Photoshop Tip : Image Processor

Wow, I am actually keeping up with the promise I made last week about tips every Saturday! I'm a little late, but here is my tip for you for today! It is all about Photoshop today, and the Image Processor tool. This is a tool I found completely by accident, but once you use it, you won't go back! Please note that I am using Photoshop CS5, so  I don't know what this will look like on other versions. The idea behind this is that when I edit photos, I tend to work on a lot at one time. And then when Dakota kicks me off his computer its time to get off the computer,  I wanted a way to process the files quickly.
Rather than save them all as PSDs and as JPEG, and resize them to post to Facebook.  Or even here. That takes..forever. 
This handy little tool will help you save and resize in one step! To get started, have some files open in Photoshop that you want to save PSDs of and resized JPEG:

Then, go to File > Scripts > Image Processor and click:

When the window is open, here are the options you have and the ones I typically use selected:

Except that I usually resize Facebook to 1000 px.  That probably looks completely horrible, but I do it anyway.
Explanation: 
Step 1) I use open images because my file system isn't very organized, and I don't want to accidentally re-size the wrong pictures. If you are more organized than me, go right ahead and do whole folders.
Step 2) I save in the same location because it makes these little organized folders that I love so much, and it helps me be more organized. (See Step #1)

Step 3) This is why I use this tool exclusively, rather than actions. You can save your files as multiple options at the same time! I typically do JPEG and PSD. Because I like having the backup of the PSD. Usually I will use the Image Processor twice so that I can have a resized JPEG and a full res JPEG.
Because I love full res. :)
Step 4: Preferences. I don't usually mess with this too much, except usually I do put in my copyright info. That embeds that info into the file, so when I upload to Facebook, it puts it right in the description box!
I don't usually like to run actions off of this step, because then I don't get to mess with what they look like until after they are saved. But some actions work, like Matte Me! That one doesn't require much tweaking, and looks good on almost any photo.
Click "OK" and Photoshop will work very hard saving and resizing your work. So you don't have to!
I hope this helps!
Use my contact page to ask about Photoshop or Illustrator or any other program, and I will do my best to answer here on the blog for ya!

Friday Letters

Dear Friday, You know I love so much when you visit. But this week, since I have been gone, I am so far behind on everything. Thank you for being here, one last day to work before the weekend. 
Dear Vegas, I was so glad to see you and act like a tourist in a town I have been to veryy many times, just never got to experience the strip or the bars or much of that. 

Dear Nana, I loved spending time with you and talking with you. Hearing stories I had never heard before. Hearing your stance on religion, which I had never heard, but is remarkably like mine. I feel more and more like you every time I see you. 

Dear Bed, I have missed you. It was so hard to get out of you this morning. Hotel beds are great, but there is nothing like my bed. 
Dear Dakota, no matter where I go in the world, (don't worry I never go far) I always love coming back to you the most. You really do complete me. I hope you know that.
Dear Loki and Scooter, I am so proud of you guys for getting along better. It is a little more difficult to share a bed with two furballs instead of one, but I love having you guys with me. Especially when I go to bed and you follow me in there. That feels great!
Happy Friday Loves! I am sooo glad to be back!

Sunday Social

1. What is something you have wanted to do but are afraid of?

Work for myself on the side. I am afraid I don't have the work ethic for it to be worth it.
I am afraid I won't make money.
But most of all I am afraid I wouldn't be happy.
But for the mean time, I love where I am.

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I hope managing the marketing department at Waterman. Just with more people.

So I don't have to do all the grunt work ;)

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2012?

My brother visiting, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year.

Oh, who am I kidding? I look forward to Christmas every year ;)

4. What are your hopes for your blog?

Just that people can find it as a resource. To read it and learn something.
Something that design books don't say. That your design teacher won't say.
That's my goal.

5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?

My dad asked me this recently, with the hopes of a new job for him an hour away. Did I always see myself here? Well, I love Exeter. I loved growing up here (despite when I said I didn't.) I feel safe here. I love my job. My family is here. Dakota's family is here. I would love to move to Montana or New York or somewhere cold, but in the foreseeable future I love it here. :)

6. What is your morning routine?

Pretty much roll out of bed, find the clothes I laid out the night before (its a little difficult in the dark), say hello to the cats (they get up with me every day) brush my hair and teeth, find something to eat at work for breakfast, blow a kiss to Dakota (he's still asleep unless I can't find something) and leave.

(I am pretty lazy in the mornings, but who isn't at 4:30 AM?)

Illustrator Tip: Recolor Artwork

So I just got the most  brillaint idea! For the next few weeks here at my little corner of the blogosphere, I will be posting an Illustrator tip every Saturday morning! 
You can request a tip or ask me questions on my contact page. 
Today's tip is about a nifty tool that I am almost embarassed how long it took for me to notice this tool and realize its full potential.
The Recolor Artwork Tool.

Friday Letters

Dear Friday, I am so glad you are here. But I am stressed about you because I have SO much to do today.   Dear Sleep, I am so glad to have reconnected with you last night. But not so much that I am happy that you distracted me from my nightly to-dos such as picking out my clothes and washing my hair. I had to do all that this morning. But I really needed you. And starting at 7:00 last night was a great idea! Dear Candy Bowl at the Front Desk, why must you have chocolate?! I have to have one every time I walk by. On the other hand, maybe its okay because when I walk by I am usually walking into my boss' office? I needed the chocolate.  Truth. 

Dear Dakota, I have really loved you being off the past few days. Eating dinner together, watching tv together, I could get used to this. :) Dear Easton Corbin, I love you. <3 Mostly because I think "Lovin' You is Fun" is mine and Dakota's song. And because you are cute. :) 
Happy Friday, Loves! :) I will try to post from VEGAS! :) 

ABC's of Jessica :)

Emily from Sweet Bella Roos did her ABC's today, so I had to join in on the fun! I know I have been lazy with posts but with a major tradeshow coming up and me being out of the office next week on business, things have been crazy around here.  I will get some design posts when I get back! :)

A} Age:21.. I am finally legal!

B} Bed Size: King. I love having the space. Dakota does too. Otherwise he kicks me. Plus we share it with two bed hogging cats.
C} Chore you dislike: Would it be wrong to say all of them? Mostly dishes. I hate doing the dishes.

D} Dogs: Nope, I have cats! 

E} Essential start to your day: Bacon egg and cheese croissant sandwich.. found them frozen at Walmart for like $4 for 4! I love those things!
F} Favorite Colors: purple, teal, yellow, and green. 

G} Gold or Silver: White gold, but I also have a sterling silver necklace I wear everyday that Dakota got me when we first started dating.
H} Height: 5'4 ish. There is a difference between Dakota and I (he is about 6 feet) but I love that he is so tall.  :)

I} Instruments you play (past/present): In elementary school I played the clarinet. I was not any good at all. 
J} Job Title: Sales and Marketing Assistant This title is misleading, I have nothing to do with sales and everything to do with marketing.
My role has changed so much that I don't mind the title.
Plus, my boss is the VP of Sales and Marketing, so it kinda makes sense.
K} Kids: Nope, just two furballs, Scooter and Loki!
L} Live: In the sunny state of California
M} Mom’s name: Joy
N} Nicknames: Most people call me Jess. Even at work.
O} Overnight hospital stays: Not that I know of.
P} Pet Peeves: Liars, sleezy salesmen, bad drivers
Q} Quote from a Movie: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. " -The Princess Diaries
R} Righty or Lefty: Right .. Dakota is a leftie :P
S} Siblings: A brother (DJ) who currently lives 2,907 miles away.
Plus a brother and sister in law (Skyler and Cheyenne) that like to stay with us a lot.
Dakota also has another brother named March that I have never met, but I'd like to!

DJ

T} Time you wake up: Between 3:30 and 4:30, depending on how lazy I am.
U} URL favorite these days: Pinterest! And Bloglovin. I am obsessed with Bloglovin'.
V} Vegetables you don’t like: Bell peppers. Brussel sprouts. (Or as my dad calls them, the evil sprouts)
W} What makes you run late: Usually leaving work I am always late because I get caught up in doing something and hate to leave in the middle of something.
In the mornings sometimes (like today..ugh) I can't convince myself to get out of bed early enough :/
X} X-Rays: Teeth mostly I think. (I've never had any broken bones)
Y} Yesterday memory: Curled up with Dakota watching Everybody Loves Raymond and playing with Loki :)
Z} Zoo Animal Favorite: Giraffes and Penguins

Me, Myself, and I - September

1) When you're feeling down, what do you do to pick yourself up?

Listen to happy music, play with my cat, watch an old sitcom. I am pretty easy to cheer up, most of the time.

2)  If you had to live in a different time period which would you prefer?

I really love the one I am in, because I love new technology. But other than that, I think I would have been good in the 60s. I think I would make a decent hippie. I am very pro-real food, natural cleansers, peace and love, but I can also be very contradictory... (see below)

3)  What is the most creative Halloween costume you've ever worn?

One year I was a punk rocker.  I never could convince my parents to buy me a costume (those suckers are expensive) so I wore an old ratty Ozzy t-shirt that my mom had fixed so that it would fit me, put gloves on and one of my belts and I was good to go.

In retrospect, I think this is a more extreme version of who I already was.

(Were we all this scary at 16, or was it just me?!)
(P.S. I still love Slipknot, though.)


Funniest part of that story is that my mom did the same thing for her work's Halloween.
Psst.. Please don't tell her this image is on the internet! She will kill me.

4)  Five weird things about you we wouldn't know without being told?

1. This is my natural hair color.  I stopped dying my hair about three or four years ago.

2.  I still love 90s pop. N'Sync. Backstreet Boys.
I even listen to them at work sometimes.

3. I hate having wet hair on my skin.
When I get out of the shower I always have to put it up until it dries.
Because I am lazy and don't like to blow dry.

4. I am really hippy about some stuff (see question 2) like dye free laundry soap and using natural cleansers and using recycled materials, but I still drink soda occasionally (more and more rarely, yay!) and eat meat.
Is that weird?

5.  I have an old Photobucket account from when I was 16.
Hence where I found the previous pictures.
 Please don't tell my mother.
And please don't make me login to that account ever ever again.

5)  What would you tell your 16-year-old self?

Value yourself. Don't take everything so seriously.
And don't ever.
Ever.
Dress like this.

...On second thought, it makes for some pretty good blog posts.

Nail Polish Reveal!

I recently fell in love with Rachel's blog over at Lala Lists (she's a graphic design student like me...she feels my pain!) so when she said she was hosting a nail polish swap.. I was SO in.  I swapped with Stephanie from Violet Lilac Plum.  She wanted me to "surprise her" so you will have to head over there and see what I sent her! I hope she liked it! :) I had so much fun waiting for a package to come.  I waited and waited for what seemed like eternity. (I'm not good at waiting) And then, the day came when it finally got here. 

I was just blown away by the pretty pink packaging! And the owls! Goodness. Made me feel like a slacker.
And then I pulled out the polishes.
Once again, blown away. I asked for sparkles, and Stephanie definitely delivered!

And they looked so cute on my nails.... (I never realized before how hard it is to take pictures of your own hands!!) Also, keep in mind that I am no manicurist.. But I did my best!

I am so glad I participated in this swap! Gave me an excuse to do some nail polish shopping, which is one of my favorite things to do!

Go by and see what I got Stephanie!

(Oh, and I hope you are all proud of me - I used my big camera on this post! Instead of instagram ;])

Sunday Social

Ah, Sundays. We have such a love/hate relationship. I love Sundays because...  they are days full of rest and relaxation.. most of the time. I get to spend time with my parents at our weekly dinner. Dakota and I get to sleep in.. most of the time. I hate Sundays because.. It is the last day of the weekend. It is the day I say I will do my chores, but never do. I have to go to bed early. Just thinking about getting up so early tomorrow makes me want to go to sleep right now! Anyways, its Sunday, so its Sunday Social with Neely... Have you linked up yet?

1. 5 items you can't live without on a daily basis(water, food, shelter, and clothes dont count)

Oooh. So many things. Let's see. My cell phone, my computer ( although I wish I could go without it) Netflix, Vanilla coke and Ruby Pumps China Glaze nail polish. It is seriously the best.

Things I can't live without by jessicapeters-1 

2. All time favorite book? Why?

Oh geez. So mannyyy. Probably a tie between The Lovely Bones and The Time Traveler's Wife
Both will make you cry. True story. I just love them because they are very emotional stories. The Lovely Bones is my favorite because her heaven is a lot like I imagined Heaven to be like. Or, what I would want it to be like.

The Time Traveler's Wife I love because it is told both by the time traveler, Henry, and his wife Clare, as they meet across time. Some they meet while she is a kid, and Henry is grown,and once Clare meets Henry as a teenager or young adult. The fact that they always come back to each other is very beautiful.

favorite book by jessicapeters-1 on Polyvore

3. Something you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2012

More followers on my blog, and for me to be producing better content on a regular basis.

4. If you could go back and relive any year of your life which year would it be?
Probably the first year or so that Dakota and I were together. It was so fun getting to know him and falling in love with him more and more. He was so cute the way he fawned over me.

Oh wait, he still does that. Sometimes :P

5. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them?


I wish that people knew how frustrated I get without ever really showing it so that they would back off once in a while. Most of the time people don't know what they are doing, so I can't dislike them for it, but I just wish they knew how frustrated I was with them. Because sometimes it is like if you say one more word I am hitting you! Not that I ever have but sometimes people don't know when to stop. And me, being me, I never have the guts to speak out and say something.

Ever feel like that?

Project Life - My Way

So, I'm not much of a crafter. I hate getting my hands dirty. I can't knit. I can't crochet. (Despite my mother's attempts to show me.) But when I came across Project Life, I was like, now I can scrapbook! (For those of you that don't know, Project Life is a way of scrapbooking that is much simpler, and much more laid back than traditional scrapbooking. More of scrapping your life how it happens, rather than waiting for specific big events)
So I thought.  I am a designer.    I can do this myself. And so I did.    Granted, my pages aren't as intricate as some of the ones I have seen.  (Search for Project Life on Pinterest for some great scrapbooking porn!)  Here is some of what I did, just to give you a glimpse:

This is one of the first pages I did. I had all these great pictures and no idea what to do with them. That's when I started playing with free digital scrapbooking pieces and clipping masks in photoshop. And this is the look I got. This is still one of my favorite pages, but maybe it is because I am so glad of the pictures I got.

This page isn't really about a specific week, like much of project life is, but I knew that Dakota and I didn't have a lot of pictures together (he hates it when I pull out my camera -- ladies, will that ever go away?) But I wanted a way to showcase some of our relationship together. I thought of this as a cover page, but now I think it will be just fine in the book. (Anyone have tips on getting Dakota to take pictures? Four years together and this is all I have to show for it!)

This is one of the more recent pages I did. Sparked by some difficult times in my family (my dad lost his job, please keep him in your thoughts and my brother moving to Virginia, rather than San Deigo) I wanted to look at pictures of my family. I am very happy to be in the family I am in. Despite the fact that my brother is going to be around the world from us, I still feel like we are a close family.  (This sparks an idea! I need to do a page of him in the military. These pictures were in his last few months home before he left -- he left about 2-3 weeks after he graduated high school)

I believe you already saw most of these pictures here, but this is still one of my favorite pages. I am very proud of the pictures I got, and looking at them makes me happy. Dakota and I need to go on more vacations together. 

I think the biggest issue that I have is journaling. A big part of Project Life is journaling. I try to journal on the pages, and I did on the first page above, but after that, I concentrated more on the pictures. But I know someday, when my children and grandchildren look at these, they will want the stories. They will want to know why we were in the mountains, or how Dakota and I met. So my goal for the rest of the pages I make is to try and explain. I know that is what I would have wanted from my grandparents. Hell, even my parents.

Have you ever done Project Life? If so, what did you think?

Friday Letters

Friday Letters are one of my favorite posts to write every week! Very conducive to my very ADD mind. (I made the mistake once of looking up symptoms of adult ADD. Don't do it. You will scare yourself :P)

(DJ and Julia while I was in NY in March) Dear Brother, I am sad you didn't get stationed in San Diego. I am sad you aren't going to be a mere 5 hrs away after 2 years of 2000-3000 miles away. But now, not only are you going to be stationed in Virginia (Which is still 3000 miles away) you are going to be in some wonderful but probably scary (for us, not as much you, you're the sailor after all.) places. You will go from having a big house in New York to being on a rack in an aircraft carrier. The past two years has trained you well. I will think of you every day. On the bright side, your leave starts on the 28th? So excited to see you! Dear Weekend, I am so glad to see you! What has taken you so long? Excited that Dakota is off today so that we can spend some time together!  Dear Nana, Happy Birthday! I will be there to see  you in TWO weeks. That is pretty stinkin' awesome. If you ask me. Dear Vegas, Do you miss me? I will see you soon. We will have lots of fun together. Even though I am going for work. But we will find time to be together. Dear Dakota, I just wanted to tell you how proud and honored I am to be spending my life with you. Why? Because I don't do it enough. And because you're pretty cute, and I like your face.  Happy Friday, Lovies! 

Currently.

Every Thursday I link up with Randalin over at Harvesting Kale for Currently. I really enjoy reading about how her and Kale are doing. (Isn't Kale such a cool name? Unlike the vegetable lol)  This is a great link up, especially for days like today when all I really want is a mental health day.
THIS WEEKS THEMES: 
Wishing, Reading, Eating, Anticipating, Missing 
Here is what is going on currently:

(Just being real here, folks!)
Wishing.. for a mental health day. Or for the power to go out. Mainly, just wishing for a nap. An uniterrupted, glorious nap. (I sound so selfish!)
Reading... I started a bunch of books in the mountains. But I haven't gotten back to them yet. I have considered reading 50 Shades of Grey, because I love reading, watching, or eating things that I think are overhyped to see if they are truely amazing. But I haven't made that jump yet. Reading for me these days has been blogs and emails. My life is so much fun. :P
Eating.. I had a breakfast burrito for breakfast. All the good ones are gone early, but I got to the store about 4:30 this morning so I got one! But now I am over full :(
Anticipating ... a major tradeshow we have coming up in a few weeks. I am not the marketing manager, per se, but I am still expected to run major tradeshows such as this in addition to everything else I do.  I am worried that something will go wrong. It always does. And a few weeks after that, I am coordinating a training of 30 people from all over the country and Canada and Mexico. I just want to get through October. Then I am taking some time off! (Yeah right.)
Missing.. Dakota. Since his summer schedule hasn't ended yet, he has been working til 9:30, which means he doesn't get home until 10. I try to stay up until he gets home, but most of the time I'm already asleep. And if I do stay up, I go to bed right after he gets home. (Don't be fooled, its not his fault.. I work a lot too!) Luckily, we have school time together, but its not the same. He is off today and tomorrow though, so we are going shopping! Love that man!


Happy Thursday! (Again) 

It's Ok Thursday!

Once again, Neely has the best linkups. I haven't done this one before, but I think posting today should help my need for a mental health day. It's Ok... ...to feel a little burned out sometimes. ....to listen to Disney songs when you feel a little down. ...to desperately want to return to the mountains and unwind ....to stay up all night playing with your blog (mine is finally pretty! ish) ...to drink two cups of coffee to wake up after previously mentioned late night ...to notice that your "its oks" are making a parallelogram ...to feel like you are blogging to no one, but want to do it anyway.  ...to want to turn off the cell phone, turn off the computer, and just be with your man.  ...to really want to leave work early and get eyebrows done and go shoe shopping Nothing wrong with that, right? Happy Friday's Eve! Go and Link up with Neely for It's Ok Thursday!

Pet Profile : Loki

Ugh. So I COMPLETELY messed up my blog design. It was going to be so pretty. I will get around to fixing it. But right now, I remembered that I hadn't yet introduced you to Loki, (I am a bad blogger - we got him in June...)  so I figured I would do a little profile on my crazy but cute, and often dog-like kitten, now that we know him a little better.
Name: Loki Gender: Male Age: 5 or 6 months? Reason behind the name: Named after my favorite villain, although this could have been my downfall. Considering Loki is the god of mischief and all. Appearance: Grey with dark grey stripes on his body and part of his tail.  Usual Temperment: Hyper.  Mischevious. (Wait did I say that already? Because its TRUE) But can be very loving when he senses we are upset. Hobbies: Climbing curtains, hiding under the shower curtain for no apparent reason, pushing his toys under the stove, or drowning them in his water dish, tormenting our other cat Scooter and then wondering why she chases him, attacking my hair, attacking walls, etc. Favorite spot in the house: Under the in table outside of our kitchen. Scooter can't get him  under there.    More (and pictures!) after the jump!

Sunday Social

Since I had so much fun last week linking up for Sunday Social, I am here linking up once again! That is, if I can get the post typed, because Loki is particularly rambunctious today.
He keeps pulling on my mouse cord so that when I try to pull it back I can't. Silly cat.

Currently.

It's Thursday, so it is time to let you all know how my life is going currently.

THIS WEEKS THEMES: 

Disliking, Drinking, Learning, Loving, Managing 

I am currently:

Disliking ... Being awake. It is so hard to be awake right now. So I have my music on, soda in my hand, trying to wake up a bit. 5 am is too early for humans to be awake, let alone be at work! And I'm a morning person!

Drinking. .. Pepsi. I am trying to quit drinking soda, but sometimes I let myself have one in the morning. Otherwise the rest of the day I usually drink water.  And that does help keep my energy up during the day. But sometimes I just want a soda. 

My new desk. My cubicle actually had more desk area. And storage. Hmm. Who would have thought?

Learning... How being in an office is different from my cubicle. I don't have to have my music on as loud (my office mate didn't like my N'Sync yesterday.. men.)  and just to be with Art (my office mate) even more than I'm used to. So that will take some getting used to. Just being by a different person can change a lot. Art and I have worked together a lot in the past year, so I think this will be good for us to be closer! 

Loving... The cloudy skies. It has made our weather reallyyyy humid (which we usually aren't. like, at all.) so its been muggly and horrible. But it is only like 80 degrees, so its not as bad as if it were 100+. But still. I wish it would rain! I don't feel that tension in the air that I feel before it rains, so I am not getting my hopes up. But the skies look like they could let go at any minute. 

ALSO. 

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. For weeks now in the blogosphere, I couldn't stop hearing about the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. But then I went to Starbucks while waiting for my Little Ceasar's (I have a teenager and Dakota - don't judge.) and I saw it. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate was back as well. Oh my goodness. Have you Pumpkin Spice people tried it? If not, you need to go and get one. Now. And bring me one.

Oh, speaking of which. I now LOVE Living Social. I had never used it before, because the closest towns it had were like an hour away from me (Because some people don't realize there is more to the San Joaquin Valley than Fresno) But I found a deal for $10 of Starbucks, for $5! Isn't that amazing?! I was skeptical, I will admit, having never used LivingSocial before. But I tried the voucher yesterday at Starbucks, and it worked! I will have to look more into Living Social. That's for sure.

Managing ... My email. It is something that I have the most control over. I use David Allen's Inbox Zero theory. If an email takes less than 2 minutes, I reply. Otherwise, it gets filed. Into folders that tell me I need to do something with them, if I am waiting for soemone else's  actions, or if I just need to follow up. I think its a great sytem because it really helps me stay organized. I have been kind of lax on my Weekly Reviews for a few weeks, but I am hoping to get back into it tomorrow. Just the act of doing a review every week helps me not feel so overwhelmed. And that is a major improvement. 

Maybe tomorrow I will do a post on my weekly review, and on my GTD system in general. Typically I don't follow these hyped up programs and theories. They just don't work for me. But GTD is so tweakable that I made it work for me. And it really does help.

And now it is time to tackle my to do list for the day!

Happy Friday Eve!

Sunday Social

Ah, September. I can already tell that we are going to be good friends. The weather already feels crisper, I have had to snuggle up with blankets already, and I am just SO excited that you are here! Anyway, since today is Sunday, and I am in a blogging mood, I decided to link up with Sunday Social, over at A Complete Waste of Makeup. I've never done this before but I am excited to join in the fun. Here goes!

6 Things You Need As A Graphic Designer

So I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Everyone is into graphic design. I am by no means a professional graphic designer, but these are my opinions on what you should know / do / have as a graphic designer. I'm sure there are things I forgot, so there might be a follow up post. Enjoy!