Lesson 10: Using Actions

UPDATE: The Atomic Cupcake website, where I get most of my actions, has closed. However, I did find that you can get about 70% of them for free at the following link: FREE ATOMIC CUPCAKE ACTIONS. This is not a link that I have created, but just stumbled across. You MAY have to create a login to get them, but it's worth it. I have downloaded it just fine, and the file includes 109 actions! Unbelievable!

Actions are one of my favorite features in digital scrapbooking. I am very excited to tell you all about them. My favorite site is Atomic Cupcake, which is now closed. But, as I mentioned in the update above, you can download many of their actions for free. There are also many other sites that do actions--there are A LOT of photography actions. I like Atomic Cupcake because her actions are specifically for digital scrapbooking. You can actually create your own elements using them.

What is an action?

Actions are like a macro, if you ever use Microsoft Word. It's basically a set of instructions that are recorded and saved. So you just pull up the action, press play, and wait. You will see Photoshop going through a whole bunch of steps on its own--sometimes it can take quite a while--and then suddenly, your work has all these awesome changes to it.

How do I install an action?

For me, I created a specific folder where I put all the actions that I download. I have a Digital Scrapbooking file, with subfolders like "kits", "templates", "patterns", and "brushes." I also have an actions folder. Once you direct Photoshop to this folder for an action, it will always go there automatically unless you redirect it somewhere else.

So, in order to download it, you may need to unzip the file so that it is an .atn file. Then just place it in a specific place where you need to find it. That's it. We'll go over how to get it from there in a minute.

Where do I get them?

First and foremost, the mother of them all--atomic cupcake. Bless this site. It's changed my world. I have purchased almost every action from this site. As mentioned above, it is now closed. I totally cried. Please go to the link at the top of this post to download 109 actions of hers for free! You will need them in order to do this tutorial.

Another site I go to is Panos FX. (this link will take you right to their free actions) They have some freebies and some for purchase. I have used several and they are really great. They can make some really fun page layouts, though their focus is more on photography than digital scrapbooking itself.

A third place I've gotten actions is thePioneerWoman.com. She's got two great actions for making your photos look FABULOUS.

You can also just do a Google search for actions. My sister is heavily into photography and has purchased some actions from well known photographers. These actions can cost over $40, but I was amazed to see what they could do with a single photo.

How Do I Run an Action?

Below are videos that will show you this entire process, but here are the directions in writing.
In Photoshop, make sure you have the layer you would like to add an action to selected. If it is a shape, you will probably want to rasterize it first. (Just right click on the layer and chose Rasterize). You do not have to rasterize your text, but if you text has a gradient on it or something, its a good idea to rasterize it first.

1. Pull up photoshop and create a new page. Draw a shape and rasterize it.
2. Go to Window and click on Actions to open up your actions toolbar. Mine is usually tabbed with my history bar.
3. On the right of the actions bar, click on the pull down menu button.
4. Select Load Actions, and find where you have saved the action you have.
5. Place your cursor on the second line of the action, where there's a play button. (you may have to pull it down)
6. Press play on the bottom of the action menu and wait!
7. It's also a good idea (and sometimes necessary) to highlight your layer. Do this by holding down the CTRL button, then click on the picture part of the layer. You'll now see dancing ants all around the layer on your page.
8. Depending on the action you are using, you may also need to select the desired color you want in your color picker before starting the action.

Ok--written, it's hard to follow, I know. So I'm doing a video for each of the four types of actions you get from Atomic Cupcake. These are also ones I've personally used a lot, and are all available in the free download.

1. Gold - a total must have! This action doesn't require you to choose a color--whatever you have selected will be turned to gold!
Gold_Action_-_Atomic_Cupcake (click to view)
2. Gemstone- This is an awesome one! Make sure you select the color you want it to be in the color picker before you begin.
Gemstone_Action_-_Atomic_Cupcake (click to view)

3. Torn Paper - The first one I ever bought from this site! I suggest it's your first, too! This is one designed for papers rather than for shapes or text--though it CAN be used that way. There are several others for paper like inked or chalked edges that are really great.
Torn_Action_-_Atomic_Cupcake (click to view)

4. Cast Pewter - There are several actions like this one, that require a black and white image.
Cast_Pewter_Action_-_Atomic_Cupcake (click to view)
Well, that's all for actions. Don't forget to also check the Panos actions and Pioneer Woman actions if you find these are interesting. I use them all!

Can I Make My Own Actions?

Yes you can! I am certainly not capable of making ones like Atomic Cupcake, but the other day I made one because I had a bunch of files that I needed to copy a layer, fill it black, take an outline of the black layer, and then delete the original. So, I opened my Actions panel, clicked "record," named my action, and then just did the steps, pressing the stop button when I was done. Then I could just repeat that action for all the other files. It can be done quite easily!

Lesson 8: Kit Resources

*UPDATED JUNE, 2013*

Ok, let's take a little break from all the tutorials and just talk about kits. In this post I will list some of the sites that I get my kits, and where you can get good freebies. I am sure that I will be going back to this very post as time goes by and adding to it, as I discover more and more good places for kits. Throughout this post I will show some of my favorite kits from my favorite designers--though, I bought some of them a long time ago and they may not be available anymore.

Once again, a kit is a set of files which include papers, elements, tags, ribbons, alpha, and so forth, all of which match with each other. As you can see

from lesson 7, creating a page with a kit is much easier. You just choose what you want. Kits are created by talented designers who sell them online. Some designers are, of course, more talented than others. And some just have a style you might prefer. Kits come with a Terms of Use policy, in which you are reminded that sharing the kit is illegal, that (most likely) the kit is for personal and non-commecial use only, and how you may use the kit. Its important that you read and abide by the use policy--someone put a lot of work into creating these kits! They should be paid for their work.

However, sometimes designers will offer freebies, in order to increase traffic to thier site or blog, or to get their work better known. They also will do sales from time to time--I am always on the lookout for those! When you start, you may want to just get a few freebies until you feel good about your skills. But eventually, you will want to put up the money to buy kits. It's worth it. You were oh so willing to buy all kinds of crap for paper-scrapping, remember? Well, this is no different--except that the kit will never be used up and you can use it over and over again.

Now, there are a MILLION kits out there. And everyone has their own criteria, but this is what I look for in a kit:

• Price. Kits can range from $2.00 to $15.00. I can't believe anyone would pay $15.00 for a kit, no matter how good it is. MAYBE if it were a really, really large kit, but even then--I've gotten mega kits for half that price. So, for me, I won't buy a kit unless it's under $5.00, unless it happens to be exactly what I'm looking for, or it's a really large mega-kit (which is usually a kit where several designers contributed.)
• Content. When you read the description of a kit, it will tell you how many different papers and elements and so forth there is. Pay attention to that--if the price is higher, chances are the kit is larger. Still, I've bought smaller kits for $2.00, and they were perfect for just one layout--which might be all you need.
  
• Quality. Not all kits are created equal. A lot of the freebies out there really aren't that great. When I first started, I downloaded anything that was free, whether I liked it or not. I ended up with a lot of large files that took up a lot of space, and that I never used. Pay attention to the quality of work--as you do more scrapbooking, you'll be able to tell the difference.
• Can I Make That? As you get better at digital scrapbooking, you'll learn to make your own elements. Now, I'm not in the business of creating kits--and some of the stuff these designers do it beyond me--truly amazing. But, sometimes I see something in a kit and think, "Yeah, I could make that myself" and then I might think twice about purchasing it.

And here are some of my favorite websites:

Gotta Pixel - This has become my go-to site, the first place I look when I need a new kit. Their prices are reasonable, and they are always having sales. I usually wait until a kit is on sale to buy it, so even though most kits on this site are priced at about $4.00 - $8.00, I usually get them for less than that if I time it right. My favorite designers on the site are Linday Jane, Connie Prince, Trixie Scraps, and Jen C Designs. But there are many others I have bought from.

Lindsay Jane Designs - I discovered Lindsay Jane in the very beginning--she's been with me from the start! I own probably 60% of all the kits she's done. I love her work. And it's also very fair priced. Her kits are about $4-5.50, and she or the site she is featured on often has sales. She also has a blog where she gives away freebies. Lindsay Jane sells her stuff on Pickleberry Pop and Gotta Pixel

Connie Prince - Connie and Lindsay Jane are my two favorite designers, and I own more stuff from them than any other. She's a designer that just fits my style. Her kits are well-priced, big, and absolutely beautiful.  I've also dealt with her personally over email requesting permission to use her kits for this site in my box tutorials. She's very kind and helpful! I just adore her work! She also has her own blog that often has previews and freebies. I highly recommend her! She also sells at Gotta Pixel.
 

Atomic Cupcake - This has been one of my absolute FAVORITE sites for a long time--but it closed down last year. She had some great kits, but the Actions were the best. However, I have recently discovered that you can download her actions off of 4Shared for free! You can find the download here. I don't know how long this link will last, but it DOES work! Yay!

Designs by Krista - I love this woman. She has some of the best stuff on her site. Her kits are high quality, and are a decent size. Not huge--you'll probably use every single embellishment and paper she gives you on one or two layouts, but the cost is just right! Here kits are usually only $2.00 and she even has some $1.00 kits. I just love her work, and you get a lot for what you pay for. Kits are getting more and more expensive all the time--it's nice to find something larger than a mini-kit or a couple of frames for $2.00!

Peppermint Creative

- This is a "tried and true" site where I'm sure many scrappers would point you to. They have a new freebie every month or so--and these are really high quality. Then, in the "coordinated kits" section, you can buy previous freebies for only $3.00. These are really excellent kits. I have all of them from the last few years--I check this site religiously!




Shabby Princess - This site also has some great freebies, though I haven't checked it in awhile. What's great about them is that they have several old freebies on there that you can still get. But they don't update new freebies very often. Still, the ones they have are definately worth your while, and can be a great starting point as you begin didgital scrapbooking.

Scrapping Simply - I'm also new to this site. It's a site I will definately bring up again when we are talking about printing, since that's their main focus. But they also have some great freebies. Just go to the site and click on freebies, and there you are!

Digifree/Craftcrave- When I first started, I went to places like digifree to get free kits. This site, and many others like it, will search other sites for freebies and put them all in one place. On the upside, it's a great way to find freebies! But it's also a great place to find, well, junk. Be careful what you download--look it over and make sure it's high quality. Most of my stuff in my "miscellaneous" file that I really need to clean out and never use, came from this site. Still, it's a great place to start as a beginner. This site has recently been changed to Craftcrave, and I admit I haven't really checked it out in a long time, so it may have improved.

Summertime Designs -I just discovered this site today and thought I'd add it to this post. The author, Summer Driggs, creates some great FREEBIES and put them on her blog. She has a whole list of them on the right that makes it easy to sort to the one you'd like to download. They are all free! The only problem is that they take FOREVER to download from 4Shared. But--it's free so it's worth it, right?

Cherry On Top - I ordered a few kits from this site and I really like them. It's still pretty new for me, but I reccommend them. I liked the feature of shopping by color. I needed a yellow kit for my cover for my 2011 yearbook (for some reason i can never find a yellow kit!) and I found what I wanted on this site. I just checked it today and saw a lot of cute kits on sale for reasonable prices.

Twopeasinabucket - This site recently closed its digital store, but I never bought kits from there anyway because, although they were beautiful, they were WAY pricey. However, I still want to mention it becuase they have a great digital scrapbooking forum with a HUGE amount of traffic-- digital scrapbooking forum--if you have a question, you can create a thread and I guarantee you there will be SOMEBODY who knows the answer! I actually had a really great experience on this website--I needed a kit that matched my nursery for my twins, and on the forum I found a designer willing to help me! Read all about it here.

Now, these are just a few sites. I don't want to overload you with too much! And honestly, in all the years I've done this--these are pretty much the only sites I've bought from. I really need to expand my world, here! So if YOU have a site you love, please list it in the comments section--I'm sure I and other readers would love to know your favorite designers/websites.

Not Using Kits


Now--after all that about kits, I want to remind you that you do not HAVE to use kits to make a great page. My first two books that I digitally scrapbooked I did not use kits. I simply created a a background and used it for each page. I wish I still had the .jpg files for those two books, but as I don't, here's some rather bad pictures of a page spread from each.




My first book, which was my love story, was incredibly simple. I drew shapes (we'll do that in the next lesson) to make a red background, and then a cream colored page on top. Then I saved it. Whenever I started a new page, I pulled up the same background and saved it as a new file when finished. That way, every page looked the same. I'd just add text in the same fonts, and then a few pictures with a stroke and shadow. That's pretty much it. And I still love that book--I'm actually really glad it's simple like that.

My next book was my first year of marriage, including my wedding. I knew a bit more about scrapbooking at this point, but still didn't use a kit. The background was the same on every page, as you see in the example. Then I did all my writing on a vellum I created (again, we'll cover that in the next lesson) and I also created my own eyelets. That's it. Each page was different, but used the same velum and the same eyelets. And it's beautiful. I'm glad I kept my pictures whole, with only a small stroke and shadow.

So there you go! I hope this was helpful!