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The creative tutorial home of image wrangler, Lesa Snider.

Step by step tutorials

Welcome to the home of the step by step creative online tutorial. Here you will find detailed, easy-to-understand steps accompanied by screen shots. These tutorials are liable to be about anything from my current project to something that drove me nuts trying to figure out. It is my hope that the things I can convey here will save you time and frustration.

If there's something that you'd like to see written up, please feel free to let me know

Swirls of Summer

Cookie Cutter tool + Custom Shapes = fun photo frames

I'm continually amazed at the functionality and goodies buried within Photoshop Elements. Take the Cookie Cutter tool for example. It's sole purpose in life is to place your photo inside a shape, just as if you'd taken a real-life cookie cutter and firmly pressed it onto your photo: you get a "cut-out" photo with that shape (scrapbooking, anyone?).

Now, at first glance the built-in Cookie Cutter shapes (which are really Custom Shapes) probably won't light your fire. There's a heart, a butterfly, a snowflake and 27 other non-exciting choices:

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The magic of iris enhancement Eyes of the Otherworld How to whiten teeth The Basics of Retouching People, Part 3
How to add a page curl using Free Transform in Warp Mode Creative Curls Fade to White
Painted Edges in Elements Zapping contrary color casts with Hue/Saturation Gettin' the Red Out
Creating a collage with Linear Burn A Stroll Down Blend Mode Lane, Pt. 4 Lesa's Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Tips
Oversharpening trick makes retouching eyes a snap Super Sparkling Eyes How to change the default email client in Tiger
Using Channels to produce eye-popping contrast Goin' Grayscale Creating a beautiful fade from original color to grayscale Fading Color
The Basics of Design Mastering Multiply A Stroll Down Blend Mode Lane, Pt. 2
Holiday Cards Placing Text Behind an Object
Scanning Secrets Rotating individual letters and intersecting text Type Tricks
Portrait Popper How to Create a Layer Mask in Elements
Let Your Graphics Do the Talking Using another photo to create texture for your type Gettin' Grungy With It
Use the Extract Filter for complex selections Selecting Frizzy Hair Use your local library
Using blend modes and masking to lighten shadows Lighten Up! How to create a partial color photo in just two steps! Selective Color Photo Effect
How to smash a photo into pieces Break it up! Fall Leaf Photo Frame
Removing antennas and power lines Spot Healing Brush to the Rescue! Creative Combinations, Pt. 1
Managing Photos with Bridge CS4, Part 1 QuickTip: preparing t-shirt artwork in Illustrator
Tips & Tricks for making photos look old Aging Photos Making a macabre collage with Darker Color A Stroll Down Blend Mode Lane, Pt. 5
Creating Coloring Book Art Simple steps to get you back to original color Warp Speed Color Correction
How to repaint an object using the Hue mode Quick Color Change How to change the color of drop shadows Shadow Dancing
Color Shifting Made Easy Color Shifting Made Easy Playful Panoramas
Filtering away edge haloes or fringe Fixing Fringe Picking the Perfect Palette
Warp speed color cast correction Color Cast Be Gone! Photo Spotlight
Using vector shapes to add a watermark Protecting Your Photos Online, Pt. 1 Fire It Up!
Using the Crop tool to increase canvas size Creating a watermark action Protecting Your Photos Online, Pt. 2
Place a photo inside text Easy Clipping Groups Gradient Map Your Way to a Beautiful Sunrise Enhancing the Sunrise

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