How to Make a Gif in Photoshop

One of the coolest things I learned when I first got photoshop was how to make a gif image. You may have seen the one on my advertise page on this blog.

If you haven't, here it is:

Cool right? Today I thought I'd share with you how I made it.

First, make a new image in photoshop and then go up to the top toolbar and click "window" and then click "animation." This brings up the menu that you see in the picture below.

Next, draw what you want to appear first. For this example, we're going to draw and arrow going across the image.

You should see the image that you just drew in frame 1 in your animation menu.

Next draw another arrow. Then click the little "new frame" button in your animation frame. It's the same button that you would click to make a new layer in your layer menu. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like peeling off a little post it note.

Now obviously, your arrow isn't jumping across the page yet. Click on frame one and then click on your second arrow in the layer menu and make it invisible (click the little eye next to the layer) and then click on your second frame and make your first arrow invisible. If that's confusing, I hope it will make sense when you are actually making your image.

Essentially, for each new frame, you're going to make a different layer invisible so you get the animation you want. For my testimonial image for my advertise page, I gathered my testimonials and made a new layer for each of them. When they flash through, I simply made a different one visible each time until I cycled through all of them.

In your animation window, you can select how long you want each frame to show. For our example, I did 5 seconds for each. You can also add effects and make them fade from one to the other.

Now you're ready to save your image. Go to file and then "Save for web and devices"

This menu will pop up. Make sure that it says "GIF" where I put a red box.

Then you can name it whatever you want and click save.

And here we are! I know it's a bit confusing at first but I really think if you follow my pictures while you make your own, you shouldn't have any problems! It also takes practice. The first GIF I made took me at least an hour while I played with all the animation options!

What photoshop tutorial would you like to see next?

How to Organize Your Blog Sponsors

Hey guys! So, I have bad news. I'm stuck in NCLEX preparation land in which I feel like I'm drowning in textbooks and practice questions so I asked my friend Heather to guest post about her sponsor system while I'm studying and working full time this week. I hope you'll read it and then share how you organize your sponsors in the comments!

Hey People Hey!

I'm Heather, a twenty something lifestyle blogger. I'm a respiratory therapist and a wife, with a couple of cute fur babies. Paige is elbows deep in NCLEX study guides at this point, so I figured I'd stop in and let you know how I make my sponsorship program work. I've got a full time job, help run a campground, and I do my best to keep a household running, so having ad spots is NOT an easy prospect. I've decided that the key is ORGANIZATION! :) 

Getting organized was honestly pretty easy once I put a little bit of thought into it! I custom made these pages to fit my blog and my ad spots, but the idea is easily replicated by anyone who wishes to do so. My ad shop looks like this: 

As you can see, I have 5 different types of advertising, all with different benefits included, so I decided to create a binder to keep everything and everyone straight. Here's what I came up with:

First I got a cute binder

I labeled tabs to reflect my different spots

Then I designed my pages. I wanted the benefits to be listed at the top of my pages, as well as all the contact info I'd need for twitter mentions, and to keep track of their blog posts over the month.  Here's the different pages I came up with:

In Post Spotlight/Premium spots:

Small But Mighty:

Swap Spots:

and last but not least, my Twitter Mentions:

(PS My twitter mentions slots are open, so if you're interested in great exposure...it's a great price! :P) 

As you can see, it's simple to get organized, and it's been a lifesaver. I make sure to mention every blog at LEAST once a week (unless in the twitter mention spots, then it's 5 times a week) so having a place to check those tweets off makes life so much easier. I'd be happy to make these pages up with your logo if anyone is interested. Just email me at heatherdraney@gmail.com and I'd be happy to talk with you about getting it set up! 

Well, that's basically it! It's not too hard to get organized, and it's much less stressful to manage the spots. It leaves more time for writing my own posts, and for hanging out with my family. Though, it seems no matter what I do and how much time I spend with him, my little guy Dakota can't seem to let me work in peace :)

That's all I have for you guys today! Thanks again Paige for letting me drop in, it's fun to visit other blogs :) I'd love it if you'd drop by and say hello!! You can find me at The Life Unexpected

Alright guys, I will hopefully be back up and blogging and with good news next week! But, in the mean time, tell me,
How do you organize your sponsors?

Free Blog Post Checklist Printable

Here lately, I've realized that I blog in spurts and I always do different tasks. One day I may spend the day editing pictures for a ton of posts but another day I don't want to look at my photoshop at all and I'll write all day. As you can imagine, it got pretty confusing. So, I made a system in a notebook for keeping track of what's done for each post. Mine is handwritten, but I decided to develop a typed version that you could print for yourself! As I come up with ideas for a blog post, I write a short description of the blog post and then simply checkmark when I've had the pictures taken/picked out for the post, then when I've got them edited and then when I've actually gotten the post written and scheduled and ready to go! To download, simply click the link below the image. You'll be taken to a page of the printout. You can either print it from there or just click the little "save" icon that pops up in the bottom right hand corner.

These printables are to be used for your own personal use. Please do not share them and claim them as your own. If you'd like to share with friends, please link them to this post. Pinning it is fine as long as it is pinned from this page. 

Also, these printables are available as they are. At this time, I do not edit these for individuals.

DOWNLOAD COLOR VERSION DOWNLOAD BLACK AND WHITE VERSION What type of printable would you like to see next?

Free Blog Statistics Printable

I like to track my statistics for my blog as much as I can. I like to see the growth and development of my blog, if for nothing else than it's fun for me.
It's hard to keep track of everything I like to keep track of in my planner though, so I usually rely on handwritten sheets. 
Not anymore! I created a printable for myself to track my stats monthly and I thought I'd share with you guys!
To download, simply click the link below the image. You'll be taken to a page of the printout. You can either print it from there or just click the little "save" icon that pops up in the bottom right hand corner.

These printables are to be used for your own personal use. Please do not share them and claim them as your own. If you'd like to share with friends, please link them to this post. Pinning it is fine as long as it is pinned from this page. 

Also, these printables are available as they are. At this time, I do not edit these for individuals.

DOWNLOAD COLOR VERSION DOWNLOAD BLACK AND WHITE VERSION What free printable would you like to see next?

Free Blog Post Promotion Checklist Printable

Let's face it, remembering to promote our blog posts to the fullest extent can be hard. I always forget to pin that post or shout that post to twitter or what have you.

So I created a printable for it! It has space for five blog posts per page. Since I usually post at least five times per week, this covers me for the week. 

To download, simply click the link below the image. You'll be taken to a page of the printout. You can either print it from there or just click the little "save" icon that pops up in the bottom right hand corner.

These printables are to be used for your own personal use. Please do not share them and claim them as your own. If you'd like to share with friends, please link them to this post. Pinning it is fine as long as it is pinned from this page. 

Also, these printables are available as they are. At this time, I do not edit these for individuals.

DOWNLOAD COLOR VERSION

DOWNLOAD BLACK AND WHITE VERSION

What free printable would you like to see next?

How to Make a Dotted Line in Photoshop

Hey everyone! I've got another photoshop tutorial for you today! Now, I just wanted to say that I'm loving putting together these tutorials for those that want them, but don't forget that I can write about other tips and tricks for blogging as well so please send your requests in!

But I thought I'd share something today that gave me a ton of trouble for a long time in photoshop. 

First open your image or create a new image and then select your brush tool. Select a circle brush.

Then, click on the little folder with the three brushes that is highlighted in blue in the above picture to pull up the screen below. 

Under size, slide the bar or type how many pixels you want each circle to be. Under spacing, slide the bar to the right until you get the spacing you want.

Next, select the shape tool and either select a shape or a line. Then click the middle icon I have circled below. It looks like the outline of a shape with an old fashioned pen on it. 

Then draw your shape like I did below.

The right click it and click "stroke path"

This next screen will pop up. Brush should already be selected but if it's not, select it from the drop down menu.

After you click okay, you'll get your dotted line.

 To get the outline to go away, I just create a new layer. In this picture, I created a text layer.

 Then you'll get this:

I seriously wondered how to create a dotted line for a long time in photoshop! I finally found it after hours of searching and I've used it in so many projects since I learned how. What blogging tips do you want to see next?

Have you met this amazing blogger?