We are soooooo close to Christmas, I can almost hear the sound of reindeer hoofs on the rooftop and smell the wonderful fragrances of Christmas time. It may still be 15 days away but those days are going to fly by much too fast for my liking. So today I present you with a holiday handout. I don't know exactly how many there will be so come back often to find new goodies posted as we lead up to that magical day.
Today's goody should come out roughly 3.5 in. by 3.5 in. if brought up in Photoshop or in Microsoft Publisher. For some reason in Inkscape (the program I use to create my digital designs until I learn how to use Photoshop Essentials) it comes out as being almost 12 in. by 12 in. Actually, when I import it into the blog and choose original size it also shows up super huge. I honestly don't understand why the pixels of the image enlarge so much when I save it as 300 dpi. The original design stays small but the exported png breeds exponentially. However, that is what happens when you don't have a background in digital design and fly by the seat of your pants hoping that what you create will turn out all right somehow by the grace of God and a little luck thrown in. Sorry, bit of a run-on sentence going on there. Just out of curiosity, when you import the images that you download from this blog into the programs you use, are they super big too? If anyone knows of some great sites where they have easy to understand tutorials for Photoshop Elements, I'd love to know. Just drop me a comment or an email. I'd be ever so thankful.
So, now for your goody:
Hope someone out there can put it to use.
The Christmas countdown continues...
Until next time,
While my nails continue their pilgrimage to sufficient design length (if you are interested in the back story click HERE), I present you with another design from last year. It is currently posted on my personal page at the Cool Nails Art website.
Instructions:
- Start with a clear base coat to protect the nails.
- Paint entire nail with red.
- Next paint about 1/3 of the nail with a green appropriate for the season.
- Add a stripe with a glittery gold polish painted on where the red and green meet.
- Finish with 2 coats of a good quality top coat and you have some pretty fingers all dressed up for the Christmas season.
Another pretty simple design!
Now a special surprise freebie that you will only find by actually reading this post because I'm not putting it into the labels or search parameter nor telling anyone where to find it. It is just for those of you who took the time to read through this post. Call it an early Christmas gift.
This paper is produced at 300 dpi and is much larger than what appears here. Enjoy and let the countdown to Christmas begin. Keep checking back for more goodies this week.
Until next time,
Just in time for Hallowe'en I have a new design. I call it, "Have You Seen My Mummy?". Okay, I know it is a cheesy title but I just couldn't resist. It is inspired by a design from 'Dying 4 Chocolate'. Hers of course look much neater than mine. It is difficult to draw thin precise lines on one's own nails especially on the opposite hand. I wish I had people to practice on. I am willing to do it for free, but unfortunately, nobody wants to take me up on the offer. Oh well, in the interim I guess I'll just have to keep practicing on my own nails...
Instructions:
- Start with a clear base coat to protect the nails.
- Apply one coat of solid white.
- Mix some white and gold and sponge onto nails to give it an antiqued look (sorry it's kind of hard to see that in these pictures).
- Using a nail art pen or striper, add the black lines.
- Create a black 'window' for the eyes.
- Paint on two oval shaped objects to represent the eyes.
- Using a nail pen or a dotting tool dipped in black, add the pupils.
- Make sure it is completely dry before applying two coats of a durable protective top coat. I apparently was impatient and mine streaked a bit, I'll blame my husband who was yawning away on the couch beside me and so I rushed it (he has broad shoulders, he can take it).
Here is a closer look, just skim over all the boo-boos:
I hope to add the pictures of all my previous designs soon. My most recent fall design is on my website; the previous ones are still up on 'Cool Nails Art'. It will take some time to consolidate everything over here.
Until next time,
