Did you know that you can read the first 2 and a half chapters of my eBook, Ready, Set, Actions! for free, just by liking my Facebook page?

You will learn:

• What actions will do and what they won’t do
• An overview of the two ways to install actions into PSE
• What to do before running an action
• How to run actions
• An important note about messages that pop up while actions run
• What to do after running an action
• Which order to run actions in
• What to do with those Levels dialog boxes that pop up
• The SECRET to creamy newborn skin
• A coupon to save on the purchase of the full book

And all that comes just from the first 2 and a half chapters.  Imagine what’s in the remaining 60 plus pages!

Here is a sampling:

• Chapter 3:  Sharpening, Free Trasform
• Chapter 4:  Tools, File Types, Resizing
• Chapter 5:  Layers and Masking
• Chapter 6:  Start to Finish Edits Using Actions
• Chapter 7:  Troubleshooting
• Appendix:  Everything I Know About Installing Actions

After liking Texas Chicks Facebook page, look for the free eBook download link on the left side of the screen.

I hope you like it!

Happy holidays to each of you.  Thank you for being such fun photography buddies!

My holiday gift to each of you incredible readers is a free action for Photoshop Elements.

It’s that time of year, right?  Lots of thank you notes to write.  As if that weren’t bad enough, wringing them out of the kids can be tough.  It’s a little easier when they can customize their own card.

The free action for Photoshop Elements creates a 5×7 note card in front of your eyes – it’s configured to print on 7×10 paper that folds in half to create a note card.

You can add any photo you want, change the size and color of the frame, and even add digital paper or another photo to create a background.

Here are some customization ideas:

• Your initial, as captured in a photo from somewhere interesting
• A photo of you using the gift that you are thankful for
• This would be great for kids’ thank yous too!
• A beautiful landscape or wildlife shot
• Flowers or other still lifes
• Can even be used for a quickie holiday card!

How do you get this action?  It will be delivered to your email inbox today.  If you already subscribe to the Texas Chicks newsletter, the link to the action download page will be on the right-hand column under the Texas Chicks logo.

If you don’t subscribe to this newsletter, sign up here.  After completing the sign up process, you will receive an email with links to all my free actions.

Recommend Products:

• Paper:  Red River Papers GreenPix Warm Tone Photo Matte is the perfect size and yields high quality prints.  Plus, it’s made from recycled paper!
• Envelopes:  Try these from Jam Paper.  Lots of color choices and the size is perfect.  I love that Brown Kraft Paper Bag version.
• Digital papers:  I love Florabella’s Vintage Teal textures

Would you like an easy (& free) tool from MCP Actions to speed up your Photoshop Elements workflow?

Yes?  Well then, download these free shortcut cheat sheets that Jodi & I made for you.

There’s one set for Elements, and another for full Photoshop.

The thing about shortcuts in Elements is that there are approximately 14,789,285 of them.  I certainly don’t have them all memorized, nor do I want to sort through a list that long to figure out which one I need.

That’s what makes these cheat sheets so useful.  You’ll have two 8.5×11 sheets specific to Photoshop Elements and your computer type (Mac or PC).  You can print it out, leave it next to your computer and grab it when you need it.

Before long, you’ll have your favorites memorized and will be flying through you workflow like a speed demon!

Here’s that download link again.  While you’re there, take a look at MCP’s free actions, if you don’t have them already.  Most of them work in Elements!

Patti Brown, from Kaleidoscope, recently released a free action for full Photoshop for her readers.

You all know how much I love Patti Brown.  Her textures are gorgeous, but her light overlays – oh, they are what truly rock my image editing.  You can add sunbeams or bokeh to your images, and transform your image into a piece of art, like this:

Those are examples from Kaleidoscope’s Supernatural collection.  Patti calls Kaleidoscope a Collection of Color and Light.  And it truly is.

The other thing I love about Patti Brown is that she shares her photography and editing tricks freely – her signature treatments that make her work unique.  I am so inspired by her generosity.  And her tutorials are fabulous.  Her latest tutorial is one of the best articles on lens choice that I have ever read.  And anyone who is just getting into textures needs to check out her videos explaining the ins and outs of getting the look you want with them.

Ok, enough with the gushing, what about that free action you promised?

Patti wrote up her oil painting process that she uses on many of her portraits.  And then she released the same treatment as a free action for full Photoshop.  Wben I asked her whether I could convert this action to work in Elements, she said yes!  This is what she does with this technique:

So here we are.

How do you get the free action?

1. Click here, link to Patti’s blog and thank her for her action.
2. While you’re there, look at her products.  Today only, Patti is running a spring sale!  Use coupon code spring 11 to save 25%
3. If you subscribe to the Texas Chicks newsletter, you will receive a link to the action via email today.  (Look in the right hand sidebar of the newsletter.)  If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here.
4. New subscribers will receive links to all my free actions, including this Kaleidoscope action.
5. Need help installing your new action?  Click here.

Patti, thank you again for making this gorgeous free action available for Photoshop Elements!

Edit:  Kaleidoscope also published an Angel Glow action for full Photoshop, but it is not currently available for Elements.

Details on the brand new free action from MCP are at the end of this post.

I think that photo Valentines are a new tradition in our house.

This is the card we’re passing out today.  I saw a similar picture somewhere on the internet recently, but can’t for the life of me remember where.  It had a girl holding a heart behind her back without the smaller child.  If anyone knows where I saw that pic, please let me know so that I can give the creator credit!

I added a small foil-wrapped heart-shaped chocolate over the sparkle heart in the picture for actual class party distribution.

Here is my card from last year:This is a good way to show off your talent around school!  My daughter wanted to use a photo valentine this year – I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.  However, I wouldn’t mind picking up a bit of business as a result either!

I shot the picture of my two sweethearts with window light coming in from the right.  I used a large aperture to keep the focus on the heart (f/1.8, 180 sec., ISO 500).

The card template was a freebie from MCP Actions. We didn’t send out holiday cards this year, so I printed lots of extras and will send this photo out to our Christmas card list.

And the processing?  It is from MCP’s upcoming release – Fusion.  It will be available for Elements too, and it rocks!  It will subtly liven your photos and apply stunning color pops.  Optional tints and exposure fixes will add the finishing touches to your images.

Wanna preview? You can download Mini Fusion today at no cost! MCP is also running a contest to win the action when it is released on March 1.  Enter the contest here.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and enjoy the new free action!

My newest free action for Photoshop Elements is my special Luminosity Sharpening.  It’s super strong, but avoids halos and that crispy look that often accompany high levels of sharpening.

You can download it from my Facebook page.  Just click on “Like” (if you haven’t already) and the it’s all yours!

These pictures demonstrate how this action is different from other sharpening methods.  Make sure to click on the images below to enlarge and compare the eyes and skin from one image to the next.  And try it on your own images too!

The regular sharpening looks great until you see the noise and crispiness introduced by the high amount of sharpening – look at the skin and hair.  The Luminosity method automated by this action attempts to duplicate the full Photoshop Lab mode method, which works on lightness and darkness values only, rather than on colors.  So you can avoid noise and mess.

It also includes a layer mask so that you can hide sharpening from areas that that shouldn’t really be clear.  Like my laugh lines.  And my gray hair.  And and and….

This action is designed for high resolution images, so use it before you resize to post on the internet or email.  And, the new layer defaults to an opacity of 50% – you can increase or decrease the amount if you need to.

It works in Photoshop Elements only.  (Full Photoshop users don’t need this workaround.)  And it is compatible with Elements 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and works either in the Action Player or the Effects Palette.  Installation instructions are included with the download, or you can read this page.

I’ve been working on a hip and fun new action set soon to be released at MCP, but wanted to offer this freebie in the meantime.  So download away, and enjoy!

For those of you new to Texas Chicks, here is a list of my “Greatest Hits” as an introduction to everything this website has to offer. I look forward to getting to know you and welcome any suggestions you have for future tutorials!

• Free Actions

Oh, the Drama

Perfect Workflow

Reflection Action

Drop Shadow

Lab Color Boost

Defog Free Action Pack

• The Perfect Photoshop Elements Workflow Series
• 8 Ways to Vignette in Photoshop Elements
• 10 Steps for Children’s Photography Poses and Lighting
• Huge Layer Mask Tip
• Texture Tutorial
• Photography Best Resources
• Free Template to Organize Your Actions in PSE by Group
• Maternity Photography Poses
• Turn Off the PSE Welcome Screen
• JPEG, GIF, PNG, PSD, TIFF.  KWIM?
• 12 Tips for Conquering Photoshop Elements Actions (Guest post at Simple Scrapper)

Photoshop Elements Free Action lovers, there are two new ones for you to try.

Digital Backdrops

The first is a set of 10 actions that create Digital Backdrops of any color in 10 sizes.  Like this:

You can use it to put behind a subject to make your photo look more like a traditional studio shot, or to hide a distracting background.  Don’t forget about PSE’s Magic Extractor tool (in the Image Menu) when putting this backdrop behind a subject!

A Texas Chicks reader found this action on ATN Central.  It wasn’t compatible with PSE, so, with the permission of Shannon Beauford, the action’s creator, I converted it for Phtooshop Elements.

Have you visited ATN Central, by the way?  Most of the actions there are for the big Photoshop, but there are some hidden gems for PSE if you look.

Anyway, since this action’s home is rightfully on ATN Central, I have submitted it for posting there and it’s not going to live at Texas Chicks for downloading.  However, if you are a subscriber to the Rooster Roster, I will be sending this action to you later today.  I will also send it to anyone who joins within the next week. The Rooster Roster sign up form is on the right side of this page.

MCP’s High Definition Sharpening Action

Jodi recently published my conversion of her free High Definition Sharpening Action on MCP Actions.  This action set contains one action that sharpens images for printing, and another that resizes and sharpens for the web.  (And for those images that need special sharpening attention, check out my Sharpening Powerhouse!)

Red River Paper Contest Winners

The winners of the Red River Paper gift card stock have been selected and will receive emails about claiming their prizes later today.

Kaleidoscope – A Collection of Color and Light

Coming up next on Texas Chicks, we will explore Patti Brown’s Kaleidoscope Collection and how to use it.  And yes, there will be a giveaway!  A good one, too. And those of you who don’t win will get a huge discount on buying Patti’s products.

Information on downloading the free Drop Shadow action for Photoshop Elements has moved.

Today, Jennifer at Simple Scrapper is running a guest post that I wrote called 12 Tips for Conquering Photoshop Actions.  This is a short list of 12 tricks that will help you get the most out of all the fabulous actions that are available for users of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.   I hope you like it!

Make sure that you also check out the post that Jennifer wrote for Texas Chicks about the Thesis theme for WordPress too!