Cassel | Creation Cassel

New Script – Bokeh Maker Script

January 19, 2021August 30, 2013 by Cassel

Did you ever see those fancy photography shots with lights shining out of the darkened and blurred background? Can you do that with your camera? If you can, good for you, but my little point and shoot camera cannot do that, at all. But i still like that look and wanted to see how to do it with Paintshop Pro.

In fact, creating that effect is very easy with PSP, but it is very tedious as each spot has to be done manually, one by one, each time by picking the color from the image. Imagine how many spots one has to create? Well, scripts are just meant to do faster what we COULD do, very slowly, right?

This script will do just that for you. Starting with ANY photo, of ANY size, you will be able to choose between 3 densities of the spots and 4 shapes, and then, let it work on its own. It will create 3 layers with the Bokeh effects, in different blurriness, and one background layer with a copy of your image, very blurred and darkened. All those layers will be left on separate layers so you can tweak them more. You can vary the blurriness more, change the opacity, or even remove one layer if you prefer.

You can really use ANY photo, including the bad ones, since it will be all blurred anyways!

You can grab this fun and creative Bokeh Making script in my store.

And for a chance to win this script, just add your name tothis thread in the DST forum. I’ll be back next week with the name of a winner.

For this week’s free sampler, i created four full size papers for you. Since i dont really know what type of photos you have to use in a layout, i decided to create three of those papers using just gradients i had in my stash: one for silver, one for gold and one for copper. Once i had a paper made out of those gradients, i just ran the script on it.

For the fourth paper, i created a base paper using the Airbrush Paper script with 3 primary colors plus white (for good measure), and then ran the Bokeh script on it. Those two scripts work very well if you want to create a Bokeh background paper to match a specific color palette instead of a photo.

Those are full size (3600x3600) and have no texture so you can add your own to match your particular project.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

And there is another little freebie for you, but this time, it is only for FB fans. Check out the FB fan page and you can grab this set of 6 monochrome Bokeh papers.

Go LIKE thefan page and it will be under the FREEBIE tab.

If you don’t have a FB account, join the newsletter HERE and you will get it too.

Send your friends over and when the page reaches 400 fans, i will add another set of Bokeh papers for all.

News from the Campus

Did you hear about the most yummy event for digital scrappers?

The recipe will include tutorials, goodies, and of course, scrapbooking!

Do you want to learn more about this event taking place this fall?

Click on HERE to get the updates for this delicious event!

New script – Distressed Edge

July 1, 2014August 23, 2013 by Cassel

Do you like the look of distressed edges? Maybe for a worn or vintage look? It might be easy to select pieces to remove all around the edges, but it can be tedious, and making the unevenness regular is a chores. This script will do the work in just a few seconds. You can apply this script to elements, shapes, frames, alphas, tags or photos of any size.

You have the choice of three degrees of distressing and the option to add a darkened edge around too.

Best of all, you will NEVER get the exact same result twice. This means that if you want to grunge up your papers, you will be able to have different borders for every paper you run the script on. It will really look like you spent a whole lot of time grunging those papers one by one! (but we know your secret!).

You can get this Distressed Edge script in my store.

As usual, you have a chance to win this script by adding a post to the RAK thread HERE in the DST forum. I’ll be back next week with a winner. Mendy won the Gemstone script from last week. Congratulations.

cass-DistressedEdge-sample-templates One neat use for the distressed edge is that although you can use it directly on the element you want to have irregular edges, you can also create your own templates for shapes you might want to use in the future. In fact, that is what i did for you. Since i could not show you a sample on YOUR elements, i made some grey templates. They are for 4x4 and 4x6 photos. If you are into pocket scrapbooking, or Project life or using Instagram, you will surely find some use for those. Use them for photos or journaling cards.

As you can see, i use them on photos, but you can use them to cut pieces of papers for a mat too.

Available for FREE when you register to our mailing list HERE.

Will you show me what you do with them?

Are you an Adobe user?

If you have CS4 or CS5, and you want to get Paintshop Pro to add to your arsenal of tools (for a very reasonable price), you can do so as Corel is offering you a great deal: you can get a full version of PSP for the upgrade price only.

Not only you can apply this offer to Paintshop Pro, but to AfterShot, CorelDraw and more Corel products.

Are you unhappy with the Creative Cloud option being the only one offered to you by Adobe? That is one additional reason you can want to switch to Corel.

Are you on a Mac? Yes, i know: Paintshop Pro does not have a native Mac version, but do you know that the Product Manager for Paintshop Pro at Corel works on a Mac? Yes, he uses a Parallels software (you might have it too?) and has had no problem with it. Do you have it? Download PSP trial version and have a look!

But you better hurry. This offer ends on August 31st.

Read more about it here.

New script – Gemstones

January 19, 2021August 16, 2013 by Cassel

Linda emailed me last week asking if i could code a script to create gemstone effects. She saw how Photoshop users had styles to do that, but nothing was available for Paintshop Pro.

I was not sure i could do it, because i needed a specific texture. I was lucky that i had a copy of Filter Forge and i decided to look and see if they had a filter to make that background design. And yes, they did. So that was the first step into making this script, which also uses a combo of bevels and blend modes.

I also drew 10 shapes of gems that you can use to create your own (or tweak them). They are Preset Shapes, so being vectors, you can use them in any size you want.

You can use any color for the base of your gems. You can even use a gradient for a very special effect.

There is a random setting in the script which means that even if you were to use the same size, the same shape, and the same color, you would get different results, just like real gems.

You can grab this Gemstone script in my store.

Do you want a chance to win this script? Head over to the DST forum and add your name to this thread. Tell me what you would do with gems like those. I’ll be back next week with the name of a winner.

cass-Gemstones-sample-flower This week, i had a lot of fun creating your free sample and i am super happy with the result. I created these gem flowers using the script. Here are some tips i used to get such a great result:

- i used a gradient instead of a solid color for the petals.

- i created each petal individually so that the bevels would be appropriate (it would have been a mistake to rotate them)

- when using the gradient, i also rotated it to match the angle of the gem being created.

This flower sampler is quite large. With 1000 pixels in width, you have plenty of options to resize it down to fit your project.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

And remember that you can share this link on FB, Twitter or pin it to your Pinterest board.

New Script – Alpha Sheet Separator

January 19, 2021August 9, 2013 by Cassel

Last week, Kim emailed me about the Element Separator script. She was using it to separate the individual letters of her alpha sheet and usually ended up having the letters saved in the wrong order, because of the way the script was working. That meant that for the renaming part (which the script could not do), she had to do it manually since a renamer utility would not work in the order the files were saved, so she asked if there was a way to separate the characters in a different way, so they could at least be saved in the correct (or mostly correct) order.

Such a request is always a fun challenge for me so i looked at different ways a script could work in order to select the characters in order. I really think it paid off because this script will separate your alpha sheet in no time. Not only it will separate the letters, digits or symbols in order, but if they are simple alpha-numerical characters, the script will ALSO name them correctly, while saving them directly in the same folder the alpha sheet is saved. That means:

- no editing of the script each time you run it to indicate the folder to save the files to

- no renaming needed after the script is done

- no grid to work with

- no lengthy preparation needed in order to use a “time-saving” tool

How long do you think it could take to split, save and name all the characters of an alpha sheet? Check out this video to see for yourself (maybe take a guess before watching it?). Could you work that fast?

After Kim got to play with this script, she posted this review in the store: “I wrote to Cassel to ask if there was a way to modify the element separator script so that it could be used to separate alpha's on a sheet from left to right, as the element separator took elements in the row from the highest point. She not only came up with a modification for the script to work on alpha's, she also coded it to NAME them!!! Talk about a HUGE timesaver! Thank you Cassel, and I HIGHLY recommend this fantastic script!!” What will YOU say?

Now it is your time to grab this fantastic time saver script in my store:Creation Cassel

And if you want a chance to get this script for free, just go add your name to the thread in the Happy Place HERE and tell me what you will do with the time you save using this tool! I’ll be back next week with the name of a winner.

cass-PlasticPocketPage-small-2x2

Are you taking pictures with your phone? Are you often using square photos in your layouts? I created this small set of plastic pockets to display up to 4 square elements, whether they are photos, cards or other elements. It is a layered file in PSD format, so you can actually insert your elements between the layers, and even have elements stick out of one pocket and show up on top of the pocket above it. It is just that easy to make it look as real as possible.

This set of pockets is 1800x1800 so it will not take over the whole page, and you will still have room to add other elements, photos, journaling, etc.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

(if the link is not active, just login or register on the top of the page)

News from the Campus

Are you wasting time looking through your digital stash to find the perfect kit with the perfect color to match your photo? You don’t need to.

Check out the Creative Scrap Course in the Campus.

The course will give you the means to create your own elements in the perfectly matching colors, size, shape, etc. You will never find, in a ready-made kit, the papers, designs and elements you could create yourself.

Yes, you CAN do it.

Check it out and invite your friends too!

New script – Alpha Tags

January 19, 2021August 2, 2013 by Cassel

I saw little tags with digits to create a date on a layout and i thought it was cute. I also thought that it must be tedious to do if you need more than just a few. How about if you want to write a word, a title, or a phrase?

Of course, scripts are made to save time and once coded correctly, that is exactly what they do. So i proceeded to code this script for Paintshop Pro users. This is not a template where you get the script to stop at each layer, ask you what you want to fill it with and go on to the next layer. Once you have chosen the font, the color, the text, the papers and a few other options, you can just go make yourself a coffee and the script will do everything by itself, whether it is a 5 letter word, a 26 letter alphabet or a 50 letter phrase. It is all automatic.

In addition to doing all the work for you, the script will add a touch of randomness that would be visible if you were to use a pair of scissors and cut the papers yourself: you would not get the same patterns or stripes or creases at the same place for each tag. That is the beauty of the random feature coded into this script: you will NEVER get the exact same tags twice. After all, if you wanted the exact same tag, with the same papers cut in the same place, it would be just simpler to create ONE tag and change the letters, but you want something more unique than a carbon copy of a tag for a whole alpha, right?

Then, it is up to you to fasten these tags the way you want, whether you use a staple, a button, a stitching, a pin, or just tuck it under a photo.

You can get this script in the store here: Creation Cassel.

You have a chance to win this script and create your own tags for your kits or layouts. Add your name tothis thread and tell me what you can think of using these tags for. I’ll pick a winner on Monday night.

cass-AlphaTags-sample As a sample, i made this set of digits based on papers from an old kit of mine. The basic blue, white and red should make these tags very versatile. The shadows are added to the inside layers but not the outside ones. That will allow you to add a fancy shadow, making the tags lift off the papers.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

Initially, i thought of giving you only the 0, 1, 2, and 3 so you could write 2013, but then, i figured you might want to use those tags for something else. What else could you use digits for?

Do you like to see layouts made using my products (freebies or purchased)? I am sure you do, and so does everyone else. That means that if you are using ANY of my products, you are allowed to share them with us. I can post your project on this blog, or in the newsletter. You can even post it in the Facebook page if you want. That is allowed! And if you don’t have a Facebook page and would be ok in sharing your layout, i can post it myself with credits to you. How is that?

Dont hesitate. Here is the store FB page: https://www.facebook.com/CreationCassel

Font and bundle

January 19, 2021July 26, 2013 by Cassel

Last week, i released a sewing machine font and i got a request to have a matching “hole” font. I didn’t think, initially, that anyone would want the holes too but i was obviously wrong. So, thanks to Wendy’s request, i am now offering the matching “hole” font with the “stitching” font. You get two fonts in one zip.

You can use the “hole” font on its own if you want, or add it to the “stitching”. They are perfectly matching. Use black or grey holes, or use a blending mode to make them fade in the background. Do whatever you need to make it as realistic as possible.

You can get this Sewing Machine Font in the store.

(if you already purchased the Sewing Machine Font, go back and download the newer zip file which will contain the “hole” font).

While we are in a stitching mood, i bundled up the most popular fonts of my store: the Stitching fonts. Those are the first font i created and they were (and still are) extremely popular especially since they can be used by most graphic programs. There is the basic stitches font and the decorative stitches font. You can use them in so many different ways, i cannot name them all. Use them on a straight line to stitch something, or use them on a path to simulate various types of decorative stitching.

Since they are fonts, you have the opportunity to combine 2 or more characters/stitches to make fun combinations. You can choose the colors, size, kerning, and more, depending on your program.

Although you can get them separately (the Basic and the Decorative), i have bundled them together for you for a discounted price AND it is also on special this weekend. Go grab this Stitching Fonts bundle as soon as you can.

This week, you have the chance to win this bundle of 100 stitches by adding your name to this thread in the DST forum.

cass-SewingFont-sample-tags As a sample, this week, i created a set of simple fabric tags with the years. They are in layered PSD format so the tag, the stitching on top and the shadow are on different layers. This should allow you to colorize the tags and the stitching without affecting the shadow and you can also add your own shadow if you need to rotate the tags.

What would you do with those tags? They would be great to add a fun date to your layouts.

To create those tags, i obviously used the Sewing Machine font, but also the Clothes Tag script. Those two are a fantastic combo!

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

Enjoy.

New Font – Sewing Machine Font

January 19, 2021July 19, 2013 by Cassel

It is always fun to have some stitched text but sewing it, scanning it and extracting it is too much work for most (including me), so i created this font somewhat from my own handwriting.

Being a script font, it is a bit more work to get the letters to attach together properly but i think this one will become one of your favorite. If some letters don’t perfectly attach, you can just blame it on the machine!

The font includes lower case, upper case, digits, punctuation and several accented characters too.

Since this is a font, it is useable with Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, Photoshop Element and probably other programs, as long as they can use outside fonts.

You can grab this font in the store, at Creation Cassel.

You have a chance to win this font by just adding your name to this thread in the forum and tell me what program you are using. Remember that it can be used with probably all graphic programs. I will be back on Monday with the name of a winner (send your friends over too!).

cass-SewingMachineFont-sample

This week, i sent the font to my CT members and Jessica created those fun stitched labels. They are huge in size so you can size them down to just about anything you need.

With such a font, you can surely think of other types of labels you could create or text to write.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

This font will work particularly well with the other Stitches fonts like the Basic Stitches or the Decorative Stitches if you have a craft or a sewing theme layout. Or, how about combining text with this font and the Clothes Label script? This is a combo made in heaven!

New script – Alpha Separator

January 19, 2021July 12, 2013 by Cassel

A couple of weeks ago, Lynn emailed me asking for a script to help her quickly create “cards” with letters as she needed individual letters to write words and phrases on cakes (yes, she does that, and it is pretty!). Nothing was available to meet her needs, even in the store, so i proceeded to code this script.

This is clearly a tool script that will split all the letters in a word (or a phrase), into separate images. It will create all the images the same size (matching the biggest letter of the text) and giving you options to add a background if you want, choose a different size, move the letters off the center (where they would be placed by default), or resize the letters too. One particularity of this script is that it will keep the characters in a vector format, allowing you to start with a small font, and choose a large size image to put them and the letters will be sized up without any distortion. And they are left on unmerged layers so you can tweak them further if you wish.

If you want to make an alpha to match a particular kit, use one paper from the kit to write the text in the first place and it will be separated with that paper. A fast way to create a simple alpha.

You can get this time saving script in the store: Creation Cassel.

cass-FileTab-sample-Days Since you probably don’t need another alpha from me, and since this is a tool script, it is a bit harder to make a sample from it. So i thought of an older script of mine that might help you if you are doing a Project 365, or if you just like to add a fun way to date your layouts. These are file tabs, like you would see in a binder to divide sections. Each tab has a day of the week on it and it also includes a blank white tab, in case you want to add something else to your layout, than a day (maybe a date? maybe a week number?)

Each tab is translucent so you can place it on the edge of a paper, or a frame or a photo and the design will show through.

What would you use the blank tab for?

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

New script – Brad Factory

January 19, 2021July 5, 2013 by Cassel

This is the fastest and easiest way to create a lot of perfectly matching brads.

The script will use any paper you want (you can use 1, 2, 3 or more) and pick a random section of it to create the brad. You will always get a different result (especially if you have some kind of design in the paper) because of the random feature integrated.

But you don’t choose only the papers. You can choose the size, the shape, the finish, the border, the thickness of the border, and its finish.

You can even choose to add your own texture later using another program or plugin (like Eye Candy, or Super Blade Pro for example).

At the end, everything is left in unmerged layers so you can either tweak the settings a bit yourself, use the layers in other projects, or insert decorative elements (think of a little flower!) inside the acrylic.

And you can create 50 brads in a single run of the script. How much easier can it get?

Grab this time saving script in my store: Creation Cassel

Now is your chance to win this fun script. Add your name to this thread in the DST forum, and one winner will be announced on Monday night. Do you prefer round or square brads?

cass-BradFactory-sample-digits One great advantage of this script is how it leaves all the layers intact, allowing you to tweak or use them in different ways. That is what i did with this sample. I ran the script on several papers i had (see the preview) and chose a simple, neutral one, with acrylic finish and i turned it into a set of digits but just adding the characters below the acrylic layer. It was soooooo easy.

Being white with silver border, they should be quite versatile and you could use them in many projects.

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.

If you want the matching alpha, it will be available to all the newsletter subscribers, so if you have not yet subscribed, there is still time as the newsletter goes out on Sunday morning (my time, Atlantic time). Just enter your name and email on the left column here and it will be done! But hurry!

Quick news from the Campus

There will be a live presentation on Sunday, July 7th.

The topic: Many Shades of Grey

You can still register HERE.

Remember, it is free!

New script – Eyelet #3

January 20, 2021June 28, 2013 by Cassel

Eyelet laces are so diverse that I thought there would not be any problem in adding another eyelet script, with some different designs and combinations.

This script will use a 4 petal flower (instead of the 5 petal one, from last week), and the edge has a different shape. You can have one or two rows of flowers, which will be alternating if you choose a second row. And you can add another “edge” above the flowers, and it will be aligned perfectly, depending on whether you have a single or double row of flowers. You can even have both “edges” with no flower at all, and add your own gems or designs in the space created with them.

As for the previous eyelet script, you can add designs on the top, the bottom or both edges in the same run.

Use those designs on ribbon (you just choose the color of the embroidery, but you can use an actual ribbon to add the embroidery on it, create your own ribbon, etc.

You can grab this fun script in my store: Creation Cassel

If you want to add your name to the RAK thread in here, go for it. You have a chance to win this script and be on your way to add eyelets to all your projects.

cass-Eyelet3-sample-frame How about a little sample of what this script can do? I ran the script on a long piece of textured solid color to create a ribbon. I did the same thing twice, to get a top and a bottom edge with proper bevelling (NEVER flip or mirror an element that has been shadowed or bevelled). Then, using a copy of the ribbons, i applied a different bevel angle before merging and rotating the copies to make the vertical edges of the frame. Then, it was just a matter of applying a mitered corner technique to align and cut the corners correctly. What do you think of it?

You need to be logged in to download this sample. You can either login, or register on the top of this page.