Category Archives: CU

Final Parts CU 001 Freebie

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Greetings!  This morning there was just the slightest tinge of fall in the air when I awoke.  I love it when it is cool out.  When it’s hot, it is so hard to cool off.  But, when it’s cold, you can bundle up and keep warm by a fire or under lots of blankets.  My favorite thing – cozy!  LOL

Last week was definitely not up there among stellar weeks!  LOL  I’m behind again, or should I say, ‘still’!  Both time-wise and financially!  LOL  Quite frankly, my nerves are just plain shot!  Things are real crazy!  So, if ya’ll don’t mind, I’m just gonna post the final parts to this month’s freebie, CU 001.  I hope you have enjoyed this one and can use the goodies we’ve made!

Part 5

http://www.suruha.com/download/su_cu_sept/su CU Sept 12 Pt 5.zip

Part 6

http://www.suruha.com/download/su_cu_sept/su CU Sept 12 Pt 6.zip

Here is the Preview of what you will be getting:

Then, if you haven’t been to Miss Edna’s blog for her final parts, click on her preview to go there:

Thank you for all of your kind comments!  You really are a great bunch of folks!  I’m so pleased you visit!

Until next time,

Smile for me!

Hugs,

Su

Blog Changes and a Freebie

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Good Tuesday, All!  You may notice I have been heeding Tom’s advice on my blog.  It was hard not to, since he gave such wonderful feedback.  I placed all of the blinkies, which once filled my side-bar, to a page all their own.  There is now a button, labeled ‘Blinkies’ in their place.  Click on it and go see all the wonderful friends and associates of mine.  
Next, I created a few more ‘Pages’.  These may be accessed from the ‘Menu Bar’ across the top of the page, right under the header.
‘Resources’ is for Photoshop pre-sets, such as brushes, styles, actions, etc, as well as textures, vectors, etc.  If it is used in Photoshop, those links are here.  In fact, this page has been here for a while now.  
‘Stock Resources’, is a listing of such sites as ‘Flickr’, ‘StockExchange’, ‘Deposit Photos’, etc.  These are sites that specialize in stock photos.  I have found a bunch of them!  I believe these are all free, too.  
‘Deviant-Art Stock Providers’ is just that. DA artists are often left out of ‘resource lists’ and they shouldn’t be.  A lot of lists mention DA, as a whole, but, rarely go into each of the artists/providers.  This list will be helpful if you like to do photo-manipulations, or want to incorporate artsy images/elements into a project.  DA is an artsy community, so, much of their offerings are geared towards art.  You can find patterns, brushes, actions, textures, and whatever else you need to be creative. 
Artistic Spirit is a page of my artwork.  My digital interests are split between Scrapbooking and my art.  Including both on my blog is something I have been wanting to do for a while.  While I just started this page, I haven’t posted but a few pieces.  I intend to add more.  I have them!  LOL
By creating separate pages for much of the content that was crammed into a skinny, little side-bar, I feel I have made the links easier to see and use.  They have become the ‘feature’, rather than a side note.  Accordingly, this left my blog posts much easier to see and read.    Next, I wanted to change out my blog’s design.  I have always loved the cluttered look as I am a kind of ‘sentimental and have to keep it near me’ sort of person.  I don’t necessarily horde things, but, I like to put things out to see and admire.  I also like bold colors.  But, there is a time and place for them.  Tom made a point to me and that was that the ‘content’ was paramount.  My own remark was that it did seem ironic to post all these links and banners to other folks blogs when I wanted folks to notice my posts.  I totally support the folks whose links I have posted!  I didn’t eliminate them entirely either.  I just moved them to place all their own!  This radically cleaned up my page!  
I left a few things in my side-bar: the RSS Feed, About Me, the Archives List, Followers, Labels, etc., all blog function related info.  I left only a couple of personal things, such as the DeviantArt banner and one group badge for Digital Whisper.  While I am proud to be associated with many wonderful sites, to me, that may not be something other folks are interested in.  They want to see what I have to offer them.  All the links to the sites I like are still here, just on their own page now. 
I went with a simple blog template.  Now, my posts literally ‘pop’!  Well, I think so.  LOL  The soft color is soothing to the eye.  While I was on eye-appeal, I took Tom’s advice and changed out my font.  I admit, it was hard to read.  I am pleased with the results.  
The next thing to work on is my header.  I have been experimenting with different ones.  I am still not sure what I want, but, I want it to reflect my own artistic personality.  You may see something different up there from time to time.
So, that is where I am.  Working on the blog will, hopefully, be good for readership, but, it has also been a good project for me while I am going through adjustments.  Working ‘behind the scenes’, so to speak, has been therapeutic.  It gives me time to be ‘pro-active’, rather than ‘re-active’ to my world.  I’ve not really been ‘here’ lately.  I don’t feel I am able to give anyone my all.  When I go through an adjustment phase, such as I am currently doing, it is best to keep to myself.  Some medications can affect one in certain manners, if you know what I mean.  There is no telling what I may post.  LOL  It’s just a precaution.
I’ve had these soft textures for while.  Today, you can have them if you like.  They’re all textured differently, and softly.  The colors are random, but, I included some neutral toned textures that you can color to your hearts content.  Or, you can use them with a blending mode to add just a hint of texture to a layout or page you create.  Just click on the preview to go to Minus to download.

Be sure to check back next Monday for the first of another neat set of our freebies kit from the collaboration with Miss Edna!
Until then…

Credit:  Shutter-Shooter@DA

Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat

Essential Gore Freebie

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Greetings, all!  I have been promising you all a goodie and I am back tonight to deliver.  In celebration of Hallowe’en, I made a set for ya’ll.  I don’t call it a kit, because the parts aren’t meant to match each other.  It is just a collection of things, both papers and elements.  You might say that I have been working on this set of goodies for two or three years now.  I started with a concept a few years ago and just played with it, here and there, since.  This month, with Hallowe’en on the way, I spent more time on it and got it to where I think I can let it go.  LOL 
Before you all start worrying about me, this is my ‘dark side’ showing through.  Lots of us have a dark side.  It is that place that we hide from others, except maybe those close to us.  It is that part of us that allows one’s self to think bad thoughts.  We’d never act on any of those thoughts – they’re just there.  I see them as a kind of counter-balance to my ‘good’ side.  My dark side is my phobias and my fears.  It’s the memories of things that hurt, or really affected me, yet, normally, I don’t like to recall.  It’s secrets and hushed tones.  Ya’ll know what I mean!  
It may sound crazy, but, expressing this darkness with my craft, yields more creativity.  I think that is why I have worked on it for so long.  When I needed an outlet, I would play around with the elements or add a bit more texture to a paper.  I was noticing how much better I have become with a couple of years of experience in Photoshop.  There are a couple of items in here that I did in the very beginning that aren’t all that great!  They will do, though!  LOL  I don’t know what I will do now that it is done.  LOL  I suppose I’ll start another!
There isn’t anything in this set that will be disgusting to anyone, I hope.  It’s just a lot of blood, tombstones, bats, you know, blood and gore.  There are some whimsical goodies, as well.  I separated the papers from the elements for the previews, but, clicking on either one will take you to Minus.com for download.  At Minus.com, there are 4(four) parts for you to download.  Click on either the list of files or use the arrows to the side to scroll to the next download link.  I really hope you enjoy!
That’s all I have for today.  I will see you next time!  Until then…
SMILE
Su

SU CheshireCat

Freebie Labels & Links

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Happy HUMP Day, you all!  I love my new computer!  It’s so fast!  I still want  a new keyboard, but, hey!  I am not complaining.  I spent some time working on Photoshop and it takes no time now!  I can get so much more done!  Big HUGS to my PC Guy!  (notice it’s capitalized – LOL)
I have a few things for you.  I have been getting up and about a lot more.  It is a far cry better than laying around!  Sheesh!  In my catching up, I ran across a couple things to tell you.  Shall we get started?
Whilst searching for stock for a project at DW, I found a link to a website that has the most awesome ‘fantasy’ stuffs!  Bella Donna Designs is an awesome site!  To start, she, Diana Hlive, is an artist and an author.  There is her shop, with her art, of course, but, also, you can purchase lots of goodies decorated with her art.  Okay?  Then, she has her Books.  Her latest, “The Secret of the Fairies”, is a guide, a must have, for all the fairy lovers.  There is information and things you can do and make to facilitate the wee ones. But, that is not all.  She makes ‘Artist Supplies’ that are FREE.  All she asks in return is a mention.  She makes gorgeous textures and posers and stamps.  You really must see what she has there!  The things are so colorful and pretty!  Be sure, too, to check out her video page in “About Me”.  Nice!
I have been adding to my “Resources” page.  The link is at the top of the page beneath the header.  When I get more links in there, I will post an article about it.  Right now, I am in the process and there are only a few new ones.  If you’ve never gone there, give it a try.  I have it sorted into categories so you can find what you like.
 
I have another link for you.  I may have written on this site before, but, I’m not sure.  “World Label” has some really great labels you can download for free.  They are real in to ‘vintage’, so, look for all the sweet old tags and labels.  There is an article on old-fashioned flour labels.  At the bottom of the posts are links to download the .PDFs of the labels, in color, some in multiple color choices.  Check out these labels:
If you click on the image, you will be taken to a little project using these vintage labels.  At the bottom of the article is the download.  There are labels you can color or add your own words to, also.  Like these ‘Apothecary’ labels.:
(click on preview to go to article to download)
You could use these for journal blocks or tags.  And, lest we forget, a .PDF can be opened in Photoshop.  They are both Adobe.
That’s a gonna do it for tonight.  I am off to go play with some photo-manipulations.  LOL  I love working with stock images, tweeking them this way and that, extracting the best parts and, then, putting them together in a new fantasy image.  I’ll have to post some more of my works.
  But, before I go, I do have something for you.  I had found these labels on one of the vector sites.  They had ‘example text’ in all the blank areas where one would place their words.  So, I cleaned them up and put them in .PNG format so I could share them with you.  The colors actually match the last collaboration Miss Edna and I did for April.  Click on the preview to download.
But, that is not all!  I also made these!  Each ‘edge’ or ‘border’ is separate.  Mix and match them.  Change the colors if you like.  They look cool on a page’s side, with elements coming out from behind them.  Click on preview to download.
Now, I’m done!  I must go lay down!  LOL  Do remember to
Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat

Links, Stuff & 3 Freebies!

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Since I have been down with this most recent ‘back-attack’, I have tried to start a post several times.  Needless to say, they sit in draft form in my Blogger file.  I hate to lose what I so tediously wrote, so, I am going to take parts of each writing and interject them in here.  I hope it makes sense to everyone.  I was medicated.  That’s the reason I wouldn’t hit the ‘publish’ button when I wrote those posts.  I didn’t know if what I wrote was acceptable or not.  Isn’t that awful?  I learned, though, some time ago, don’t write anything that others can see while under the influence of any kind of mind-altering substance.  Pain meds fall into that category, as well as alcohol, I’m sure.  I don’t drink, but, can only imagine.   I’ve read through them and they appear harmless.  LOL
I have been working on a new header for a little while, now.  In between everything else, I got it to where I am happy with it.  I placed it earlier.  It is my collage of things about me or the things I love.  I put in vintage, like in the flowers, cherubs and fae.  I put in some whimsy, in Cinderella’s Carriage, the mermaid and the March Hare button from Studio Tangee.  I put a reference to my art with the artist’s palette and with the Photoshop icon and feather.  Finally, I made reference to myself with a globe, for my love of learning, and the perfume, ’cause I am a lady!  LOL  The frames serve no purpose other than to give a base, a framework, for the junk up there.  And, I love vintage frames.
There’s one more item up there and it’s kind of a fun, ‘secret’ thing.  The keyhole has little tiny faeries through it if you can get in close enough to see.  LOL  It’s just for fun!  When I was a little girl. I had a dress with a clover leaf pattern.  The label said that there was one(1) 4-leaf clover, somewhere on the dress.  Of course, I found it right away – almost.  I thought that was the coolest thing EVER!  If there is one thing that I have when doing all this, it is FUN!  I love creating and putting it all down so I can enjoy it.  I’m not a big FaceBook person, but, since so many folks I know, including my family, are on it frequently, I decided to post my artwork up there in a gallery.  When I have completed adding it all up to date, I’ll post about it.  In case anyone is interested.  LOL

This past month, over at Digital Whispers, we had a couple of really neat learning experiences, as usual.  But, one stood out among the rest.  I think I mentioned it before, but, we did a “Zetti” Round Robin.  We each took turns adding our own ‘part(s)’ to one image.  The end result was so fun!
LOL  That’s what “Zetti” is.  I read one definition, that it is a hodge-podge of body parts.  That one seems to be the best since body parts are a given in Zetti.  In my research on this art style, I came across some interesting things.  I have been promising some links for you for a while, now, so, here we go!

Starting off the list is “The Sum of All Crafts”.   This chick dabbles in a little bit of everything craft-wise.  Valerie has an awesome blog.  When you first see it, especially if you are a digital artist/designer, you think you’ve stumbled upon a hybrid crafts site.  Along the top menu bar are topics such as “Swirly Flowers” and “Punch-Art Samples”.  These are the cutest ornaments and flowers for embellishing anything you make.  But, that is not it!  Well, it is that, but, it has much, much more!  She has, literally, hundreds of downloadable vintage images for use in crafting and art.  Check out the side bar “Labels”.  She has quite a bit there, all categorized for you!  Near the bottom, under Zetti/Steampunk, I think, she has some great ‘parts’.  Beginning January 23, 2011, Valerie released a set of images to use in making Zetti and/or Steampunk art, or any kind of art for that matter.  There are arms and heads and some neat mechanical parts.  LOL  You got to check it out.  The give away of the Zetti/Steampunk stuff runs for thirteen(13) days, so, make some time and enjoy all this chick has to offer.  I bet there is something there you will like!

This next link comes with a tip for convenience.  I found it as an answer to a dilemma.  When we did our ‘Round Robin’ at DW, each person would add their part, then, save the .jpg and post it on the forum for the next person.  We each added our part with our program of choice, Photoshop, PSP, Paint, etc.  But, to post it, it could only be in .png or .jpg format.  Our forum will host a .psd file, but, only up to about 8 mbs.  Anything over that and it would not post.  So, you can imagine the difficulties in trying to add your part to an ‘established’ image.  The first parts end up being almost completely covered up by subsequent artists’ additions. 

As it so happened, all of us were using Photoshop, so, we were all working in layers.  I recalled a website I have used a time or two, Min.us.  My Yahoo mail attachments don’t show .png files, for some reason, so, I had been using Min.us to post logos and previews of the monthly freebie kit for Miss Edna.  By sending her the link in an e-mail, she could easily access the images and download them, too.  Easy-peasy!  I suggested we try this for our Round Robin and it worked great!  After each person added what they wanted, they uploaded the piece to Min.us and posted the link in the forum.  The very act of uploading generates a link. One doesn’t have to register to use this site; some folks don’t like registering all over the place.   We still had to post a .jpg on the forum pages to share each addition of our parts, but, it made working on the piece so much easier.  Min.us is a great way to share a working document, even a .psd!

Min.us Screenshot

 I just want to add:  I know that you don’t really want to mess with what another person has added, but, sometimes, just moving an element over a tiny bit to make room for your parts, or, maybe, slipping your addition in behind other parts, is necessary.  In a way, this defeats the premise behind a Round Robin – you work with what you get.  But, we were in an educational state for this challenge, learning about Zetti as we went.  I think it will be alright for this.  LOL  Everyone seemed happy with the final piece.  The whole point is to be able to share the files within our group and Min.us was fab for that!

Okay!  Next!  Have you ever taken a snapshot, or seen one, that would look awesome as a piece of art hanging on your wall?  Some are ‘ready to hang’, whereas, with some, if they just had that ‘artistic rendering’, they would certainly be masterpieces.  Now, you can do this to a photo and the results are phenomenal!  Check out Vangobot’s “Pop Art Machine”.   If you prefer the ‘Masters’, this may not be it, but, well, try it out on one of your photo images and see what comes out of it.  I am not even going to try to explain how this works, but, two artists created this ‘robot’ to turn simple images into gorgeous pieces of art.  Their site has some videos that show all about it.  Then, there is the ‘machine’.  LOL  It’s under “Interactive” at Vangobot’s.  You can upload an image, like that wonderful photo, and apply any one of several dozen ‘styles’ to it.  You have to try it out!  It is amazing!

I took this image from my hard drive and applied all of the styles, on by one, before deciding on the one I chose.  Here’s the before image:

This is after, with the ‘Hull Curves’ style implemented:

I opted for a subtle change, but, well, check it out.  Here are a few more style examples:

Isn’t that cool?  I had to take a screenshot and then crop it to have a copy of my own, but, I think it is awesome!  Imagine the possibilities!  I played around with my image:

I’m sure there are other uses.  It depends on the image you upload.  Maybe you’ll come up with a few of your own.  I just thought this was neat!
You know I always have something for you.  These are some “Mommy-type” goodies that I created.  First, I have an ornamental frame strip:
Click on the preview to go download from Box.net.
Then, there are some pretty ‘parfum’ bottles on a collage sheet.  I tried to give these a painted look.  They’re kind of messy, but, I put some work into them and I’m not going to trash them.  LOL  Here ya go!
Click on the preview to go download from Box.net.
Last, but, not least, is a little kit I put together of pretties for you all since this weekend is Mothers Day.  There are some flowers, naturally.  I made the pattern for the ‘Damask’ papers myself.  I’ll tell ya about that another time.  There is also perfume, or ‘parfum’.  LOL  I like that spelling.  The thing with this kit is that I either made it or it was copyright free.  That means I can give it to you for ‘Commercial Use’.  Which means, you, too, can give away stuff you make with parts from this kit.  LOL  I love all this ‘double talk’!  It’s necessary, though.  Whenever I use stuff that belongs to another, I can give it away for ‘Personal Use’ only.  I cannot ‘pass along’ any rights.  If I make it or there is no copyright on it, I can give it to you and you can use it to make something.  (I don’t want to ever see anything I make go for profit!  It’s just my experiments, but, I feel strongly about this.)
Also, just a note, this is not the monthly collaboration that I do with Miss Edna.  We will bring you that starting next week, Monday, May 9th.  This is Miss Edna’s week to be a part of the Gothic Inspirations blog train.  It always runs on the first of each month. so, that week is our off week for the collab.  Starting next Monday, we’ll bring you two(2) parts a week, each, for three Mondays(weeks).
Click on each preview to go to MediaFire to download:
 
Elements:
Papers:
There!  I finally got all that posted!  LOL  I make such a grand production out of every blog post that it takes me forever to post.  Then, my posts are so full of content, it takes a day to read!  Oh, well!  Consider it a visit from me.  LOL  At least, I don’t post every day!
So, that is it for this post!  You all have a really nice Mothers Day, if you is a mommy.  If not, have a great weekend, anyway!  Until next time…
Smile!
Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat