Merging Digital Images Using Paint.NET

I'd been trying to figure out how to merge digital images when I saw the fabulous tutorial that's linked on Mo Manning's blog - Digital Pencil Too - but unfortunately I just couldn't get it to work for me as I don't have Photoshop. What I DO have is a free software called Paint.NET - one of the IT guys at work recommended it to me and it's very user friendly. Using the other tutorial as a guide I finally worked out a way of merging using Paint.NET. Here it is for you to try... If you don't have Paint.NET you can google it and download it for free. I haven't given you a link as it may change as updates become available. Note - this is NOT the same software as Microsoft Paint! I checked with Mo and she was happy for me to use her images in my tutorial - THANX MO!

It's pretty easy but be aware I've taken LOTS of step by step pictures to make it as clear as possible for  you - so you may want to grab a cuppa before you start. Apologies for the photo quality in some of the pictures - it's not easy to take decent shots of my laptop screen - and I never claimed to be a photographer - LOL.

Also - you can click on individual pictures to get a close-up if you need too!


The first step is to open up the program and click on "File" to get the drop down menu. Select "Open"

Choose the image file you want to use - make sure it's the one that will the back image of your merged images - this is important as the second image will be sitting over the top of this one - so plan ahead! Click on the image you've chosen and then press "Open"

I've chosen the adorable Mariko is Mad - you can find her HERE in Mo's store.

Once she's open you can see she takes up all the space in her "box" - so we need to make some room for the next image.

In the top menu click on "Image" to get the drop down menu and then click on "Canvas Size".

This screen will open up and you can use the placement boxes at the bottom to determine the position on the page of your first image.You will also need to make the picture area larger - you can do this by changing the width and height under the pixel size. For this example my next image won't be taller than Mariko so I'm just going to make the canvas size wider. Don't worry if it looks too big - you can crop your final picture down later. I've decided I want her placed on the bottom right of the page and I doubled the width.

After pressing "OK" my new picture space looks like this. Before taking the next step make sure everything looks OK to move on - because once you move onto the next step you can't change anything done up to now without re-starting. But if it's not right you can still change the canvas size and positioning before moving on.

Now to add in my next image!

I've chosen one of the super cute "I Love It" images to combine with Mariko this time - you can find her HERE in Mo's store.

To add her in you go "Layers" in the menu and select "Import from File" from the drop down menu.

Then find, select and open the file you want.

After you press "Open" she'll appear on your screen somewhere. You may find your second image is out of proportion to your original image - you can re size it by placing your cursor on the corner of the image box and shrinking or enlarging it to fit.

Then just drag your new image into place. You'll notice the box from the second image obscures some of the original image - this is fine - we'll be fixing that up next! Make sure she's exactly where you want her and she's the right size because once you go on to the next step you can't go backwards - this is a pain sometimes but I can't complain as the software was free!

Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Eraser" from the drop down menu. It will come up fairly small but you can change the size using the "Brush Width" option - located to the right  of "Tools" in the menu bar. I use a large brush width to start with and then a small one when it comes to the areas where the images are close together.

Start erasing the "box" around your second image to make the lines from your first image re-appear.

You can also zoom in as you get closer to where the images overlap so you can see what you're doing better - just use the "+" magnifying glass in the menu bar.

Don't worry if you erase too much in one spot - you can always use the "undo" button to go back a step or two in your erasing.

Once you're happy with your erasing you're ready to save your image. Go to "File" on your menu and select "Save As".

Select a name for your file and then use the drop down menu to save your file as a JPEG file - I need to save as a JPEG as I crop my finished image in Windows Photo Gallery - but you can save in whatever format you like!

Just a note here that has nothing to do with this tutorial - I get some files I need to convert to JPEG for some reason or another from another format, so I just open them in Paint.NET and use my "save as" to convert them to JPEGs!

Back to my tutorial - sorry for the unscheduled interruption - LOL.

If you're saving as a JPEG this screen will pop up first. Just press OK.

Then you'll see this screen. You need to flatten the 2 images together into one.

Your next job is to crop the image down to remove the excess canvas - you can use whatever software you usually use for cropping. You can use Paint.NET too - just re-open your merged image into the software and draw a rectangle around what you want to save - using the "Rectangle Select" tool. Then go to "Image" and press on "Crop to Selection" in the drop down menu. Save your finished project.

Here they are among my other Mo files - ready to print out as per normal.

Aren't they cute together!!!

I hope you find this tutorial useful - please feel free to ask me if you have ANY questions!

xXx

A Bit of Fun for an 18th

One of my daughter's best friend's ( they met when they were 3!!!) turned 18 yesterday and Sarah asked me if I could make him a funny card. When I think of funny cards I can't go past Bugaboo Stamps - the lovely Cheryl from My Cardmaking Heaven has been doing some fantastic cards with these guys so they were my first stop. I showed them to my daughter and as the drinking AND driving age in Melbourne is 18 she thought this one would be appropriate for Luke. I don't agree with drinking and driving at ANY age but any message that gets across the idea NOT to drink and drive can't be bad! 

I love Gus - he's the Pop every young man should have in his life to give advice - or maybe not - LOL.

My DP is from my Basic Grey Sugar Rush paper pad and the 18 was cut using my cuttlebug dies. Poor old Gus needs pretty thick glasses to see properly so I've helped him out with some crystal effects lenses.

Happy 18th Luke - hope you like the card!

xXx

Guest DT for Creatalicious Challenges #4

I was blown away last month when Bec and Cheryl asked me to be their GDT for their 4th challenge at Creatalicious Challenges. I was even more stoked when Cheryl emailed me the brief - it was MADE for me and not really a challenge at all - LOL. What is it you ask - Christmas, Glitter and Snowflakes!!!

My first step was to choose an image to use - not really hard as I had recently bought these adorable digital penguins from Angel's Landing - they are just too cute! I used my Touch and Copic markers to colour them before adding Dazzling Diamonds to all the white areas of their clothes.

Now onto the snowflakes - I machine embroidered the base snowflake in a blue thread that's close to SU's Baja Breeze. I then layered on some Spellbinders snowflakes with alternate layers being treated with Flower Soft and glitter before putting them together with a diamonte brad. And don't forget the embossed snowflake background!!!

A few pale blue rhinestones finishes off the glitter requirement - I just wish once again that glitter would photograph - this really does sparkle IRL. The DP and sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

On a side note - I have been toying with making and selling my embroidered snowflakes - I'd appreciate any expressions of interest to see if it's worth doing!

Now don't forget to pop over to Creatalicious Challenges to check out the rest of the fabulous inspiration from the regular DT and give the challenge a go yourself!

xXx

Cards For A Cause - Search for a Meningitis Vaccine

I have 2 cards for you today using some a couple of very special images. As you know I'm a huge Mo Manning fan and yesterday when I visited Mo's Digital Pencil Too blog I read the sad story of 16 month old Layton John Cleaver who succumbed to meningitis recently - you can read the story HERE. To help raise funds to find a vaccine for this horrible disease, Mo and fellow designer Jim Harker have donated a fabulous digital image each - you get BOTH of these gorgeous stamps for 4 UK pounds - not only a wonderful treat for yourself but together we may help find a way to stop help gorgeous children like Layton from dying. I can tell you I have never bought stamps soo fast my life - if you're interested you can get them HERE.

This first card uses Mo's fabulous image called "Out There". This sweet boy looks set for all sorts of adventures - with his faithful companion by his side to keep him safe. I'm not quite sure how he ended up with these colours - sometimes my colouring just seems to take on a life of it's own. I started off doing his top in a pale blue - but it clashed terribly once I did his shorts. A bit of yellow over the shirt and the whole scheme changed - for the better I think! I couldn't help myself - I added flowers to a boy's card - but the olive green felt flowers and the button centres make it not too girly!!! The DP is from Upsy Daisy. This second card was made using Jim Harker's gorgeous Little Soldier snowman. To me he's a bit of a cross between The Nutcracker and Frosty the Snowman - 2 of my favourite Christmas characters. I've made another snowflake using chunky glitter. The DP and sentiment are from Stampin' Up.

Now I'm heading off to cuddle my kids and hope we can help find a way to stamp out this disease - and many others! It amazes me how the internet and some marvellously talented people can do soo much! Thanx Mo and Jim.

R.I.P Sweet Baby Boy!

xXx

More Mo and a Blogaversary!!!

I've had this gorgeous digital image coloured up for a few days now - just haven't had the chance to put her together!!! I had sooo many plans for these school holidays and haven't managed to do half of them - doing nothing but relaxing for the past couple of days hasn't helped - LOL. And it's back to the reality of school and work tomorrow - noooooooo!!!

I was reminded to use her though when Mo Manning - her wonderful creator!! - announced that some of the more popular Mo images are soon to be released as REAL STAMPS by Stampavie - GREAT news for those of you who don't like digis! This image - Rae with Journal - is one of the new stamps available for pre-order here.


Now onto the Blogaversary news...

I have been soo caught up in all sorts of things lately that I COMPLETELY forgot to check out my 1st blogaversay countdown! I knew it was coming up and had been squirelling away bits and pieces for a Blogaversary Candy - but haven't completed it yet!!! Thanx sooo much to 2 lovely comments from Sue Fitz and Teena from Toronto for wishing me a Happy Blogaversary and reminding me it was here!!!!

Soooooo - bear with me and I'll announce some belated Candy soon!

xXx

Two Challenges in One!

I'm not known for managing to fit more than one challenge in a card - unlike some of my amazing blogging friends who sometimes fit in 4 or 5! Don't know how they do it!!! I managed to find time to put this card together today - I had coloured the image up a couple of days ago but have been organising a class for tomorrow ever since. It's a bit scary - am teaching folk art painting again - haven't done that in AGES!!! Had to find all my bits and pieces tucked away behind all the inks and CS that have overtaken my crafting space - LOL.

Ok - back to my card! Last weekend Mo Manning from Digital Pencil Too posted a challenge on her SNR Card Universe - to use this fabulous image! How tough is THAT!!!! Well I had her printed off in no time and had her all coloured up pretty soon after! While I was colouring her I kept thinking she reminded me of my daughter reading her school novels - she only has a few weeks of High School left before her final exams so she's started her revision by revisiting these books. I figured that meant this card qualified for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge that my friends Lisa and Kris help organise. Their 3rd challenge is "Back to School". Our Aussie kids are heading into the end of their school year but their US counterparts are just starting! My daughter has just entered her university preferences for next year - so this particular sentiment from SUs In The Stars just fit beautifully. I really hope all her dreams DO come true!

I hope all your dreams come true too.

xXx

New Release from Sunshine's Stamps

This week saw Sunshine's Stamps release 3 new images - you can check them all out here - and Sunshine has them all coloured up in this release so you get to see their true potential. I chose to use the latest in the Ocean Dweller series for my card - Suzanne Swordfish. The other new releases are Frankie Forklift and Flushie - a toilet with personality plus!!!! I did try VERY hard to use Flushie - but just couldn't get the toilet humour right - LOL. Can't wait to see if the other Sunshine Gals get it right - he could be a LOT of fun with the right sentiment. I wish he had of been around when we were making signs for a party we had recently!!!

Back to Suzanne - I figured if she was having a birthday what would she want??? A nice big juicy worm was the answer. So out came my recently acquired Bugs & Kisses set from SU. The sentiment in the set fit perfectly too - I just worry the worm is too cute to give as a present - maybe it's just a friend popping in for the party!!! I did cover it with Crystal Effects to give it the right wormy shine though.

I also wanted to post a link for a fellow demo and friend's blog - she made a couple FABULOUS cards using Tipsy McStaggers - check them out here. She enlarged him and used his shape to make the cards - WONDERFUL idea - will have to "borrow" it - thanx Annette. BTW - she blames me for introducing her to these fun images - so I know I'm doing something right - LOL.

Here's hoping there's a little Sunshine in your day too....

xXx

Creatalicious Challenge #1

Recently the ultra talented Bec and Cheryl launched a fun new monthly challenge - Creatalicious Challenges - and it's just as well it's monthly as it's taken me forever to find the time to play along!!!

Their first challenge was inspired by Father's Day here in Australia - which is this coming Sunday. You need to make a male card including the colour brown and some metal. When I saw this digital image from Mo Manning at Digital Pencil Too I knew it was the image for me - or at least for my train obsessed brother-in-law! I find male cards hard - I keep wanting to tizz them up with other bits'n'pieces - but I think I stopped myself in time here - LOL. A bit of texture with the cuttlebug embossing, some rich colours and some metal and that's it!

The sun is shining outside and I'm heading off for lunch with my sister and mum to celebrate my mum's birthday - no complaints from me today - LOL. Hope your day is just as much fun!!!

xXx

Kellie's Sketch Challenge #2

Yay - I finally found time to play along with a challenge that's not related to my DT work. Kellie has come up with another fabulous sketch and is offering some cute Motivet stamps as a prize - but hands off - they're MINE - LOL

This cute little baby having all the fun in the fall leaves is a digital stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil. Kellie showed me a couple of Mo's designs at Stamp Camp and I couldn't resist getting a couple for myself. I did colour up one of Kellie's but haven't had time to card it up yet - poor neglected thing!!! The images at Mo's have to be seen to be believed - if you can't find something you LOVE there you're just not looking properly!!!

And don't forget to give Kellie's sketch a go too - you have until midnight Sunday, 30th August - Melbourne Oz time!!!

xXx

Sunshine Stamps Go Underwater!

Hooray for Sunshine and Robbie - their Sunshine Stamps on Etsy Store is officially OPEN FOR BUSINESS...

These gals are 2 of their new images - Big Bertha and Francine Flounder. After all those fabulous masculine images it was sooo much fun to play with them. Francine reminds me a bit of Dory from Finding Nemo - she has that same innocent expression. I think Bertha has seen more of the world and gets a little frustrated by it, and Francine - LOL. I just couldn't help putting them together. I had originally coloured Bertha in purple - but she looked waaaayyy too much like a ribena berry (ie blackcurrant) - LOL. I think the overlay of turquiose calmed her down just enough!

I hope you get a chance to check out the store and give some of these images a go - I know Sunshine would love to hear from you if you do!

xXx

Sunshine Stamps - Super Bird Coasters!

One of my DT commitments with Sunshine Stamps is to come up with projects to showcase these fun digital images. I decided to make some coasters for my son's birthday party with Super Bird. Each one is a different colour and has different phrases - I plan to match the cup colours up with the cars so the boys know which is theirs - of course this is just a theory, we still haven't worked out exactly WHAT we're doing for his party, but I'm sure he'll find a use for these at meal times anyway!

The background is a checkered flag image I found via Google. I just printed it out to fit the wooden coasters I bought from the hardware store. I then added the Super Bird images before varnishing with a fabulous product called Liquid Gloss by CraftSmart. It comes in 2 parts which you mix and pour over your project to give it a finish equal to several coats of varnish. The coasters are now heat and liquid resistant - I've used this product on tiles with great effect. One word of advice - and I learnt this the hard way!!!! - you should SEAL your project before varnishing to stop the "wet paper" look and to make sure the varnish doesn't absorb into the wood. This is the first time I've used it on wood and I'm sure sealing will solve these problems. I was a little upset when I saw the finish on these - NOT up to my standard!!! But my son Toby thinks they're fabulous and that's what counts - I'm not going to sweat the little things. I may put together another set in the future which I HAVE sealed - I'll show you if I do!!!

My last job - to glue some black felt to the bottom of the coasters to finish them off...

xXx

Malcolm the Milk Truck

I seem to be in a very red mood at the moment - my last few cards have a LOT of red in them, I'll try to move on - LOL. I'd like to introduce you to Malcolm the Milk Truck - another fabulous free digital stamp from Sunshine's Stamps. My layout is fairly simple - I had him all coloured up ready to go before I got sick, and just needed to get him finished off! I had all sorts of fun trying to come up with a sentiment - my daughter hated "Go ahead...milk my day!" , my sister suggested "Mum - the Milkman's here!" but I have a need for more boy birthday cards so I ended up with this. There can certainly be some silly ideas and a lot of laughs when you open it up for discussion - LOL.

I'll be back soon with the next Sunshine Stamps instalment...

xXx

Patrick Police Car Hits Town!

Didn't I tell you Sunshine's latest free digital offering was great!?!?! Please meet Patrick Police Car and his macho officer driver - not sure HE has a name - I think I'll call him Sergeant Oz (I'll tell you why later!). Anyway - these guys are hitting the road on a birthday blitz - way more fun than rounding up drunk drivers and road rule breakers - LOL!! The thing I LOVE about Sunshine's stamps is how versatile they are for young boys right through to the older gents. You can colour and do the layouts to suit ANY age group! I can't wait to see what comes next!!!

Now onto why I think the officer should be called Sergeant Oz - you may notice if you check out the original digital image on offer, that mine is a mirror image. The reason - we drive on the left hand side of the road here in Australia so I thought my officer should be sitting on the proper side of Patrick to be patrolling our Aussie streets for birthday suspects!! I did also have to flip the 911 and the number plate words "PULL OVR" - and the 911 SHOULD read 000 - but that was just way too hard for THIS little computer duffer - LOL.

All the best and stay safe on the roads...

xXx

Another Sunshine Stamp - Lenny Loader

The ultra talented Chris over at Sunshine's Stamps has another winner in her 2nd release digital stamp, and it's free if you email her and ask for it!!! I wasn't sure I was going to get Lenny - and then I saw all the fabulous cards, and other bits'n'pieces being produced by the Sunshine Stampers. You really should pop over - Chris has their work linked so you can check it out! Isn't it amazing how many stamps we end up getting after seeing them used and not just seeing the image in black and white!

I've used my Twin Touch markers again and the sentiment was also produced on the computer - thanx to my lovely daughter Sarah who "patiently" told me to use Word Art and then had to show me how!!! I cut the sentiment out with an oval nestie and then traced around the inside edge of the nestie to trim it down - the black oval is the original size! One of my favourite DPs - SUs Urban Oasis looks fabulous in the background teamed with Summer Sun CS.

Chris has just released Patrick Police Car too - if you're too impatient to see what I get up to with him when he arrives in my inbox, go and check him out here. It's fabulous to have such fun images for the boys - thanx Chris

xXx

Angus Argus and a Belated Birthday!

I have been feeling guilty about only phoning my BIL for his birthday. I had every intention of doing more - I just don't know where the time goes sometimes!!! I got inspired to finally do something when I saw this fabulous image used on Sue's blog (Tillymint of A Consuming Passion). It's a free digital image from Christine Bower (aka Sunshine), her very talented husband designed it! I also saw this fabulous card on Kerrie's blog (Kezzam).

I knew this was the right image for my BIL. He got his pilot's licence a while ago, but now most of his flying these days is via Flight Simulator games on his PC. He has surround monitors to simulate a cockpit - it's a truly amazing set-up! I know the sentiment is a bit cutsey, I printed it out on my computer and freehand cut the banner - but I had printed out Angus in 2 sizes to play with and it just seemed to fit - especially as I am sooo far behind in getting a birthday card and present out - LOL.

Everything just seemed to come together after that. I popped some gold brads in the middle of the engines to give them a lift - pardon the pun!!! I also popped the smaller plane and the banner up on dimensionals. The DP is from SU's Windsor Knot.

xXx

Edit - I've been asked a couple of times what I'm using to colour. I have a few Copics - which I love!!! But most of my markers are Twin Touch markers and I use these in conjuction with my copics. They are readily available from my local shopping centre at RIOT Art and Craft stores and I got most of mine on sale for around AU$3ea. Hope that helps!!

My First Card with Digital Stamps!

My 7 year old niece has recently begun horse riding and was proudly showing me all her ribbons and medals! The day after this my good friend Lisa over at The Craft's Meow posted this card made with the same digital stamp I've used here! I've shared many cyber chats and emails with Lisa about digital stamps and my worry over colouring and ink smudges. I was mainly a watercolorist then and thought my printer ink would bleed when wet - let alone the worry of how I was going to get watercolour paper to go through my printer.

This set of digital stamps has launched me into trying them though. This "Cowgirl Ava" stamp and a "Cowboy Ethan" stamp, and a couple of sentiments, have been designed by Pink Cat Studio to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They were designed to honour a gorgeous little boy called Ethan Weiman who passed away earlier this year at the age of 5, after a battle with neuroblastoma. The cowgirl gets her name from Ethan's sister. As Lisa said "Even if you don't stamp, you can still download, print and let your kids color these adorable pictures! Only US$6 for the entire set!". How could I resist - a fabulous cause to honour an amazing little boy - and then there was the fact I now had my first digi stamps to try!

I tried young Ava out first - I think I'll send her to my niece to let her know how proud I am of her achievements! I've enjoyed the challenge and have a couple of "freebies" to try out too. The possibilities when you can change the size to suit, or flip an image, is a lot of fun too!! It just means MORE computer time - nooooooo!! Although I must admit I still love the moment of inking up a stamp and stamping it off....

xXx