Photo Editing Fun!!

Hey all!!  Sorry it's been so long since my last post!  I've been busy!!

I wanted to share with you guys my new favorite website; pixlr.com!!  It's a lot like photoshop and the best part is...it's free!!  You don't even have to do a download!!  I have used pixlr.com before to make all my beautiful buttons on imCarly, but I've just recently really started exploring.  One of my friends sent me a saying that I really liked and I wanted to make it my desktop but I didn't want just a boring Word.doc for a desktop so I spruced it up;

Isn't it pretty!?  I actually had someone ask me where I got it!

So to start making your beautiful pictures, choose whether you want to use a picture or a saying to beautify.  If you are doing a picture I would suggest doing all of the editing you can on iPhoto, you can do everything you can do in iPhoto in pixlr, but it's more condensed in iPhoto which I think is easier.  Once you've decided on your project just start playing around and see what you can make!!  Here are a few steps to get you started;

1. Head to www.pixlr.com!!  On the start up screen, I would suggest choosing "open photo editor" then you will come to a screen like this;

2.  I would suggest clicking on "Create New Image" even if you are using a photo and then just adding the photo as a layer

3.  Make sure that you have the box at the bottom that says "Transparent" checked, you can add in a white background later if you would like.  To choose your canvas size, check out the size of the area you are going to fill, if you want to upload it to a blog or website, it should usually tell you the dimensions otherwise it doesn't really matter

3.  Then, as I said before, just play around!!  Here are some things to remember when you are playing around;

• Use the command bar on Pixlr, not on your desktop to Undo and Save
• To insert an image go to "Layer" then "Insert Image as Layer" on the command bar
• USE LOTS OF LAYERS, especially when you are using text, another layer will be added automatically when you add another set of text, and then to add another layer just click on the tab at the bottom of the layer box on the right side of the screen

• To adjust the size of your canvas go to "Image" then "Canvas Size" to adjust the size of your picture go to "Image" then "Image Size", remember the image is what you insert, the canvas is your original working space
• Make sure you keep up Pixlr until you are FOR SURE done with your image because you can't reopen and adjust the layers on an image once you exit out of it

OK!  Now you have a beautiful image or a beautiful saying, you can beautify it even more!!

 Just open a new tab, go back to the main www.pixlr.com page, and choose "Retro Vintage Effects", it's pretty self explanatory just play around!!!

You can manipulate the different sections with the odometer looking thing at the bottom of the screen.  For my saying I used "Peter" on the red section, "Redrum" on the blue, and "Dirt" on the yellow.  

Happy Pixlr-ing!!!!!!

All info from www.pixlr.com