Scrap Wizard Tutorials

PSE Tutorials for Beginners

Anyone that has ever used one of my tutorials knows that they are very repetitive and they become slightly more difficult as the practice progresses. I am by no means an expert at PhotoShop Elements. If I were, I would be using CS3 rather than PSE. Yet, I know that it is difficult to grasp this digital scrappin stuff without taking classes or reading many different books most of which only cover photo editing.
How did I get into computer programs? To make a long story short, I was a Histologist in the Pathology Lab for many years. Then one morning about 2:00am I found that I had a cocky little intern pinned to the cafeteria ice machine by his throat. If you are in the medical field, you know exactly what I was feeling. One of my best friends was a Med-Tech who was now a patient up in ICU dying from unknown causes. We had worked at the county hospital together and then at the Catholic hospital together. She was one of the strong spiritual influences in my life. She had come in to the ER on a Wednesday night with an ear ache. By Friday morning, she was gone. It was Good Friday. But, that was 13 years ago. That arrogant, cologne soaked intern probably ended up working as a plastic surgeon. After she died, I didn't have fun at work anymore. You can only have so much death and dying without turning hard. About a year and a half later; I packed it in.
It's hard to get a job when you are trained in only one field of knowledge. However, as luck would have it, I landed one of those jobs where they toss you a simple bracket and say, "Here, draw this". I was at the point where I was asking God to "draw this". Needless to say, they were quite impressed! They hired me on the spot.
So, I taught myself AutoCad and started drawing electrical panels. I say that I did it by myself, but heaven knows the truth. Anyway, I loved that job; but the work was not steady. I went on to work as a Systems Information Specialist for a huge corporation that supplied parts to the Auto industry. Now that I am retired, I draw silly little stuff which everyone likes . . . if it is free.I had to teach people in the hospital and I had to teach people in the plant. I learned a long time ago that a happy worker shares what they know. It is always better when two or three people understand something rather than just one. Anyway, if my tutorials are helpful to you . . . that's great. They are things that I had to learn the hard way and I am sure there are alternative ways that you will stumble upon by yourself. But, you have to start somewhere.
Hope you stop by often to see, whadup.

5/9/08
by Suzy

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Date Stamp Tutorial

I liked the date stamp that I added to some of my pages lately and figured that it would make a very easy tutorial lesson. Hope you can have some fun with it. Have a great weekend!everyone!

Download

Friday, May 9, 2008

Create Digital Envelopes Tutorial

This free tutorial and file kit to practice with are definietly for the beginners. It is repititious, grueling and worth every second you put into it. Give it a try, let me know what you threw at the wall. But, by the time you finish this tut; you will not feel like a beginner anymore. And that is our purpose for this moment.

Download the Tutorial here:

Download the practice PSD files here:

Photo Cluster Tutorial

Keeping on track with this freebie tutorial outpost, I made this little photo cluster which you can download for free. The tutorial is listed as a separate download, so make your that you take both of them. My poor husband had to sit at my computer this morning and bug proof my tutorial. If he can do it, anyone can do it.

May I offer a suggestion . . . it is preferable to download the tutorial first and print a copy for your reference. I like to check off the steps as I go along.
Please send me a link when you create something wonderful . . . suzyhilborn@gmail.com

Download the Photo Cluster Tutorial here:

Download the Photo Cluster PSE practice files here:

Circle Cuts Tutorial

Saturday night at the movies? No? Me neither!
So, I decided to make a little exercise for beginner PhotoShop Elements users. There are plenty of tutorials for creating fantastic stuff, but very few for beginners. This is just for the people who want a little puzzle for a Saturday night. Have you seen a paper layout with a semi-circle cut from the side of a paper . . . with an initial, or a star or whatever stuck in it? Well, I don't know what they are called; so I call them circle cuts. Very, very easy to do and the tutorial gives you a pic to match every step of the way. The more you play with the program, the more it will make sense to you. Remember, this is just for playful exercise. No stress. Have fun!

Download Circle Cuts Tutorial with PSD practice files here: