Graduation Subway Art

FOR THE 2021 VERSION OF THIS SUBWAY ART, CLICK HERE!

Once again, before Picnik.com goes offline, I whipped up some graduation subway art.  This was made especially for a colleague, but I am ready for all the May and June graduations now, too. 

After creating the subway art, I used Publisher to enlarge the image and printed it out on cardstock.  Then, using a simple dollar store frame, I framed it.  If you'd like the subway art to use, just right click here for it.

FOR THE 2021 VERSION OF THIS SUBWAY ART, CLICK HERE!

An easy peasy gift or decoration.

Yay, graduates!

Jen

PS - My colleague and friend, AB, made the adorable tassel that you see embellishing the frame in the top photo.  She made the faux tassel out of embroider thread.  Clever, huh?

FOR THE 2021 VERSION OF THIS SUBWAY ART, CLICK HERE!

Jedi's Subway Art

Before Picnik.com becomes a thing of the past on April 19th, 2012, Lil O and I thought we'd whip up some puppy subway art for Jedi.  Since Jedi has received many doggie gifts, we are using the subway art to adorn his thank you cards.

Doesn't he have the best puppy manners?  Writing his own thank you notes?

Ha!

Lil O loved thinking up the words to describe Jedi, picking the fonts and colors, and helping to arrange the layout.  She's a mini-graphic designer in training.  If Mr. UpCyclist is reading, I meant mini "engineer" in training :)

Happy Weekend, Upcyclists,
Jen

Gone skiing/boarding

See you in mid-January 2012, super Upcyclist!

All the best to you and your family,
Jen

PS - Remember how I upgraded to the premium Picnik?  The premium version let's you make nifty collages like the one above in less than 2 minutes!  I am madly in love with this feature :)  Try it out before we see each other again in 2012, ok?

Picnik for Tech Tuesday

UPDATE:  SINCE PICNIK CLOSED, 

I KNOW USE PICMONKEY!  

YAY!  I LOVE IT EVEN MORE!

Shhh...don't tell my Photoshop Elements.  I have a confession to make.  I am having an affair with Picnik. 

How can I live with my disgust and insincerity, yet feel so happy and productive and creative and alive?  If I wasn't so inspired by Picnik, I would loathe myself, but instead, I'm typing this blog post with a cat-that-just-ate-the-canary grin.

Picnik is a free, web-based tool that allows you to manipulate photos and create your own images - like logos.  If you go back to my post here, the collage was made with Picnik.  These photos:  created on Picnik.  For an upcoming post on Thanksgiving day, the photo was manipulated (recolored and text added) with Picnik.  Wait until you see my new series coming in December - Craftucation Nation (sneak peek below).  The banner for Craftucation Nation was created with Picnik.  Yep, I am loving all the creative font choices on Picnik and the plethora of stickers, frames, and effects.  Having this affair with Picnik is bliss.

Look at this other cool Picnik feature - Cloning.  I took one picture and cloned out Lil O:

This is the same photo remember, I just took out Lil O!

Crazy, huh? I plan to work on my facial wrinkles next :)

Two tips:

1.  You can upgrade to a premium Picnik account, but I don't think that's necessary for beginners.  There is sooo much to explore in the free option and you don't even need to sign-up for Picnik to use it; no log-ins are required!  However, since I am having a mad, passionate love affair with Picnik, I did upgrade for $24.95 for the year; it is worth every penny, in my artistic opinion.
2.  To make your own logos and designs (like I did way above), you will need to create a blank jpeg file that can act like a blank canvas.  You can easily do this in PowerPoint or another program.  To do so in PowerPoint, just open PowerPoint, make a blank slide with nothing on it and then save the blank slide as a "jpeg" file.  Here is a screenshot for my visual blog readers....(if you have difficulty doing this, email me and I will send you a blank file).

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner for many of you, fabulous blog readers, why not start a new Thanksgiving tradition and gather around a computer and enjoy Picnik?  You might fall madly in love like I have.  And shhh, remember our little secret.

Jen

PS - Here is a super clear tutorial on how to use the premium package of Picnik to make collages.  If you type "Picnik" into YouTube, you will also see more tutorials to explore.

{NEW SERIES COMING IN DECEMBER}

(Typography added in Picnik; Frame from Photoshop Express App for iPhone;
Trader Joe Nation - a work in progress)

Picnik fun

Lil O and her cousins are having a great time on Picnik.

Each kid/teen, made their own photo creation; as you can see, the "Neon" effect was a crowd pleaser.

Here is Cousin AK's (and yes, she did collect that much candy on Halloween!  Many items were full-sized):

Lil O's - I love how each person gets to pick their own neon color and font style:

And J's - a sassy and fun design - just like her:

Join me on Tech Tuesday, it is time to tackle Picnik!

Happy weekend,

Jen

Picnik is coming soon for Tech Tuesday

Did you know I have a second job?  Just kidding, but managing the rentals of our ski condo in Colorado sometimes feels like a second job.  But, isn't it cute?  And soooo cozy!  Mr. UpCyclist and I agree - if more children and families skied or snowboarded, the world would be a better place.

Anyway, it is time to increase my marketing reach and book some winter rentals.  I thought this nifty photo collage could be sent out to friends and family to spread the word.  I used Picnik to create it.  I am falling in love with Picnik.  In fact, I feel a blog post coming up in the next couple of weeks highlighting Picnik's coolness.

Don't believe me? I even spent $24.99 and upgraded to the premium package of Picnik for the year!  You know I never do that; I am a girl who almost always embraces free.

Best,

Jen