Cartwheels In My Mind

Through the Lens: ToTally Rad.

I always love a good before&after shot. Hopefully, you do too! By now you should be familiar with Totally Rad. If you're not, then... GET YOURSELF OVER THERE RIGHT NOW. I realize that I've talked about these actions before but I would like to show you just a teaser of how different these actions really are. It always helps to have them side by side so you can see the differences in each image.

Plus, each action has a fun name!  

Here's the original. Soak it in... remember what it looks like {or if you forget I give you permission to scroll back to the top to give yourself a quick reminder}.

 

Sparta.

 

Acid Washed.

 

Get Faded:Winter.

 

Bullet Toothed.

 

Clarify+Burn Out.

 

Grandma's Tap Shoes.

You know how I am... short, {hopefully} sweet and to the point... I want this post to wet your appetite for some actions! 

There are a gazillion of examples on the site where you can literally pick one of their pictures and then pick an action to see the different effects for each image. It's pretty fun! Try it out. 

Kitschy Digitals, Wall Art & Pendants.

I love Kitschy Digitals; have for a long time now. Every design is unique and fun! I must say, I went a little overboard creating my projects with the digital kits, because I just could not chose one kit. I was really inspired and needed to play with them all. Mixing them up was the best part. I have found that I am really liking digital elements a little more now. Since I was inspired to step out of my box a little, I made two projects, Chalkboard Photo Wall Art & Kitschy Pendants.

Chalkboard Photo Wall Art

 

I Mixed & matched a variety of Kitschy digital kits with my wall art set. I selected a few of my favorite photos of my daughter, that showcase her personality and I am so excited how they turned out. It was really fun making these. I resized the Chalkboard papers down to 6x6 size, printed them out on the back of white cardstock & adhered them to black poster board. I used the Vintage Photo Frames digital kit to print out my photos on regular photo paper, each of which are displayed in different tones (color, b&w & the Seventies action by Pioneer Woman). Then I embellished each piece with a mix of digital elements from the Woodgrain Frames, Monotone Fresh Feathers & the Watercolor Doilies Paper Collection digital kits.

Kitschy Pendants

I wanted to make something super simple and easy to wear necklaces when the mood strikes. So, I decided to make some pendants. I made three in different sizes and shapes. When making each of these, I resized them to fit the shape without distorting the design of the images. The large circle pendant displays the pattern paper 'Patchwork' from the Calico Dream Digital Kit. I just love the bright & bold, vibrant colors and the pattern was just perfect. Then I continued with the same kit and made a rectangle style pendant using Mustard Gingham pattern paper & Red Calico Flower die-cut elements. Last one is my favorite!! I used a small square glass shape using the "Hearts" Chalkboard papers digital kit for this one. How cute would it be to make a bunch of these and give to your mom or best girlfriend as a gift? Even lovely for Valentine's!

Thanks a so much Danielle for sharing your amazing digital designs with us!!

Through the Lens: Fun with Props&Overlays.

  Happy Thursday my loves! Guess what time it is? Yup, you guessed it. It's time to have some fun with photography. GET EXCITED!

How many of you like the idea of props? Well, if you're like me then the answer is YES. Today is more of a {fun} creative tip rather than a technical tip. Is that okay? GREAT! Let's get right to it, shall we?

 

Okay, people... let's talk about how I made this picture come to life. 

Level of Difficultly: intermediate. {you need to know your way around photoshop just a bit}

::Step 1:: Cut out heart shapes using construction paper {or the paper of your choice}.

::Step 2:: Tape the hearts to the wall. 

::Step 3:: Find an old picture frame {perhaps the thrift store}.

::Step 4:: Take the picture yourself. Or, find a friend to hold the frame while you take the snapshot. 

::Step 5:: Use the "flare-up (faded)" action in photoshop by Totally Rad Actions.

::Step 6:: Add the "You are my sunshine" Vol. 25 EyeCandy Overlay found in the "blossom set".

::Step 7:: Fade the overlay shape from 100% to about 37%. This gives the overall text a faded feel to compliment the rest of the image. 

::Step 8:: Print your image! 

::Step 9:: Pat yourself on the back for doing a JOB WELL DONE!!!

You can check out  Totally Rad Actions: HERE

You can also check out Vol. 25 overlay sets: HERE

Trust me, you'll be glad you checked it out.

 

Click. Click. With My Camera.

3.2.1 ACTION!

Digital Camera + Photoshop = Actions. Right?  Well, for most of us, that is the case.

I remember when I first purchased Photoshop.  My very next purchase was a set of actions.  I had NO IDEA what I was doing in Photoshop but I figured out how to use an action and make my photos look different with a click of a mouse.  Sometimes it was a good thing.  Sometimes not so good.  But with those actions, I learned.  I learned what I liked and what I don't like.  I learned what worked and what was a little wonky.

I know some photographers say they don't use actions and they have their own way of editing.  And yep, that's true for some.  But my philosophy is WHY NOT?  It makes editing more simple & faster for me.  I have a few actions that are my favorites and even with those, I often give it my own twist and tweak them to my liking and then add my own touches in Photoshop.  So even though you may use someone else's actions, you can easily mix them up to create your own look and style.

Here are a few before & afters I've put together. 

One GREAT way to learn what you can do in Photoshop is breaking down your favorite action step by step.  Try each step on your own and see how it changes or affects your image.  It's a great way to learn what Curves does or how Levels affects your photo, etc.  Try it. You might learn something new!

And I know this question is going to come up.  What actions do I use?  I LOVE Totally Rad Actionsand at least one of their actions on every image I edit. A few of my TRA faves...Oh Snap!, Warm It Up, Kris! and Ying/Yang.  I also love the actions from Andie Smith Designs.  Her Awesome Eyes action rocks!  And then of course, there are the fab Pioneer Woman Actions...that are absolutely FREE.  You can find them on her site.

Have any photography questions for me?  I'll be posting a FAQ's post in the weeks to come so bring on the questions!  I'll do my best to help a sista (or a brotha) out! :)

  

Dear Cartwheels:

Welcome to our very first Dear Cartwheels article! We are hoping to share with our readers the fact that we both make mistakes AND learn from them, and we want to pass on little tips and tricks that we have learned along the way over the course of our creative journey. So in order to cover what topics YOU want to see, please send your questions for our team (as a whole or for a specific team member) to [email protected] and we'll try to make sure we answer them all as best we can!

Our first question comes from Ursula Danielle and reads:

"I have been enjoying your blog and noticed that you seem to have a lot of photos with a very nifty faded type of action or something. Especially from Jen Johner and in the blog links you have on there. Can you let me know how you accomplished that look. What the action is or whatever that creates it. I must have it!"

Great question, Ursula! Let's see if we can help you out a little:

Cheryl: "The main one I used on the photos to design the blog is the pool party action from the Totally Rad Revenge set. it's my favorite of all the ones in that kit, but the entire set is just AMAZING!!!"

Jen: "Awweeee.. how fun is this!?

I use Totally Rad Actions as well, but I also enjoy the free actions from Pioneer Woman (the 'seventies' action in particular.. and it is FREE).. I also brighten it up and desaturate the colours a bit! Hope this helps!!" 

Have your own question for us? Send it our way!

-Cheryl