DeeDoo’s Digital Scrapbooking Blog

We found Schaefer wandering the neighborhood in the dead of winter. He was painfully thin, every rib prominent, and his coat was thick and wooly and dirty. As with almost all the dogs we’ve rescued, he had no collar or identification of any kind. And he was scared to death. He rambled like a wolf on the prowl; he would sidle up to something rather than approaching straight on. He would eat whatever you gave him, and right out of your hand, but you couldn’t get a hand on him to catch him. How we finally captured this varmint is another story.

Summer came and with it tons of flies. The flies would get into the house when the dogs came in from a romp outside. And the flies would soar and dive-bomb me as I worked in the kitchen. One day, totally frustrated, I grabbed a towel and starting swatting at the flies—and I was pretty good at hitting them, too. But Schaefer, my constant shadow, disappeared.

This now 70-pound dog somehow managed to curl and contort himself into a tiny little ball of fur and legs and was hiding in the knee space under my computer desk, between the chair and the back wall. I almost cried when I found him there.

I can only imagine how many times as a stray that he was chased away, had rocks thrown at him, or had sticks or other objects waved as a threat. And who knows how he was treated at his former home. To this day he will disappear any time I go near a towel in the kitchen.

It breaks my heart to think he is afraid of ANYTHING in this house. This is supposed to be his safe place. I am going to work to show him it truly is his safe place. I think I’ll let him eat and shred all the kitchen towels.

The big ‘bush weed’ in the flowerbed all winter turned into a glorious green bush during the summer. Now covered with tons of buds and brilliant yellow flowers, it adds a touch of beauty to our front entry. I love such pleasant surprises! I suppose I should visit the local landscaper and pick up some more mums to complete the bed out front. We also need to sow some grass in the empty ‘crop circle’ where the pool used to be in the back yard. Apparently, the aliens who stole the pool are NOT returning to patch up the ground. Rats. I mowed the front and back yards today, but the weedeating remains undone. That’s such a difficult job—WHY can’t THEY create a weedeater that doesn’t hurt your neck and arms so much?! I always feel like I’ve been hung from a clothesline after finishing with that chore, even if I didn’t happen to slice up my legs in the process. Oh, well, as my niece Boo Boo always says. And we’ll just leave it at that.

One of the truly wonderful things about Photoshop is the Actions feature. Actions are little scripts that can be called upon with a click of your mouse to perform everything from basic tasks to elaborate effects. They are especially helpful when performing tasks that are simple yet time consuming, like converting batches of photos from one size to another, to name just one. But other actions are so much FUN, because they can quickly create photo frames, textures, and an infinite number of other things. Some Actions come with your Photoshop program. Others can be purchased from companies and individuals. And, of course, you can make your own Actions, too!

I’ve made a number of Actions that I use in my work, and others just for fun projects. From time to time I plan to share some of these Actions with you, but first you need to know how to load them into Photoshop and use them. With that in mind, here are some simple steps to get you started.

Watch for some free Actions to be posted here in the near future!

How To Load & Use Actions In Photoshop

After you have downloaded the DeeDoo Action Set zip file, unzip the Action Set zip file and save it to a place you will remember on your computer. Be sure to pay attention to where it tells you it is going to download the zip file BEFORE you click ‘Save’!

1. Copy the Dee Doo Action Set .atn file to the directory of your choice.
2. With your Photoshop program open:
   • From the MENU Bar choose Window>Actions
   • In the Actions palette, click on the tiny black triangle in the top right corner
   • Click on “Load Actions”
   • Find the Dee Doo Action .atn file in the directory where you just saved it
   • Select the Action and open the file – this will load the action into the Actions palette so you may choose it in a later step.

To USE the new Dee Doo Action .atn file:

1. With the Actions Pallette open, click on the arrow on the left of the Dee Doo Action folder to open it.
2. Highlight the ‘file’ name on the second line of the Action set.
3. Click on the Play arrow at the bottom of the Actions palette to start the Action.

The following is a tutorial for one of the most basic things you need to know when learning to use Photoshop. Once you’ve learned the easy steps, you can create documents of any size you wish, with or without transparent backgrounds or colored backgrounds, and at any resolution.

Don and I visited Madame Tussauds Wax Museum while we were in Las Vegas earlier this year and I snapped this photo of Don reaching for the net next to the wax version of Shaquille O’Neal. These guys look big when they are playing ball on television, but then they are with a lot of other really big guys, so you don’t realize how they measure up to an everyday 6’ tall person. This photo gives you a pretty good idea, huh!? And look at those SHOES!