basic Steps to do Common Scrapbooking functions in Photo Editor
• Using Templates in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Color Isolation in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Photo Extraction in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Paper Tearing Templates in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Threading Ribbon through a Buckle in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Using Text with ACDSee Photo Editor
• Popping Images out of Frames with ACDSee Photo Editor (Out of Bounds effect)
• Recoloring Elements or Paper in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Drop Shadow with ACDSee Photo Editor
• How to blend two images in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Colorizing a brush (png file) in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Moving objects in ACDSee Photo Editor (blog)
• Make a Paperclip Look Realistic (blog)

Download Trial of ACDSee Photo Editor: ACDSee Photo Editor $34.99 for previous customers and $49.99 for new customers.

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Making a Paperclip look realistic in ACDSee Photo Editor

Today I had a request for a tutorial. Please ask when you’re wondering how to do something in either ACDSee Photo Manager & Photo Editor. With Live Writer I can create these quickly! When I started digiscrapping, I would see techniques & then try to figure out how to do them.

I must give total credit to Hummie & her awesome tutorials! Have you seen them? ACDSee has the same tools as Photoshop Elements & I can convert them. But I do need to give Hummie the credit as being the expert. I like scrapping with ACDSee Photo Editor because it’s so user friendly. And ACDSee Photo Manager is a great organizer. So, when you become familiar with the tools in ACDSee Photo Editor, there are many PSE tutorials that you can adapt.

To make a paperclip look realistic, layer your items & put the paperclip on the top.

1. Make a group of the paper & photo if you wish

• select both in the object palette by holding the shift key
• right click & choose Group
• items can be individually adjusted even when grouped!

2. Select the paper clip & rotate it a bit to make it look more realistic.

3. Add a drop shadow to the paperclip

• Select paperclip
• Under Object | Drop Shadow

4. Select the paper clip. Under Create | Eraser Tool

4. Under Navigate, move slider to right to zoom in on paperclip.

5. Use the pull down menu, move slider to right to make brush harder.

6. Carefully erase the inner or outer part of the paperclip - your choice.

Tip: Do little separate motions, so that you can use undo if needed.

7. For this part we’re going to add the realistic aspect of the paper being crumpled by the metal under the paperclip

• Using the Dodge tool - lighten the areas raised by the paperclip
• Under Fix, Select the Dodge Tool
• Select the photo layer, Click in the top left corner near the handle (it took me awhile to figure this out.  Clicking on the paperclip selects that.)
• Brush over where the metal would be underneath - this will lighten the area & it will seem as if the photo is lifted up there.  Mine is more pronounced.  To adjust the color, adjust the Exposure (higher # for more color).
• Select the matte.  Click in the top left corner near the handle to select it
• Brush over the matte on top of where the paperclip is underneath
• Using the Burn tool - darken the areas around the raised areas - the crumpled part
• Under Fix, select the Burn Tool
• Follow the instructions for the Dodge Tool
• Adjust the Exposure to adjust the color (lower # for less color)
• Keep using the two options until you get a realistic effect.  I found that making the brush size larger for the burn tool helps blend the effects.  It takes some practice. I’m sure that you can do better than my example!

8. Click on Fit to Screen - just to left of % box in Navigate

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How to crop shapes in ACDSee Photo Editor

This tutorial shows 2 ways to crop a shape in ACDSee Photo Editor.

Under Select, choose the Marquee Tool or the Oval depending on if you want a rectangle or circle/oval.

Click & drag to create the shape to desired size. 

If it isn’t what you want, then click on the selection tool (arrow on right just under File)

Under Edit | Invert Selection

Click on the delete key & it will be cropped to the shape.

Click on the selection tool (arrow on right just under File)

To create the ring I’m going to show you another way to crop.  Either can be used twice, because they accomplish the same thing. This second method allows one more control in selecting the area, because it’s adjustable.

Under Create | Oval Tool

Make sure that both border & inside colors are dark.

Click & drag to create a circle. Click on the handles to readjust size & move it.

Select the first circle by holding the shift key down & clicking on the first circle.

Under Object | Combine | Punch

And you’ll end up with a ring to use for embellishment.

You can use either method in two steps to arrive at this, or combine them.

There are limitless options - for example:

crop a circle & crop a rectangle inside it

crop a rectangle & put a circle in it

If you choose Create | Shape tool, then on the right you will have a large number of options to choose from!  Each choice offers a number of images.

Have fun!

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Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine features ACDSee Photo Editor

On Saturday, the July issue of Scrapbook Dimensions arrived in my mailbox.  Their theme is:  Two Methods. One Magazine. Uniting Traditional & Digital.  Hybrid is very practical for those of us with so many paper supplies.  The magazine is 84 pages jam-packed with ideas on cards, templates, photo restoration, projects, tutorials & product reviews.  Definitely a must see!  You can find more info at ScrapbookDimensions.com on subscribing, contests, freebies, etc.

Why was I so excited?  Well, my family & I had been waiting for the layout of my daughter & the review of ACDSee Photo Editor.  There is a two page review with a tutorial showing off ACDSee Photo Editor’s features:  text on a curve & the vignette (blending around the photo).

I spoke with Cindy Wykoff, owner of Scrapbook Dimensions, by phone and she is one of the most charming people ever!  She has added a great resource for scrapbookers. 

And just a reminder that you can get 12 kits by fantastic designers with the purchase of ACDSee Photo Editor for $49.99.  Or you can also get them with the purchase of the bundle of ACDSee Photo Editor & Photo Manager for $79.99 at that same link.  Both products have a 30 day trial.

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Highlighting children’s work with digital scrapping tricks!

This is what I started with, my son’s writing about things he liked about 3rd grade:

It could work but it was very plain.

So here are some thing I did with it using ACDSee Photo Editor to make it better!

Improved the scan:

I increased the shadows/highlights to make the his pencil marking darker on the scanned copy. Pencil just doesn’t scan well.

How to:

1. Select the image
2. Choose Light | Shadow/Highlights
3. Click on the previews to make the penciled text go darker.

Highlight certain things:

This technique is kind of like using a highlighting pen. My first try I placed a paint smear across one of the lines. It added color but made the text hard to read. So here is what I did:

1. Create 2 objects of the same image by selecting the image, copying it (Ctrl-C) and pasting (Ctrl - V)
2. Selected the top object.
3. Choose the Magic Wand Tool
4. Set the Tolerance and Select Color through Image
5. 
6. Clicked on the delete key.
7. Now this deleted my paper. You can’t really tell too much because you are seeing the paper of duplicated image right underneath this image. If you click on the eye to hide the bottom image, you will see that you are just left with the text. Like in this example:
8. 
9. Line up the top text image exactly with the bottom image. To do this choose both objects, select Align in the tool bar and choose the centering button.
10. 
11. Now we are going to make a sandwich of these. The bottom layer will contain the text on the paper, then we add the highlighting (in this case colored paint smears) and then add the text only copy of the image on top.
12. 
13. Save this as a jpg to be used on a layout or what I would do is this:
    1. Select all the objects
    2. Ctrl - G to group them into one group
    3. 
    4. Select the group and copy into your layout. The whole layered group will be copied into your layout and you can work with it like one object or if need be you can expand the group and make any necessary changes. If you saved it as jpg, you don’t have this luxury of making changes.

On some pages, I didn’t use paint smears but used a highlighting box.  I basically created yellow boxes and sandwich’ed them.  You could also you the pen or marker tool and do the same thing, just like a highlighter.

Drop Shadow

Lastly I added a dark gray drop shadow to the paper image to make it more realistic. Simple select the paper image object and choose Object | Drop Shadow and choose the settings you like.

I think it looks more fun than the original.

Paint smears are by Sue Cummings Summer Camp kit an exclusive kit by ACDSee.

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What to do with all that school stuff?

Connie has been bugging me to write about my school albums. I started doing this for my children in preschool. I get tired of all that paper & artwork that comes home from school. The kids put time into and I hate to throw it away. But I just can’t keep it all. So I came up with a solution. A digitally scrapped photo book of the school year.

When they were real young, I took pictures of their artwork and scrapped the pictures. Then saved a few pieces of their artwork and stored them in big folders.

Then they started school and I soon had class pictures, certificates, art work, homework, etc. You KNOW what I am talking about if you have kids. So over the year, I collect all this information into one big pile. At the end of the year, I sort through the work and I will talk more about the sorting process later. Once I sort through the work, I scan in the selected pieces. I then scrap all the information, keeping it simple. Send it off to my favorite photo book printer. Then in the mail, I receive a bound book containing my child’s school year. It takes up a lot less room than if I saved all those papers!

How long does it take? Probably about 15 - 20 hours for me to do a book but my children love getting their books out and paging through them.

So I am going to do a blog series on how to create these types of books and tips/hints on doing it.

Some initial pointers:

• Save all school stuff in one place. This makes that job of sorting so much easier. If it’s too large, take a picture of it and save those pictures in one place. I save mine on the computer in a digital folder called the child’s name & school year.
• Keep the digitally scrapbooked pages simple! My son’s latest book was 46 pages long. If you don’t keep them simple, you will never finish it. The point of the book is to showcase your child’s work!

And now for some examples of what I am talking about:

A 3rd grade book

A Kindergarten book

A Preschool book

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Moving objects in ACDSee Photo Editor

Every software has it’s nuances. Here are some tips for moving small objects in ACDSee Photo Editor:

In the object panel select the background & lock it by clicking just to the right of the eye symbol.

• On the right in the object panel, select the item to be moved
• Click specifically on a part of the item (rather than on the box’s empty space). Clicking & dragging on a handle will resize it.

• If it is still difficult to move the item, then we can zoom in on the workspace and make the item larger making it easy to move the item.

• You can also type in the percentage rather than using the slider. Once you enlarge the workspace, it’s easy to grab the item & move it.
• Click on the ‘Fit to Screen” tool as shown to return the screen back again.

• If you have an item that is outside the workspace - here is the easiest way to find it:
  • Select the item
  • In the navigation panel, change the % to less than what’s shown
  • Click on enter & the selected object will be centered, available for you to move
  • Click on the Fit to Screen tool to return your workspace

• Another way to find a small item outside the workspace that you can’t ‘find’, but it’s in your object panel, you can use the Hand Tool & move the work space around. (Remember that clicking on the arrow on the left goes back to the selection arrow.)

Another way to find items that are outside the workspace is by zooming out (changing the percentage to less than what it is).

We have two new tutorials too.

• How to blend two images in ACDSee Photo Editor
• Colorizing a brush (png file) in ACDSee Photo Editor

And all of our tutorials for ACDSee Photo Editor can be found here.

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