 |
Bookmarks As Unique As You
Racks and racks of bookmarks ranging from funny to
inspirational are available in most bookstores. But for a truly
unique bookmark, make your own from a treasured digital
photo.
This idea came from my wife, who wanted to give something
meaningful to the ladies in her group she met with regularly. She
and her friends love reading books, so the bookmark idea sprung
in her mind. After a few minutes of searching our digital photo
database, we found the perfect image from a rare Valentine's Day
snowfall in Dallas.
Tools you will need
If you have a digital camera then you are half way there to
having all the tools you need to create your very own bookmarks.
The other half is a digital photo editing software such as Adobe
Photoshop Elements 3.0.
More specifically, here are the tools you need, some of them
optional:
- Digital photo from which to create the bookmark. This image
could be from a digital camera or scanned in from a traditional
photo.
- Digital photo editing software. This is required to trim
(crop) a narrow strip from your original photo to make the
narrow bookmark.
- If you have a photo printer capable of printing on 4" x
6" photo paper, then you can print the bookmarks at home.
Use the thickest photo paper you can find for a sturdy
bookmark.
- If you do not have a photo printer, you can prepare the
bookmark image using the same steps and have it developed at a
photo lab.
- Paper cutter. The final photo will contain two bookmarks,
so you need a way to cut it in half. We found that an
inexpensive plastic paper cutter made for scrapbook enthusiasts
works well for this task.
Selecting the image
This step is completely up to your own taste. Select a photo
and perform any necessary editing to your satisfaction. My wife
selected the photo below and requested that I add a Bible verse
for inspiration.
See photos here.
In the original picture she was walking our dog, which I
removed with the "stamp" feature in PhotoShop Elements. I also
converted the photo to black and white. Your photo may be fine as
is, so don't feel like you have to do any modifications.
Preparing the image
Now for the trickiest part of the procedure. Don't be
intimidated-it only seems tricky the first time.
The goal is to select a narrow portion of the original image
so that two will fit on a single 4" x 6" print, including
borders. Ours looked like this:
See photos here.
I will give you the general steps and you can apply them to
your specific photo editing software.
OK, so there is a little bit of math involved. If that
completely turns you off, you may still achieve good results
eyeballing your project, but the numbers below will give you an
exact fit.
- Create a new blank image (or canvas) in the
proportions of a 4" x 6" vertical print.
For example, if you intend to print at 300 ppi (pixels per
inch), then the dimensions of the new image needs to be 1200 x
1800 pixels. I arrived at these number by multiplying 4" by 300
and 6" by 300.
- Divide the total number of pixels in the width of
the image by two.
Using my numbers above, that would give us 600 pixels.
- Determine the number of pixels you need for the
border.
Be sure to leave a generous border to mask slight
imperfections in your final cut. We used 30 pixels all
around.
- Double the border pixels because you will have
borders on the left and the right side.
This gives us a total of 60 pixels for the borders for one of
the bookmarks.
- Now subtract the border from the half width to get
the width of the actual bookmark image.
In my case that leaves 600 - 60 = 540 pixels.
- Then subtract the border from the total height of
the image.
The same math for the height gives us 1800 - 60 = 1740
pixels.
- Now select a section of your original image in the
proportions calculated above.
My bookmark proportions are 540 pixels wide by 1740
pixels tall.
- Copy and paste the selection into your new image to
take up the left side, leaving space for the border.
- Paste another copy of the same image on the right
side, again leaving space for borders.
The result is a single 4" x 6" vertical image containing two
bookmarks. For larger bookmarks, you can print on 5" x 7"
photo paper and re-calculate the dimensions using the technique
above.
Print the image
Now that the image has been prepared, you can do one of two
things. If you have your own digital photo printer, just print,
wait for the ink to dry, and cut.
If you do not have a printer, save the image in JPEG format
and take or upload to a photo lab. When you get your order back,
cut it in half and you are done.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Kerekes is an amateur photographer and maintains the
Flying Sam
Digital Photo Guide (http://FlyingSamPhoto.com) web site to
help others find fun and unique digital photo finishing products
and services.
 MORE RESOURCES updated Sun. March / 07 / 2021
|
|
|
Related Hobbies - Crafts articles:
Why You Need A Display
Case
Why You Need A Display Case. Some people are under the
impression you need to own a retail shop to have a display
case. While commercial display cases (like commercial pet
display cases) are popular, many people often have one in
their home.
Tech-Savvy Crafters Can
Go Global
The image of a crafter or artisan is often serene, even
pastoral. It's easy to imagine a potter spinning his wheel
in his barn-turned-studio and then selling his wares at the
little farmer's market down the road.
Ideas for Making Gift
Baskets
Do you want to give gifts to your friends or family for
birthdays, Christmas or some other holiday, but you just
don't know what to get them? Just take a decorative basket
and you can create a gift basket filled with great items
that either your friends or family will love. The items
basically you will need to create a gift basket will
include:**A decorative basket;**Shrink wrap;**Any color
tissue paper;**Different assortment of shredded paper.
Hollywood Gets Crafty -
Knitting And Crocheting Not Just For Grandma
Anymore
Sometimes it's hard to imagine that the stars who shine so
brightly on cinematic screens are people just like the rest
of us. We often think that their lives are so much more
interesting and exciting than our own and that we have
little or nothing in common with the Hollywood crowd.
An Introduction to
Lanyards
Lanyards are pieces of rope, wire, or cloth specifically
designed to attach to objects. They are typically used to
secure small items such as a work badge, key,
identification card, eyeglasses, whistle, cell phone,
bottle opener, knife, or compass.
Puzzle Pieces, Sequins,
and Rhine Stones in Your Scrapbooks
Puzzle pieces make playful embellishments and borders.
Puzzle pieces give a creative and playful look to
children's art and educational scrapbooks.
The ABCs of
Ceramics
Ceramics can be delicate and decorative or unrefined and
utilitarian. Bone china, porcelain, stoneware and
earthenware - this month we'll review them all.
An Easy Way to
Understand Your Collectibles
What kind of gifts you often receive? Is it toy dolls,
animal figurine, antique, pottery, game, memorabilia or
something you consider as a collectables? Well, what ever
it is, as long as it pleases you, those entire gifts are
full with memory which you then consider as a collectibles.
Gifts and collectibles are not contradicting each other;
instead they are supplementing each other.
How To Make Your Own
Gift Baskets
Haven't you always wanted to give someone a beautiful gift
basket, but didn't have a clue how to put one together?
Gift baskets are such a wonderful gift and can be given for
any occasion. Let me tell you how to make such an amazing
gift basket even you won't believe you've made it!First,
start with your "basket".
Making Your Own Bird
Feeder
There is estimated to be over 100 billion individual wild
birds on earth, and each one needs to eat certain amounts
of food on a daily basis in order to survive. That's where
we come in! Birdfeeders are fun to make and are essential
in order for birds to live.
Marking Tools and Laser
Marking Machines for Marking on Metals
Marking tools are used for marking metals and non-metal
surfaces. Mark can be a company logo designed with
alphabets, numeric pattern or any graphical shape.
Starting A Coin
Collection
The best place to start collecting would be with pennies,
we will focus on the Lincoln Cent for the years 1909
through 1958, which are the Wheat Cents. There are still a
number of "wheat cents" showing up in circulation, so it is
possible to start a coin collection without spending a
great deal of money.
A Scrapbook Page To
Celebrate Your Childs First Haircut
Here's a great idea for making a special 'first haircut'
scrapbook page. Between the ages of about 12 and 18 months,
a baby boy or girl may go for their first hair cut.
An Interesting Look at
the Cuban Cigar
Even most non-cigar smokers have heard some of the lore
surrounding the Cuban cigar. Long revered as the finest and
best tasting brands in the world, they have traditionally
been extremely difficult to procure.
Antiques - The Modern
Day Treasure Hunt
In today's world, everything that's old can be described as
antiques and generally speaking that's quite true. A
product is considered to be an antique if it is over a
hundred years old or is rare enough to have some value.
Preparing For a Leather
Craft Project
Once you've decided on your leather craft project, you'll
need the right tools and room to do the work. Being
prepared ahead of time will make your task more enjoyable
and give you a sense of satisfation when you're done.
Working With
Leather
This can be as simple & basic Or advanced &
professional.There are many books, booklets, pamphlets,
reprints, even articles describing how to assemble a simple
article cut from a basic design which is purchased as a kit
from a supplier.
Molding Leather
Armor
In order to mould leather armor, soak it in water until it
becomes pliable and soft. Then place it in the mould until
it dries and hardens.
How to Invest in
Antique, Vintage, or Modern Jewelry
As Antique Jewelry is 'Really' based on the
'Collectability' and Style of an item, it is hard for
clients to appreciate the 'Craft' involved in Handmade
work, as they only see the Gold value or Diamond Value
fluctuate over the years. If Gold goes up or the older
something gets, the value increases, right? No.
Money Making Hobbies -
Which Ones?
Which ones can be money making hobbies? A friend made a
life-sized cow out of plywood once. He painted it, put it
in the yard, and people started asing if he would sell it.
|
|
