Metal cans are yours for the opening, and while perhaps mundane, yours for superb simple ORGANIZED storage. Details HERE
See DoDesignDIY.com for more DIY projects.
Michael
Printing your photos on your home inkjet printer is not as difficult as you might think. Try printing them on glossy 8.5 x 11 inkjet photo paper (from Staples, Office Depot, Walmart…) and see for yourself. You will likely be pleasantly surprised and will open up a slew of new ways to design with and display your photos. The two photos shown above are 8.5×11 and displayed in a Backlit Photo Print Display Lamp sold in the DoDesignDIY.com Store.
—Try it with whatever inkjet printer you now have. I have obtained consistently good results printing photos using Epson inkjet printers costing less than $100. The main secrets are to use the slowest and highest quality setting on your printer, good quality inkjet photo paper (I recommend Glossy), and high-resolution photos. More on this below.
—For home use, the new Canon Pixma series of inkjets have gained an excellent reputation. Laser printers can also be used as long as the image quality is acceptable to you. You need LASER printer photo paper for this.
—Obtain images from your digital camera. High-resolution (Superfine, Highest Quality) images provide clearer 8×10 or 8.5×11 prints. The chart at our website from Flickr.com indicates the minimum dimensions of the photo in pixels; the more pixels, the better. Your photo editing software (see below) can show you the image size, in pixels. You can also download many stunning high-resolution photos from photo sharing sites such as Flickr.com.
—Other prints can be obtained by scanning hardcopy materials at a resolution of 150-300 pixels per inch (300 if the original image is under 8×10 and you will be printing 8.5×11 inches). See the following points.
—Open and resize the image using your photo software: Corel, Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Image, etc. Remember that your digital camera, scanner, and MS Office probably included image-editing software. Photoshop Elements is one of the best for general use. Google (verb) ‘Free Image Editing (Mac/PC) Software’ to find and download some surprisingly good ones.
—In the resizing window, set the resolution pixels per inch (ppi) at 150 or 300ppi (300 is best). Then set the actual picture size (in inches) to 8×10.5 inches (or less).
—Before you start printing the first time, check your printer utility to make sure you have at least a quarter cartridge each of the inks, and do a printer utility test print to ensure that the print heads are well aligned and the ink nozzles are not clogged.
—For best results with inkjet prints, use standard glossy inkjet photo paper available at many retailers. Staples’ house brand works well. Be sure not to accidentally purchase laser printer photo paper.
—Before printing, be sure to click Center on Page in File/Page Setup and/or on your print menu.
—Consider first printing a lower resolution (100 ppi) Grayscale image on plain paper to make sure the orientation and size is correct. You can set this on your printer menu.
—Then print on gloss photo paper in your printers finest photo mode. Insert paper only one sheet at a time— they tend to stick together. Printing may be slow, but the results are well worth it. Let each print dry unstacked for a few minutes.
I will be happy to expand this article and answer your more specific questions on the subject. Email your questions to me at mh@DoDesignDIY.com
Tags: design, photos, printing
Clean out a large steel fruit juice can, or a shorter can. Cut out the top with a can opener. Do not use a zip-top can as they leave a dangerous sharp edge. Measure the height and circumference of the can (use a tape measure, or a strip of paper that you can mark, then measure with a ruler. Determine the number of prints you will need to cover the circumference of the can. You may need to tape two prints together (on the back) if the can is over 3-inches diameter and/or taller than 8.5 inches.
Design your own image. Scan something from a magazine. For tips on finding and printing pictures, see Finding and Printing Photos.
Make an inkjet print of a favorite vivid photo or design on 8.5 x 11 inch glossy inkjet photo paper (from Staples, Office Depot). Let it dry. Cut the image print to fit the can height and circumference. You can first protect and enhance the image print with clear adhesive page laminate (Staples, Office Depot, etc.). Roll the image around the can and tape it on using 2-sided carpet tape underneath, or clear office tape on the vertical seam in the back.
As a top, you can use a mailing tube cap or on old lid from a cookie tin covered with another print cutout. The cut off bottom of a 2-liter plastic soda bottle (inverted) or other plastic bottle also can make an interesting top. Tape the edge to dull the sharp edge.
You can also make a similar item by rolling up and inserting the image into a 3-inch diameter glass column vase.
The Icon shown in the picture is made from 4-inch diameter thin-wall plastic drainage pipe sold at Lowes or Home Depot in 10 foot lengths, and 4-inch mailing tube caps. It’s the same principle.
We have more tips, uses and ideas for your photo prints at DoDesignDIY.com/DIY/index.html. Come and visit.
My first Mac tower (OS 9.x) lasted more than 15 years and I’m still considering having it repaired. Though I did graphics and Web design at Cornell University on faster new Macs, I rarely thought my old home Mac was too slow, or not powerful and flexible enough. In all that time, I never once HAD TO defrag my disk (at home or work), though I did have to reinstall OS 9 about three times due to system crashes, maybe ’cause I did not defrag(?). But I lost no doc or image files.
My current Mac is a 3 year old PPC Mini that cost about $550. I use my old CRT, scanner, and printer, and am on a rural dial-up connection.
I use my PC (Win2000) ONLY when I must, which is becoming very rare. It will no longer go online, because (I think) it was bombed with an online virus.
Why I adore my Mac OS X Mini (10.4.11 Tiger):
* Just out of the box, I was using it within about an hour or less. I am on it about 2-4 hours most days. It immediately recognized my old peripherals.
* It is stable, stable, and stable.
* I am able to use my old OS 9 software (on the new Macs, you cannot, but you can run Windows— for a price).
* iPhoto (which comes with the computer) is a superb photo and image visual database, easy to use and capable enough that, with 10,000 images in it so far, lets me find any photo I need quickly, and any category of photos I want (Keywords and Smart Folders). Drag and drop and I’ve got the pic.
* The same can be said for iTunes, AppleWorks (like MS Office, but simpler, and recently improved and renamed), Airport, Firewire, and a host of other applications and capabilities that come with the Mac, some of which I use only once in a while— but it’s great to have them. I find the Email app and Safari browser are excellent, altho a few websites (e.g., bill-pay sites) do not reliably support it, so I use Firefox for them.
* There are many free or low-cost (innovative and intuitive) shareware applications on the Web (Iusethis.com, VersionTracker.com, Apple.com) that give me many added options and capabilities. The great news is that you download the software file, plunk the .app file into your Applications folder, and you’re ready to roll. The only big$ app I have bought for it is Photoshop (and may buy DreamWeaver).
* I am easily able to transfer files to/from my PC using a flash drive or an Ethernet connection, and have rarely had trouble opening any transferred file on either of them, except .wmf image files.
A Mac-friend of mine shares his DSL connection with a PC laptop and with his iMac thru a low-cost router and the wireless Airport.
* It gives me a few prompts and messages I don’t really need, but nowhere like the PC does. If I were still ambitious, I have the option of turning those few Mac prompts off.
* When an application goes bonkers, I can Force Quit it and continue on my merry way.
* I am constantly discovering new capabilities of OS X and the Mini.
* and finally, I find that the PC is mechanistic and robotic in screen appearance, and wants a lot of attention. Perhaps the PC is great for engineers, but the Mac feels visually rich and built for a poet.
The downside:
* The older Mini’s do have a problem with low-voltage feed to a CRT, which makes the screen darker and off-color. When the temperature of my mini hits 86 degrees, that corrects itself.
* Older scanners built for OS9 may not run on Mac OSX reliably, if at all.
* For backups, many add-on hard disks will work, but for rebooting a Mac from a hard disk you need a Firewire drive that is certified OS X compatible.
* I would not recommend the Mini for a professional Web or Graphics designer (I changed careers), but for general use, it’s tops. I WOULD always recommend a Mac, however.
Scribbles is a superb, new, innovative, simple, intuitive, and inexpensive software for drawing on the Mac. GREAT for young Kids, older Kids, and Manic Designers.
Download and try it at the atebits.com site. Download the short Manual for a quick intro, tho Scribbles is So intuitive, you, your child, or a designer likely won’t need it. The entire program download is only 536kb— a great thing in a very small package. Mac OS X only. Current price is $19.95— a steal.
You will not believe how simple, elegant, and versatile it is. While you’re there, check out the Gallery and the Forum.
If you’ve got a Mac-child who likes to draw, this would make a WAY COOL Christmas present. If you’re a designer, this is amazing for quickly sketching new designs.
I am a user of Scribbles, have no business relationship with them— just like it a lot.
Cut flowers are superb, but they lose their luster after a few days. Looking for something less high maintenance?
In NE locations, in mid-spring or early summer, go into the back yard and cut some maple twigs (doesn’t work well for all tree species— the easiest way is just to try). Warmer locales, why wait? When the tree sap starts flowing in warmer weather, they are very easy to peel if you don’t let them sit too long before doing it.The bark neatly peels off the inner wood once you get started, revealing the white sheen of the wood. Use a dullish knife to start it. In late summer and fall, they are not so obliging. If it’s a wet spring, you can soak them in 90% water, 10% chlorine bleach for 24 hours to kill mold spores. Leave them in the sun to dry the surface, then make yourself a great dry arrangement, as tall as you want it. Add some dried flowers or grasses, some glossy painted dowels or other color as contrast and— voila. They mellow to a nice beigey tan and last forever inside the house. String them with white Christmas lights if you want… Dye them with Tintex… Paint them after they’re well dried…
Try it with a larger branch and make yourself an elegant rustic towel rack, pot rack (screw in large metal hooks, or use big “S” hooks or metal shower curtain rings).
Tags: plants, flowers, nature, natural, sculpture
The iPhoto software that comes with your Mac OS X can hold upto 25,000 images and can be used to organize even that many images or photos brilliantly, without much effort. If you use the process following, you will be able to visually access sets of images by Keywords (=Tags) in an instant. Here’s how it works. First, take a look at the picture following.
For easier reference, download and save the enlarged image to your desktop and open it in “Preview”
The image is the iPhoto application:
* Upper left pane: The purple squares are “Smart Albums”, each one with a different keyword. The complete Library view is at top. Ignore the others.
* Lower left pane: Each box is a keyword (=Tag).
* Right pane: The images shown are all for Keyword “idWEB”. My iPhoto currently has 1629 images, but only those tagged (Keyworded) idWEB are visible. If I click on the “idODD” Smart Album icon, I will then get only the images for THAT keyword. (Note: the “id” prefix is not necessary)
How to set it up (let’s assume you have 1000 images in your iPhoto library):
1. Be sure you are in Library view- this will show all the images in your iPhoto library.
2. Decide on the Keywords (Tags) you need. Try to keep each one short and simple. You can add many more later.
For example, House, Garden, Dad, Mom, Sis, Bro, Fido
3. In the screen top menu bar, go to iPhoto/Preferences/ Keywords/Add
Add each Keyword to the list using the + key. Close the Prefs window when done.
4. In the screen top menu bar, go to File/New Smart Album/
5. In the input box that appears, type the same Album name as your (first) Keyword
6. In “Match the following condition” section:
7. Repeat steps 4,5,6 for each keyword you wish to use
8. In the screen top menu bar, go to View and make sure both “Title”, and “Keywords” are checked
9. Now you can sort your actual photos according to Keyword (Tag)-
First, try one photo only.
10. Now, in the right pane, AppleKey/Click more than one photo (or Shift/Click a group of contiguous photos; or Control/click non-contiguous photos) and drag to the same Keyword as in Step 9
11. Now test the results: Click on the Smart Album icon that has the Keyword you have been using (in upper left pane). You will see only those images that bear that keyword.
Notes and Shortcuts:
* By using this system, you can cut out the need to label each image individually, and you can ignore the preemptory (non-Smart) album divisions that iPhoto creates.
* In Library view, you can click on a “non-smart” album title in the right pane to select all the images in it. Drag that (non-Smart) album to a keyword in the Keyword pane, and all the photos in that album will be tagged.
* You can selectively tag any image(s) with more than one keyword (try to keep it hierarchical, and simple)
* If you drag to the wrong keyword, or want to change the keyword, re-drag the image(s) to the Reset box. All the keywords on that image will disappear. Then drag it to the correct keyword. Or hold down option as you drag it to the correct keyword.
* In Library view, in the right pane, you can move individual or groups of photos from one (non-Smart) album to another by dragging it/them to the target album title until a blue bar appears over the album title, then release. The image(s) will be moved into that album. The prior album will disappear if you move all the images out of it.
Now, if you want to see all photos that have Fido in them, you can quickly see only those, at will.
Check out DoDesignDIY.com for information on preparing, printing, and displaying your photos at home.
There’s a new store in eTown that can give eBay a REAL run for its money, money, money. And the best news is that it’s a real store where your items are sold at your price, NOT to last-second bidders for 2-cents over minimum— it’s not an auction site. Even if you keep your eBay store, this eStore is not to be ignored.
www.eCrater.com has an easy and comprehensive interface for establishing and stocking your store— no coding required. You can list as many items as you like, in up to 5 store subcategories, and can include up to 10 images per item. You can use PayPal or Google Checkout, or the usual other payment options.
You’ve gotta check this out. And while you’re there take a look at my Photo and Print Display Lamps in my store.