Monday, January 17, 2011

Texturize Me


This past weekend, when I should have been vacuuming and dusting, I was busy doing fun things instead.  We took little Misty Belle out to a local boardwalk and her favorite pet store to get some treats.  We wanted to make sure she is getting continued socialization, which isn't easy to do during the cold winter months!  There were a few other brave souls roaming the boardwalk who ooh'd and ahh'd over her and we even saw another darling puppy, a boxer and I thought of Di, The Blue Ridge Gal and her sweet boy Rowdy.




On Saturday I opened an email from Kim Klassen that had links to 2 free textures.  Mr. Tide had taken the dogs out very early on Saturday morning, so when I showed him the new textures he said he had taken some pictures at sunrise if I wanted to try and add a texture to them.  Of course, when given the choice between cleaning or playing around in Photoshop, y'all know which one will win every time!!!



Here's another one of Mr. Tide's sunrise photos overlooking our icy creek.  I applied a Florabella action called Worn Linen, which gives the photo a nice canvas texture. 

It seems that everyone has been in a bit of a texture mode these days in blogland.  If you pop over to the beautiful blog Dear Lillie, you'll see some gorgeous shots using textures, not to mention a slipcovered ottoman that I covet!!!




Kate was also feeling the texture love this weekend and created some beautiful photos of her own, using free textures she found on Flickr.  I did a bit of hunting around on Flickr too, and found this gorgeous Old Paper Texture for free and applied it to my pear photo.




I love the beautiful french script from Sophie G*'s Postcard 3 texture which I found thanks to Kate.  And the best part is most of these lovely textures are available for free and with limited restrictions on personal or commercial use.  You should always check the terms of use when creating things using someone else's textures though, as there can be restrictions on how you can use them or if you can use them on things you intend to sell, such as prints or note cards.




Some of you have asked what a texture is, and in actuality the answer is really quite simple, they are jpeg photos.  These jpeg photos can then be applied as a layer to your existing photo giving it a whole new look and feel.  They can be created through the use of photo editing programs from scratch or you can simply create one by taking a photograph or scanning something like a piece of fabric or an old postcard and turning it into a jpeg.  The possibilities are really limitless when it comes to creating textures, the sky's the limit!

I decided to play around with creating some of my own, because once you create the jpeg you can then apply it to your photos and play around with the lighting, color burn, etc. to make it just the way you want it.  In the photo above I scanned an old lace handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother and created two different textures using the same photo, one with a very cool color cast, and one with warmer tones.  You can download them both for free and use them however you want by clicking HERE.




You can also apply more than one texture to a photo in order to create something really special if you want.  Above I used my Vintage Lace Cool Texture with Kim Klassen's Random Inspiration's Texture, in order to create an almost watercolor like effect.  I love this one!




On this last photo I again used the Vintage Lace Texture I created along with the same beautiful Postcard 2 texture that Kate had used on her photo, which you can see by clicking here.

I love that people create and share their textures, whether they are free or for a small fee, because they really do change the whole look and feel of any photograph.  I also hope that some of you will try downloading  these various textures and play around with this yourself to create whatever your heart desires!



One last thing.  Over the weekend I received  Stylish Blogger Award from the very talented Cathy at Stitchfork Designs.  If you've never popped by her blog, be sure to stop by because Cathy does beautiful monogram and embroidery work!!!

With this award I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then pass it along to 10 other bloggers I admire, but you all know there are WAY more than 10 bloggers I admire.  So if you want to play along, please consider this an open invitation to do so...I'm sending this award out to all of you talented bloggers out there in blogland!  All you have to do is create a post telling us 7 things about yourself.  Of course if you're one of those organized people who can narrow it down to 10 other bloggers, be sure to create links to their blogs and then let them know you've sent them the award.

So here are 7 Things you may, or may not know about me.

1.  I often blog or write stories while in my PJs or sweats...it helps get the creative juices flowing!

2.  I was voted class clown by my high school's graduating class.

3.  I was a political science major in college and planned to go to law school after graduation.  During my summers I worked for lawyers and realized that the really successful attorneys had nice homes, boats, and cars, but were rarely ever home to enjoy those things or their families.

4.  Even though I studied politics in college, I hate discussing politics with anyone other than my immediate family.

5.  Throughout my life I've had more male friends than female.  I could talk cars, I played sports, and I hung out mostly with guys...and still do.

6.  If I could have a superhero talent it would be the ability to fly...wouldn't that be so cool?

7.  If I won the lottery I would give to various charities, I would pay off my house, put some in a trust for my children, and use the rest to travel all over the world.   I would not use it to build a big huge house or buy an expensive car.

Happy Monday my friends!

25 comments:

  1. Stunning photos! Really beautiful.
    Love the 7 things about you, too. We have a lot in common. =)

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  2. Beautiful pictures ... Vacuuming and dusting can wait !! Enjoyed reading your 7 things, as well. Enjoy your day, Becca

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  3. Kat, What fun to get to know you better. YOu sound like my kind of gal!
    Since I saw the last filtered images you posted I have been playing around with my digital imaging program. I don't have Photoshop, sigh!
    Last night I was learing to add some pretty textures and looked at the clock and it was 3 AM! I have you to thank for that! I will also thank you for the pretty new filtered pictures I'll post every now and then.
    YOu art work is something to strive for!
    xo Yvonne

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  4. Such stunning pics...I always enjoy viewing your beautiful pics:)

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  5. I have so much to learn! thank you for opening my eyes to so many fascinating ways~

    Looks cold in your neck-of-the-woods Kat.

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  6. Fabulous photo texture and I loved reading about you too. Take care.

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  7. Vacuuming and dusting are highly over-rated!
    Keep taking those great photos!
    Thanks for the mention and enjoyed your list of 7.
    xo Cathy

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  8. Hi Kat - how great to learn a little bit more about you. It's funny, (I don't know about you) but I sort of conjure up ideas about what my various bloggy friends might be like and somehow I didn't picture you as a "car/sports talking" type of girl (lol!)
    As always - thank you so much for all these wonderful tips about textures. I downloaded the free trial of Photoshop Elements (as you suggested) and have had a wonderful time playing around with it. So addictive! I can happily "waste" 3-4 hours just fiddling. Now with these textures - gosh, nothing is going to get down around the place! I particularly love the beautiful french script texture. Can't wait to give it a try. Hope your week is going well! ;)Sharyne

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  9. Um, ok, I would love all these pictures to frame! Kat, these are truly amazing and beautiful and I love the textures that you created! One day I would love to learn all of this, I am so inspired by your talents, I truly mean that!

    I love the 7 things, no wonder we get along, I had mostly male friends as well, it is 5:00, still in my jammies! :) Class clown huh? Yeah, we would have so much fun! :)

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  10. Now you have me all psyched to make my own textures, too!!!

    I'm such a computer ditz. I clicked on your link to download the lace picture, but I can't figure out how to do it. Help! (I know exactly which photo I'm going to use it on, but now I have to wait for you to rescue me.)

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  11. I see an addiction coming on. This was me two years ago. I love texture. Cannot believe these are your first attempts! Lovely.

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  12. Love the textures! I really need to learn how to take better pictures...

    It was fun learning about you and it was also interesting to discover we have a few things in common.

    ~ Tracy

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  13. I'm really glad you discussed the photo textures more. I am trying to absorb every word. The photos are really turning out gorgeous!

    Me too, no bigger house or fancy car. Who needs more to take care of??

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  14. Gorgeous photos..and so much good info in this post! I would love to be more creative with my pics! Class clown? I would never have guessed! Hhhmmm! ♥

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  15. Kat - your photos and textures are worthy of framing and notecards. They are just beautiful. I've never used textures before. Can you only use them with Photoshop? How does one use them exactly? It was fun to learn more about you and get to know you better! :)

    xoxo laurie

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  16. Kat~your photos are beautiful! Now you will have me clicking away to each sight and get in the groove to learn how to use them!
    Have a great week!
    Smiles~
    Cat

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  17. Kat, those photos are just gorgeous! I loved them all! Keep up the fantastic work!! Have a great week!

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  18. Kat, my head is simply
    spinning with all of the
    possibilities! I love
    Kim's textures and am
    looking forward to the day
    when I'm confident enough
    to use them! Taking baby
    steps with my photography
    skills, now....and LOVING
    it! So glad that you got
    the chance to PLAY this
    weekend, my Stylish-Blogger
    friend! Congrats on the
    award....Fits you to a T.
    xx Suzanne

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  19. Such wonderful photos! I absolutely ADORE the pink peony. The comp is great, I love the texture, the muted tone! Fantastic! BTW, my vote is always going to be for having fun playing with texture & photos. It is so much better then "cleaning".
    Congratulations on the stylish blog award too! How exciting and fun!

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  20. Beautiful photos! I'm going to have to look into photoshop, I've been thinking about it for a while, and I'd like to upgrade my camera. Congrats on your blog award!

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  21. That is very cool that you created your own texture with that tablecloth. I can see why they are addictive, they are all so gorgeous. Now you have me wanting to create one too, but I still don't have photoshop to be able to play with them. And I always learn something new about you too Kat when you answer those memes! Loved your number 3, very perceptive even in your younger years! xo ~Lili

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  22. I love all your texture play, Kat...these are all just beautiful! I loved learning more about you, too~ class clown? Love it!

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  23. Kat - those photos with the various textures are stunning - I know I could never learn how to do all that - but I admire that you are taking on this new challenge and making such beautiful creations.

    Fun learning some new things about you - that's me - the hanging out with guys part and the giving charity winnings away -

    Vicki

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  24. Thank you for sharing your lovely blog, photography and tips! Your work is beautiful! I happily have just become your latest follower! I am anxious to learn more.

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