Photoshop Tut - Corner Banners

This tutorial was written for the bead group I work with, The Fire Divas. When I was writing, it became obvious that photos would be necessary. I hope everyone finds this useful.
Note to the bead makers: These are not my beads. They are Glassbaker's from my jewelry making days.

Open your photo in photoshop.

Make any corrections.

Size it down for web viewing - 72 dpi - making sure you have one corner of the photo vacant to work in. The Divas need all photos to be the same size because we turn our bead photos into a gif that everyone can use to promote the Jewelry Challenge. That size is 390 px x 390 px.

Now we'll use the tool palette to make a corner banner (or see my notes below to make other shapes). Your tools palette is on the left side of the screen in photoshop. We will be using five tools in this order (photo below):

1. Eyedropper - allows you to select colors from your photo.
2. Color palette - another way to choose color. In this tut, we are really just looking at this tool.
3. Pen - Creates anchor points for the banner.
4. Move tool - moves objects around. You must be on the same layer as the object you are moving. Your layers palette is to the right. But if you work in the order listed here, you will always be on the "right" layer and shouldn't have to worry about that.
5. Text tool - allows you to type on your photo.

Selecting the Corner: Choose the eyedropper tool and go to your photo. Click on the predominate color and you will see this color appear in the color palette (see red arrow). You may have to click around a few times to find just the right shade.


Choose your pen tool and the vacant corner. You will click three times to draw a triangle. You can see where I clicked in the photo.


Try to stay as close to the border of the photo as possible. In three clicks the lines will join and fill with that color you just selected.

Move the Selection: If you don't like exactly where you placed this, choose your move tool (arrow, upper right of tools palette) and move it a little.


Typing your Message: Choose the Type tool (The big letter T on the tools palette). Chose your font up top and click into the picture. Start typing your message. Chose the move tool again when you are done typing.


Mine is a little small but you can see what I wrote over in the layers palette to the right.
Move the text over your colored banner.


Sizing / Rotating the Words: Now I need my type a little bigger. On the keyboard, hold down your control key and hit the letter T. This is to access the transform tool (also found under the Edit Menu: Free Transform). This allows you to move the text to the colored corner, spin it around and stretch it to fit.


Choose File: Save for Web. Make any last sizing adjustments and save the file.


The final image.

*To make other shapes: See the little dotted square in the upper left of the tool palette photo above? That's a rectangular selection tool. It's only purpose is to select something. If you click on the darkened lower right corner of that tool, you'll find other shapes: Ellipse, vertical and horizontal lines. The last two only select one pixel wide or tall and we won't be using those.

To make a rectangle or ellipse, select the appropriate tool and draw with the mouse. Try not to cover your bead. If you mess up, do it again - the first selection will disappear.

Once the area you want is selected,  select the color you want to fill it with as described above. Go to image fill, foreground color and OK. Then type your message. 

To make a square or circle, again select the rectangle or ellipse but HOLD THE SHIFT KEY while selecting and it keeps your width and height proportional.

Other fun shapes: You can add to a shape by holding the control key and drawing another shape that intersects the first. You can subtract from a shape by holding the alt key and drawing an intersecting shape. The overlapping area will be deleted!

Sculptural

This cone is nothing more than a round bead on an inverted cone with some swirly connector bits.

I'm always amazed that many beadmakers sigh with envy when they see sculptural beads. "I wish I could make sculptural beads."

And I always answer right back, "You CAN!"

First of all, they need to realize ALL beads are sculptural. Round IS a shape. Perfecting round is whole mastery unto itself.

But let's not get side tracked. The second most important skill in tackling a sculptural bead is dissecting the shapes. Everything in the universe is made up of a handful of shapes: square, rectangular, round, ellipse. Sure you can get fancy: cones, triangles, octagons... but... even an octagon is simply two squares on axis. Keep it simple.

This vase - a design taught by Leah Fairbanks - is two inverted cones with a cylinder on top, a disk on each end and a handle.

Look at the objects around you. You will see variation after variation of those four shapes. Look at your own body. The human form is nothing more than a series of ovals. Once you start looking at objects as nothing more than shapes it's rather simple to start thinking in terms of a bead.

 Two cones with some razor marks and some swirly bits.

If the piece is complicated, you need to address what to do when. You generally always start with a base bead but sometimes you need to start with a weird part... like when making ice cream sundaes. Start with a core of red and that cherry on top will always be perfect. Add it at the end and you can mess the whole piece up.

But you don't want to put on any parts that can't take the heat... save those for the end. Same with pieces that might pop off.

This guy's beak and feet were saved til the end.

Once you've thought the bead through, choose your colors and pull your stringers, take a deep breath and you're off! It can be exhilarating, especially if you like large beads like I do. Just breathe. And if it falls apart? "Oh Sh!t, flat fish!" That always works for me! Some of my coolest fish were sculptures that fell apart.

Don't let those fins break or let those eye's pop off! (He actually was meant to be a fish!)

So we come to THE most important part of sculptural work... KEEP TRYING. Try one every day. You'll be amazed where the glass takes you!

Can you see it??? Cone with some added glass for the head shape + sideways cone + disk = Witch hat.

Sidetracked....

The idea was a simple reunion trip - just a quick weekend away... But then reality hit.

Reality begins with me losing my cellphone on the way to LAX and not realizing it until I was in the air. Throw in a few reminders that "it was a quarter century ago" when my sorority sisters and I founded our chapter; seeing the nicest mansion I've ever seen (and that's saying A LOT!) and realizing it was built by my college roommate's LITTLE sister, and realizing I will NEVER get to live that well; a fabulous family pizza night that turned into a surprise birthday party for me....those are the good highlights.

And then there is the bad part of reality... TWO rounds of iv antibiotics after my doctor tracked me down to tell me the nasty spider bite I had lanced before leaving has a nastier staph infection! And... two missed flights home: one for medical reasons, one for snow!

So, I'm still in Baton Rouge for a few more hours.

Hope you all are having a terrific week!

Reliving the Good Old Days / Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge

I'm out of town for a few days celebrating the 25th year of the my sorority chapter which I helped found on my college campus. I will return in a day or two but posting may be a bit erratic this week as it's also birthday week and I like to hide from the world on my birthday!

But I should be posting again by March 4th so come back and visit!

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I wanted to put a bug in your ear about the upcoming Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge. The Deadline is April 1st and this time, only jewelry designed with Fire Diva Beads is eligible. The theme and prize details are still being worked out but I do know lots of Diva Gift Certificates will be up for grabs as prizes! The theme will most likely be Spring related... so put your thinking caps on and Join our Flickr group - That's where the entries will be hosted.

Luna Park Bracelet

Luna Park Bracelet
Originally uploaded by HollysFollyGlass

My entry for February's Art Bead Scene.

The focal bead is large round flower with red stamen dots.

The bracelet is crocheted with Czech glass flowers, seed beads and drops.

Inspired by the painting Luna Park by Vestie Davis

Got Bead Crochet? Can Travel!

Yesterday was my fur baby's birthday and I wanted her to get to spend a large chunk of time beside a creek. And since I'm leaving town well before my Art Bead Scene entry is due (I'm usually the last to post!), I have a lot of "giterdone" going on around here.

So I coiled up the crochet that is the basis of my project this month and threw it in my backpack. I wished I still had some rollers around from the days when I thought I could make my hair submit to my will because, the BeadWrangler says that coiling threaded bead crochet around a roller makes a secure way to carry a project. But I gave up on hair submission a good decade ago, so I simply coiled the threaded beads around the spool of thread and added it all to my backpack along with some water, dried pineapple and my camera.

It would have been a blissful way to crochet, sitting by a babbling brook, watching the pupster enjoy her favorite place on earth and creating something pretty. But life rarely goes as planned...
Oh, I found that picturesque spot all right. I settled in on a boulder and pulled out my crochet while Mabel Lou played.

And then, the "if onlys" started.... If only we knew the trail head would have been washed out, making me climb on hands and knees up a rock face to reach the road.... If only I hadn't been bit by a spider days ago, making my leg swell and be super sensitive to the point I don't notice things I should.... If only I had noticed my backpack had a hole in it! If only my crochet needle hadn't been lost ...somewhere!

So I sat there anxious to get home...plotting the best path to the fabric store for a new needle! I took a deep breath and reminded myself that the day and the outing was not about ME. I wanted the pup to have some extended play time and she got just that.

I still think bead crochet is a great take-along project. Just put that needle in a bag before you put it in your bag!

Tuesday Treasury Trove

I thought I would share two fantastic treasuries I found myself in over on Etsy.

Donna of PrimaDonnaBeads Featured my Pink Playthings in her Divalicious treasury, expiring tonight. All Pinks!!!


This is one of my favorites from Donna. She calls it Death by Chocolate. I call it Death to the Diet! I've seen this piece in person and it's so fabulous!!!


And Janel of Janel Dudley Beads put My Envious Heart Aventurine set in her Fire Divas Team Treasury, expiring tomorrow morning.


Janel is having a ridiculous sale right now... I told her she's practically giving her beads away. This large focal is nine bucks!!!
Check out these fabulous treasuries before they are all gone!

Quilt Failure

I have NOTHING beady to say today... I'm in the middle of five different projects and nothing at the "sharing" stage yet!

So... I thought I would regale you with a witty story... I was reading EmaK's blog on quilts and how that passion appears in her lampwork and remembered why quilting is one of few handcrafts at which I'm a total failure.

When I was working on Carol Duvall and Simply Quilts was shooting next door and we were all sharing offices, I decided I had to learn! After some discussion with the ladies on that show, it was determined that Japanese fabrics were what really struck a cord in me. I loved the watercolor feel and the hint of metallic. And they recommended a Japanese fabric store in West L.A.

Still not sure, I stopped into the store on a Saturday, fell in love with a log cabin style quilt that had big six inch wide logs. That quilt made me sign up for a class and I bought fabric based on what the shop owner told me.... that the log cabin quilt was great for a beginner.

I returned a few weeks later, sewing machine and my stash of fabrics in tow. The shop owner set me up at a table and told me to start cutting all that fabric into little one inch strips. HUH???? How's one inch strips going to turn into that large panel quilt on the wall??? While I sat there confused and staring back and forth from my fabric to the quilt, she got on the phone. 20 minutes go by.

She strolls by me, still on the phone and YELLS at me to START CUTTING!!! Still not understanding and her still on the phone, I decided that if she wanted me to cut such small pieces I would BUY more fabric to make whatever quilt she wanted me to make.

And then, the shop owner turned into some kind of Nazi! Still on the phone, she starts yelling again, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? SIT DOWN AND CUT!!! CUT FABRIC NOW!"

I had had enough and no longer cared that she was on the phone. I told her I don't understand. She does not hang up but comes over and again tells me to cut small strips. I explained... A few weeks ago, when I bought my fabric....etc.

She tells me "That quilt no beginner quilt. CUT NOW!"

I tell her I would rather buy different fabric. This was not the class I was promised and I got up again to browse.

She started yelling at me to get out!!! "YOU LEAVE NOW!"

"REFUND NOW!"

She keeps yelling but as I'm packing up my sewing machine tells me she will refund 1/2. I said nothing but I went outside and called my credit card company. I got all my money back...except for the fabric.

And I never ever wanted to make a quilt after that! And YES, I told all the ladies at Simply Quilts what happened! None of them would shop there after the incident!

P.S. The Nazi Quilt shop went out of business

End of the Sale

Our first Team sale for the Fire Divas has wrapped up on Etsy.

I was so amazed to have my first ever sale with under 10 views!!!I can do remakes on these is anyone is interested.

And I have a 30% off sale going on til tomorrow on AF. I'll just call it my "bad mood" sale and leave it at that. See studio announcement and ArtFire blog for more details.

I'm busy prepping for my part two of my Wire Wrap Extravganza at Glendale College this weekend. I will be teaching Wire Wrapped Rings (3 of them!) and Advanced Wire Wrap where we learn to make all kinds of wire components and put them all together into a bracelet. Should be fun!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and I will see you back HERE on Monday.

It's a Carnival!!!

Some of you may have thought this post was a little unusual for me. It's true'; it was. That's because it was part of the Art Bead Scene's Blog Carnival!

A while back fellow lampworker, Cindy Gimbrone, asked if any of the regular readers of the Art Bead Scene were interested in blogging on a theme. Many of us were...so many that we only have to blog every other month.

I found myself part of a group of extremely talented art bead makers from variety of mediums! And I'm thrilled that a fellow Fire Diva, Janel Dudley will be blogging with us. Janel is a really talented lady, creative and contemplative. She, like me, maintains multiple blogs! Janel will be writing on the months that I'm off and I'm really looking forward to her contributions.

This month's theme is on beginnings. There are so many talented writers and bead artists in this group and I hope you will take the time to read what they have to say. Go for a fun carnival ride!