Paper-Paisleys Art Adventures: Life Imitating Art...

Some call cosmetics "art supplies for the face".

So, is it so wrong to label them?

I find it odd that something (cosmetics) that is needed much more so as we age is labelled with words so tiny that no one a day over 30 can read them. And only some of them give any indication at all on the outside what color or shade is inside. To me, this is a consumer item just screaming to be labelled, if for no other reason than to give my tired old eyeballs and my magnifying glass a rest!

So, that's exactly what I did. But not before I tried on some. :-)

I googled, found and used a photo booth strip template for PSE from this nice lady, who asks only for a link back, so there it is. Now, I am going to assume that because I'm a pretty total dumb-ass when it comes to PSE that I'm at fault here, but I must have needed a more idiot-proof template because I was tres frustrated in how difficult this was to use (again, for my apparent (pre?)beginner level of knowledge).

Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to free, but I would gladly pay for one that lets you just drag n drop and the template resizes your photos to fit into the frames. I finally figured out how to measure each frame interior space, then resize and crop each photo to fit, then dragged n dropped, and still had to stretch one or the other dimension to get a good tight consistent fit.

I am thinking of emailing Michelle at Cottage Arts (or ScrapbookPATTY, are you reading?), because I would pay good money for a digital hybrid package that works in PSE9, that has templates that let you do stuff like this strip the way I want it, and more. I've amassed a nice wish list, and I'm not alone in my needs. I would help whoever created this market it for free, that is how much I need this. Maybe...Probably, someone has already created it and it's selling off the wall somewhere, but it might as well be selling on Mars because I do not know about it.

For example, I have a Epson Picturemate printer that I LOVE to use. It only prints 4x6, but it prints much better photos than any photo that my ink jet printer can print, and cheaper. And, that size is fine with me, because on a 4x6 canvas, I could print 2-2x3 wallets, or 12-2x2's, or 2-2x3 horizontal strips, and on and on. All perfect for paper scrap booking in either mini or full formats and in art journaling (all of which I do, non-digitally, maybe at most, hybrid-ly). As it is, I have to struggle to do this myself in PSE using a 4x6 document. And I know I'm not doing it right, because it only prints right in Windows (but thank gawsh it prints there).

I'd also add that I also prefer having large amounts of photos developed by mail, so the Picturemate is mainly for photos needed asap and for the smaller photos.

This past winter I finally quit my 10-year addiction to PaintShopPro, because the newest version kept freezing up my computer. It was like the last straw. I'd learned how to do these kinds of things in PSP, but it's just different enough in PSE to confound me. (Although I should add in fairness that it runs so wonderfully on my computer, and what good is any program that doesn't?) There are many things I love in PSE, mainly that Move tool. And the brush tool rocks (except that I suddenly now cannot find the Art by Aimeslee watermark brush I made...deep breath, I'll find it).

At any rate, it will take me a year to do it on my own, which is why I am willing to pay for someone else to. I even paid like $60 bucks back in the spring to take Kim Klassen's PSE course. I got almost through it and then got terribly lost and confused (my fault entirely). I may have to end up paying to take it again before it's all over, but for now I am doing her free mini course first (which began this week). And I'm planning to take every free thing I can find, including over at Elements User village since I recently subscribed to their magazine.

But I would love to be able to print out some little photos NOW without getting all stressed out and failing. I guess I can always pay Walgreens or Snapfish or Winkflash for more wallets than I need (wish you could mix and match single photos on those), or I can always just waste photo paper at home printing a 2x2 on a 4x6, etc., but that's only gonna solve one of my wish list wants.

Another big thing is to be able to buy overlays for my photos that do the same things as the ones on the iPhone. The Hipstamatic things, like the ones Sally uses on her photos she shares on her blog. Look, one of my mottos has always been *never say never*, but this comes pretty close to an exception: you are probably not ever gonna see me using an iPhone, as long as there is the kinda choice there is now. And that is another story as to why, but bottom line is, I like those app overlays (that is how I see them in my feeble mind cuz I see Kim Klassen doing the same thing with overlays).

Surely someone is making them for PSE, but I need the 411 locationlocationlocation. I also need translation, too, like "Compares to Hipstamatic" -- some way for me to know that it does what that does. I'm not hip to the lingo, and I don't ask my Missy because she'll just look down her nose at me and suggest I just go all Apple, and I'm not, so that won't be helpful.

In fact, I'm suddenly not having fun with anymore, as I am beginning to be pestered by a cartoon of myself as an old hag who cannot see, wears too much makeup and can no longer operate computer programs or shop online. Meh.