Would you Rather??

Interesting title for today's post... I'll get to that in a second. First, wanted to share a cute pic of Katie and Jed. I used the Old School Hand Tinted Colorizer for the Vintagey look. The Border is from Jessica Ditmer (who I want to be like when I grow up).. and the Font is from Little Dreamer Designs.

And on to the important stuff... the WINNERS!..

The $25 gift certificate goes to........ ktinnco7 (Katie) because she's right.. she does have a cool name :)

And the Certificate to Little Dreamer Designs goes to

Amanda Hansen!!

 

Amanda and Katie, email me at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prizes :)

Tomorrow the winner will be getting a set of THEIR CHOICE from Tina Parker at My Lil Creations. The cards are SO amazing, I just sent a bunch off to be printed for my own clients.. Here's a few that I made in about 30 seconds using Tina's templates:

Remember, to get qualified to win one of Tina's Awesome template sets, all you have to do is to buy something in the store (I'm picking from the entire week's purchases, you don't have to have bought something today, don't worry).

GOOD LUCK! And THANK YOU TINA for your awesome templates :)

So.. for today's comment winner I thought I'd try something different.  One thing about me that my family knows all too well is my tendency to ask weird questions, namely ones that are a choice between 2 things that no normal person would think about in the first place.

So when I saw this game

At Target a few weeks ago, I HAD to get it.. I've been driving my husband crazy asking him the questions from it.

So.. For today's comments winner.. You have to answer THIS question:

Would you rather Be completely alone with nobody in the vicinity for one year OR never be alone even one minute for one year? 

Whichever answer is the best gets the $25! Good Luck!! :)

 

Ooops!

Sorry about that, I left the S off the email in the last post, it's fixed now.. The email is info@phauntactions.com..

Thanks for letting me know Patricia :)

Winners!!

Lets just get to the good stuff, right? The WINNERS!!

First off, I was reminded that I forgot to pick winners from a post back on 10/16 that I said I'd give away 2 of the new Extras (Procrastination Pak)... So those winners are Meggan (for reminding me, thanks!) and Beth Feigner (for being an awesome blog reader and posting regularly to the flickr group.. Thank you!)

Beth and Meggan, email me at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prize :)

And the $25 gift certificate for the store from yesterday's comments goes to: Patricia Stuever.. Good luck at your show this weekend! :) Email me to claim your prize :)

And the Winner of the Latest issue of Design Aglow is....

Jeanette!! (Jema Images)

(Email me and I'll tell you how to claim your prize :) )

So, with that out of the way.. what's the great prize for tomorrow?? Remember, someone still gets a $25 gift certificate from TODAY'S comments, so remember to leave me one!

And tomorrow I'll be giving away a $10 Gift certificate to Little Dreamer Designs!

They're mainly a store for scrapbookers, but Oh my GOSH they have the cutest stuff! Their designs are just amazing, and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the style. The vintagey/old/grunged look is SO my style. GREAT Prices too, and you can buy seperately, so you get exactly what you want. I just bought THIS CARD and some fonts.. every time I go there I end up getting something new! Thanks to Michelle for the gift certificate.. you guys rock! :)

Oh.. had to add a picture of the girls from Sunday.. Kate is at the Don't-touch-me-I've-got-things-to-do stage, and will not sit still for more than 2 seconds. She was busy eating dirt and pumpkin innards (we were carving pumpkins), and didn't want to be bothered to sit for a picture. On a side note, don't you love Lilly's outfit? She gets her fashion sense from me (poor thing).

Contest Kick Off!

Hope everyone had a Relaxing weekend! I took the weekend off (mostly) to rest from  driving myself crazy... now I'm back and ready for more!

First off, THANK YOU for the awesome response to the new set! I've had a lot of positive feedback, I'm so glad people are liking them! If you've purchased the set and have ANY problems, let me know, there may be a few bugs in there that didn't get worked out, if you find one, I want to know so I can fix it asap!

The PS7/CS versions are in the works, I just have to find the time to get them finished. I'll be sure to post when they're done, don't worry!

Wanted to add a few more examples of some pics I edited using the new Pro Pak, everything in the pack CAN be done by yourself, but it literally takes me maybe 1/8th the time when I use the actions. The actions were all created because I was trying to save myself time, so each one is usefull, and not put in there just to beef up the set or take up space. I use literally EVERY action (not on every picture though, that may be overkill! LoL).

One of Katie that I took last week:

Used the Easy Texture Adder, Heavy Canvas Texture, Grunge it Up, and Grunge Border Adder (all from the Special Effects Set).

And a few more Beautifiers examples from people that have sent in pics to be glamourized:

I don't necessarily use the beautifiers this heavy on my retouching. I usually only use the makeup actions when clients request it.. or on my own photos. I wouldn't recommend using it unless the people KNOW you will be doing it. The Flawless actions get used a LOT though. If used lightly they really can help freshen up the face and get rid of skin imperfections. Your Client's will thank you for it, believe me ;)

Oh.. the winners, right? For comments on Friday, I'm giving out 2 $25 gift certificates... So angbrimwill and scrapolla... Shoot me an email at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prize!

And Today's cool prize (besides another $25 Gift Cert) will be

THE LATEST ISSUE OF DESIGN AGLOW!!!!

From the Design Aglow Website:

"Design Aglow is an online resource for information and products directed at professional wedding and portrait photographers. This site was created to inform, to teach, and to inspire.

We are an online collection of resources, including articles, Photoshop actions, templates, marketing ideas, interviews, and seminars for the boutique wedding and portrait studio. We consider ourselves a hybrid of design and photography and how they relate to each other.
We are completely reader supported, meaning we run no ads, accept no sponsors, and are not paid to endorse products. The products that we recommend are based strictly on unbiased experiences and research. There are plenty of places out there to look at ads - this is not one of them.

We are dedicated to an "art only" format. No technical stuff here! We are about artistic approach, photo enhancement, album design, marketing, branding, and creative technique.

We aim our resource collections at established photographers, already familiar with the professional portrait and wedding industry, who want to refine their skills and further their knowledge.

We are constantly looking for new ideas, writers, and talent. You do not have to be experienced to contribute to Design Aglow - only have fresh new ideas and an interesting take on your own business.

We are real. We listen and evolve. Our goal is to constantly grow and to create a place where talented photographers can come and be inspired. "

I have the latest issue myself, and it is amazing! There's a great article by Andrea Joki in there about texturing photos. She goes into detail about what is the best kind of textures to use for what photo, and how to decide how strong of texture you want with your photos.

I personally LOVED the article about Laura Novak and how she designed/opened her photography studio. Her style is amazing, and I was inspired that she didn't break the bank decorating her new space!

To win the latest issue of Design Aglow, all you have to do is buy something in the phaunt actions store!  Remember, the coupon for the new Procrastination Pak is: propakintro

It gets you an extra $10 off!

That's IT! I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning (along with the Gift Certificate winner). So check back! Have a great day!!

Have a photo that needs some Glamourizing?

I'm trying to find some more photos that I could use to demonstrate the new beautifiers set... Have a shot with not so perfect skin or that you forgot your makeup? If you send it to me (and I can use it) I will give you a $30 gift certificate to the PA store.

If you have a photo that you'd like glamourized, send it to info@phauntactions.com with the subject BEAUTIFIERS. Please note that by sending the photo you agree that I can use it on the website as an example before/after.. I will not take credit for the photo, however, you can put a watermark on it (small please and not on the face) if you wish. Please sent full resolution files!

If you want, will also send the photo back to you full resolution (and edited) so that you can use it as you wish. Thanks!

D-O-N-E Done Done DONE!!!

They're Here! They're done!! I may just be going insane but I'm FINISHED!

INTRODUCING THE NEW phaunt PROCRASTINATION PAK!!!

Finally, they're HERE!! The newest action pack designed to help you put all those finishing touches and special effects on your photos. Broken up into 3 seperate action sets, there is 72 ACTIONS total!!

phaunt Beautifiers- The last set you'll need to glamorize your photos and retouch portraits. Included is 2 SKIN RETOUCHING actions, as well as 4 actions to give your photos a high contrast/glamour/fashion effect. Next, there is the MAKEUP actions. Amazing actions that let you put the makeup on IN PHOTOSHOP. Be heavy handed or just add a light touch, it's up to you! Next are all the variations of soft focus effects that you'll ever need, perfect for every type of photo!

phaunt Special Effects- This set lets you jump into the world of Grunging/texturing with guns blazing! An action that allows you to add any texture you want (there are a few of my own personal textures included in the set as well), as well as 7 simple textures that you can use to put the finishing touches on your textured images. Next, an action that makes grunging up your photos easy and simple. Use any grunge brushes, and with the few clicks of a button, you have a perfectly "grunged" picture! Ever wanted to try selective color, but didn't know how to do it? Now you can just use the 3 selective coloring actions to easily and quickly selectivly color your photo! And lastly in this set, forget about making borders on your photos manually, the border creaters included in this set will do it for you! Simple White/black borders, as well as grunge borders, and the new Fuzzy Wuzzy borders can be created easily.

phaunt Details- The last set in the bunch, this set does the final exposure tweaks and color shifts that you need. Have photo that needs a warmer or cooler tint? Just use one of the 6 variations of color shifting included! Or, if you're feeling adventurous, go for a Golden Sheen and change the entire look of your photo! Your photo just about perfect, but needs that last little oomph? Use the exposure bumps to get it perfect! Burning and dodging driving you crazy lately? Use the action that will quickly help you do your dodging and burning in a few brush strokes.

With 72 actions included in this set, you'll have all you need to take your photos from fine to fabulous! Included is detailed instructions on how to use each action, as well as links to video tutorials that will help you visualize how to use them.

There is also included 4 of my own textures that I use every day to create textured images, as well as a set of Grunge brushes you can use on your own photos.

Last but certainly not least, for a limited time, everyone who purchases the Procrastination Pak gets a FREE template action set from Once Remembered Actions .. You can't get these template actions anywhere else!

I have got to say THANK YOU to a few great people for helping me test and retest, and listen to me stress out and whine!! Bonnie Creevy, Jodi Freidman, Kim Lobato, Denise Skelton, Elma, Deanna Hall, Jeremi Broadhurst, and ALL OF YOU for being such great readers and sharing the love! :)

So....... the new set.. Regular price will be $75, but for a limited time, to introduce the set, it will be just $60!!

And, this week ONLY for the first 50 people if you buy the new Procrastination Pak, you can get an extra $10 off, so get the whole thing for just $50!!.. you must use the code: propakintro at the checkout to get the $10 off

Want to see more before/afters on the shots? Go HERE to see more examples!

If you were one of the winners that got the Extras paK as a prize in the last few weeks, please email me and I"ll send it to you ;)

Because I've been trying to get these finished I've not got any freebies/tutorials up this week, so I'm leaving last weeks up for another week (brushes). But I've got something even better in store for this coming week!!

I've been forunate enough to have some AWESOME donations from some of the great online store that sell stuff to us photographers.. and I'm going to be doing a contest all next week. The prizes will be given out every day, here's what you have a chance to win:

Gift Certificates to:

Pink Ink Studios

Little Dreamer Designs

My Lil Creations

The latest issue of Design Aglow

And every day I'll pick a winner that will get a $25 gift certificate for the phaunt actions store.

To be eligible for the $25 gift certificate all you need to do is leave a comment on the blog that day. BUT to be eligible to win one of the gift certificates to the other sponsors, you have to make a purchase at the phaunt actions store. It doesn't have to be the new actions, it could be anything!

So.. that's it.... If you only knew the stress and insanity these actions have put me through (and my poor husband), you'd know why I'm SO glad to have them finally released. I can't wait to see all the stuff that you all will do with them. If you have ANY questions or problems, send me an email (info@phauntactions.com)! Have a GREAT weekend!!

*note.. the $25 gift certificate give aways starts TODAY, so leave me a comment!.. The other contest does not start until Monday, so you have all weekend to buy something at the store and get qualified!*

Sneak Peeks

Wanna see some sneak peeks of what is included in ONE of the action sets with the new extras? Here's a few of the demo videos that are INCLUDED in the extras.. These are all from the "Beautifiers" set, all you need for retouching and glamorizing your photos:

 Thanks to Bonnie for the example photo. Note: I normally DON'T do this heavy of retouching on portraits, but just want to demonstrate what is possible with the actions. :)

Flawless Actions-

Note: The videos may take a bit longer than normal to load, I'm leaving them larger size so that they are better quality. It's best to click the link, let them load totally, then play, or it may be kind of jumpy. I usually don't make the files this big, but I wanted you to be able to really see the retouching in action.

Makeup Actions

And a few more sneaks just for fun :) It's funny to see myself with that much makeup on, since I hardly ever wear it IRL.

 

And you better be ready..when these are launched I'm going to be doing a huge giveaway/contest week. I haven't got all the details worked out, but there's going to be a ton of great stuff to be won!

Attention!! Your Help Needed!

The new Extras sets are done! Can you freaking believe it???? Now all that is needed is to have one more round of testing.

I have all my testers I need now.. Thanks so much for the quick response! If you don't receive an email back from me, thank you for offering to help anyway. Everyone who responded will be getting a discount on the new sets (or anything they wish) for their generosity and I'll keep you first in line for any future testing I need.

Thanks again.. I have the best blog readers!

Warning!!

This is a Public Service Announcement:

DO not, I repeat, Do NOT give Fun Dip to a 4 year old and leave the room.

 

 You will find it not only GONE within 5 minutes, but it will also have been fed to the DOG.

 

I now have a hyper 4 year old child and a hyper 2 year old English Bulldog. Not a good mix. I would try to get a picture of it to illustrate, but she isn't sitting still long enough for me to even focus the camera.

Didja Know?

Happy Monday everyone! Hope your weekend was great!

First off, this weekend's winner is Jen D! Email me at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prize!

Today I wanted to start a new feature called "Didja Know".. sharing quick tips that make PS a little bit easier. They may be elementary for some, but they're essential to using PS to it's fullest.

First off, a shortcut:

CTRL+Z will undo your last step.  Press it again to undo the Undo (that make sense?) So pressing CTRL+Z repeatedly will let you go back and forth between the last step you made so you can quickly see before/after without clicking in your History Palette.

CTRL+ALT+Z Undo, but you can keep going back as far as you want. Similar to clicking backwards on the History pallete, but you don't have to click, just keep pressing until you get to where you want!

And another Didja Know: Did you know you can create Snapshots in your History Palette that allow you to "save" the state of your photos (with layers intact!) and go back to it at any time! THis allows you to save a state and do detailed tweaks. If you don't like it, you can always go back to your snapshot! Here's a few visuals:

You can make as many snapshots as you want, so can save a picture at a bunch of different states, then click through the snapshots to figure out which you like best.

Be SURE to save any changes you made though, saving your image (even as a PSD) does NOT save your snapshots.

Oh, and because I'm feeling giving today.. You can use the code: mondayrules TODAY ONLY to get $5 off anything in the store. Have fun :)

Oh, and don't forget to take the new poll :)

Freebie Friday 10/19 Brushes!

Hey everyone!

Today's tutorial is going to be teaching you how to make your own brushes. I covered it a bit in the grunge brush tutorial, but this is quicker and more specific for if you're trying to isolate specific things for a brush. Lilly even jumps in and helps me in the end!

Go HERE to view the tutorial.

And today's Freebie is, of course, a set of brushes. I have a ton of things from my grandma's house that I have collected and wanted to use to create brushes, and finally started scanning them in in the last week. I'm putting them up for you to grab this week. I only ask that you use them on your personal work, not for resale on anything. Isn't the photographer lady awesome?!

Go to THE STORE and to the Freebies section to grab the brushes. Remember they're only up for this week, so get them now!

And I have ANOTHER freebie that will only be up TODAY.. I'm testing out some old photo borders that I created from scanning and manipulating old photos. I've tested and retested myself, but want to see how they work for other people. SO today only you can grab the old Photo border #1 in the store. It looks like this (minus the people):

The folder comes with a PNG file that has the border, as well as an action that will help you add it and tone your photo and give it an antique look. You do not have to use the action, you can just have the border if you want, but I personally like the action.

I'd really appreciate any feedback on this one that you have. I've never created anything like this so am a bit out of my element.

The photo border is in the store under freebies as well. Remember it's only up TODAY.

And don't forget to leave me a comment... this week I'll pick a person from THIS POST to win the SIYH Pak. But you really just want to leave me a comment because you love me.. Right?

Have a great weekend everyone!

I should be Working.....

Instead I'm uploading new things into the store...

A few requests for this freebie to be available again:

Artist Fave Brush Freebie

Need a jumpstart on grunge brushes, or don't want to spend the time to make your own?? Grab the ones that I PERSONALLY use on my own photos to create that Grunged up look:

phaunt Grunge Brushes

*shhhhhhh* If anyone asks, I've been working, not messing around on the store!

DoH!!

So what do you get when you combine the busy photography season with a scatterbrained photographer? Things get forgotten really easily... as in the post for yesterday. I swear I had it on my "TO DO" list, but that only works if I actually READ it, right?

Oh well, my mistake is your gain! As I promised a few weeks ago, if I miss Monday's post you get $5 off the action bundle. So if you've been holding out on getting the color/B&W actions, today is a good day to spring for them you get $5 off! (see the store).

Wanted to share this pic of Lilly I took over the weekend:

No particular reason to share, I just like the picture. The pose is so HER right now, all about the attitude.

THANK YOU to everyone for the AWESOME response to the new SIYH pak and the new store. After the launch at 3pm on Friday, I've had almost 7500 hits on the store!!  It's crazy.. I'm coming up on my 6 months mark for the launch of phaunt actions.. I had no idea things would take off like they have. I should plan something to celebrate.. Any ideas?

Oh.. the winner for this last week? I'm going to wait till the new extras set is released and I'm going to pick 2 winners then. So comment if you want to be in the running for one of the NEW extras set (over 50 actions!).

Thanks again everyone! :)

Freebie Friday 10/12 ------ IT's HERE!!!

Today I'm a bit slow on the freebie.. I've been trying to finish getting the new store up and ready. First off I have to say THANK YOU to Natasha Whiteley for helping me get the store going. You rock Tash! :)

But today is the GRAND OPENING of the new phaunt actions Store!! Click on the link to the left to go browse the store and see the new setup. The cool new things about the store:

• INSTANTLY download your actions as soon as you buy them.. No more waiting for me to email them to you!!
• Create an account so you can easily buy things again (and you know you want to!)
• By signing up you get access to the newsletter that will have freebies and goodies
• It's way easier for me to add new products/goodies, so I'll be adding indivdual actions for fun, the freebies will be even easier to snag!

So, to kick off the new store, I'm releasing the new Sunshine in your Hand Pak early. I am still working on all the instructions/videos for the new Extras set, so it's not available yet, but the new Sunshine actions are READY TO GO!! And these are ROCKING!

If you have the Original Sunshine action and love it.. you'll love this set even more. It has all the power of the Original, but even MORE flexibility and no color shifts. PLUS this set has 2 NEW actions that will give warmth or cool down an image. So you have all your exposure tweak AND your color temp tweak in one. Included in this set are:

• Original Sunshine in your Hand
• Revisited Sunshine in your Hand
• Golden Sunshine in your Hand (same as revisited, but with a warm color tweak)
• Chilly Sunshine in your Hand (same as revisited, but with a cool color tweak)
• Soft Twilight
• Blow Me Down

Here's just a few examples of what this action can do.. and keep in mind, this was done in a matter of seconds, by pressing play on the action and tweaking the opacity of a few layers... It doesn't get much easier than that!

 

I honestly can say I am so stinking proud of this action.. It took me tons of tweaking and revising, but I've finally got what I had envisioned in the beginning.

To kick off this action set I am going to be giving $5 off the regular price of $35.. The intro price will only be good for a limited time, so you better snag them now! To get your set Click on the store (on the left).. You'll be able to buy and download right away! Be sure to select which version of PS you need (either CS2/CS3 or Ps7/CS)... Can't wait to see some examples of what people can do with the action!!

Oh yeah.. the freebie for this week?? How could I forget? Well, Since I have been working like a mad woman to get this stuff done I haven't had time to do a new tutorial. BUT I did get some a few freebies up and available in the shop. All you have to do is go to the store (on the left... duh.....) and go to the Photoshop Freebies section. There is a NEW freebie there that will only be available for this week, and I also have put another Freebie up again that I've had a few requests for.. the Beginner B/W. Both will be gone after next week, so don't miss them!

Also.. because I Love my PA readers.. For this weekend ONLY, if you use the discount cod: SIYHINTRO when you are buying the new SIYH Pak, you get ANOTHER $5 off.... So you get the whole stinkin thing for just $25.. Can't beat that!

 

Okay.. I think I'm done now.. that was a really long post. Oh.. and don't forget to leave me a comment on the blog.. I will still be drawing a winner on Monday.. they will win their choice of either the color, B/w, or the soon to be released extras set.

*phew* someone stop me before I blather on more........

Have a great weekend everyone... remember if you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at info@phauntactions.com!

Very Cool Place for Bloggers

Just found this cool website last nite called Blog Rush. Look on the left sidebar at the Blog Rushed thing, you'll see what I'm talking about. You sign up and submit your blog and put what catagory of blog you have (I chose photography). Then you put the Blog Rush widget on your blog and it will put links to 5 different blogs that have the same catagory of posts as yours. Cool for your readers, but then it also will put YOUR BLOG onto other people's blogs so they can find you!

Then if people click on the blog rush thing and sign up from your blog you get referrals from them. Go to the link and watch their little video, it explains it much better. Be sure to sign up through my blog so I get the credit thingies :p

Just wanted to share my find.. back to your regularly scheduled programs :)

Made it!

This weeks' winner was SO hard to chose, I had so many cute photos sent, and so many of you did awesome things with elephants and/or purple and/or Dr. Pepper. I had to have Lilly pick the winning entry because it was way too hard for me to chose one.

She chose the great purple elephant by Tiffany Haynes:



Tiffany, email me at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prize :)

Seriously, you guys can't make it that hard every week to pick a winner!

So, the fact that I am in over my head right now is making it harder for me to get things done. The extras set is finished (I just have to quit adding things to it), and now I just have to get all the instructions and videos for it done.

Oh, did I fail to mention that there is a NEW Sunshine in your Hand action?? Silly me.. how could I forget that?? This will be a separate set, sold apart from the color/bw or extras set. I am totally in love with it, if you thought the SIYH action was great, you are going to flip for this one. It does everything the old action does, but with more control, and does not cause any color shifts in your image. I'm also including 2 versions, one to give some warmth to the image, one to cool it down, depending on what you need. There's also 2 more actions in there.

The Sunshine in your Hand Pak will be released the same time the new extras set is.. yes coming soon, as soon as I can get it done and ready! If you haven't noticed yet, I am a bit perfectionist about things, so I have to make sure they're tested and retested and tested again before I release them.

Here's just one example of what the new SIYH Pak will be able to do.





Thanks for bearing with me, I promise all the new actions will be worth the wait.

Freebie Friday 10/5

Today's tutorial/freebie is one that comes with a disclaimer/warning. I'm going to be showing you how to Selectively color a photograph (leave some things in color). While this is a cool method, and very good at focusing attention, please please PLEASE don't over use it. There's nothing worse than a B/W photo with a random object in color that has nothing to do with the photo. This is a technique that should NOT be used just because you know how to do it. I take no responsiblity for badly selectively colored photos that may result from watching this tutorial. Use at your own risk!

With that out of the way.. On to the tutorial:

Go HERE to watch

After watching the tutorial you can snag an action that does the steps

HERE

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

And THIS week's winner will win a set of the brand spankin'  new phaunt EXTRAS set.. still yet to be released. I'm still finishing up the set, but this weeks winner will not only get their choice of color or b/w , but they'll get to have the new extras set before it's available for purchase.. how cool is that?

Remember, I LOVE to see examples of what you're doing with the tutorials, so if you leave me one that just might help your chances of winning..... also.. Remember that I LOVE elephants, the color purple, and Dr. Pepper.. any one of those things (or a combination of them) may also help your chances.. Just giving some ideas ;)

I am Sooooooooooo close to releasing the new extras sets.. just have to finish up stuff.. Keep your eyes on the blog, I'll be giving away stuff to kick off the new sets, you don't want to miss them!

Have a great Weekend everyone!!

No time... Same old story

Not much time for posts today or tomorrow, I'm busy plugging away at the new extras sets. I'm also getting set up with a new ecommerce site, which means no waiting for your actions to be emailed to you, you'll be able to buy and download right away.. how cool is that?

I'll launch the new store and the new actions at the same time, hoping for no more than 12 days from now. Keep your eyes peeled for a contest and some give aways in the near future.

To keep you busy today and tomorrow, Bonnie (OR Action Templates) has a freebie and tutorial on her blog.. check it out:

HERE

***Rclarkphotography.. I haven't recieved your email.. I tried to find your email to email you, but I couldn't find it. Email me again (info@phauntactions.com).. Sorry!!!***

Taking a trip to Kim Town!

I told you we'd have a great interview today.. None other than Kim Townsend, the creative muscle behind Simply Splash, as well as a fabulous photographer!

Kim did my splash page (which I adore), as well as TONS of other photog's pages. If you're ever in the market for a rockin splash page, look no further!

Name/Location:

 Kim Townsend/Simply Splash Virginia Beach (you know where)

How did you get into Photography and Web Design?

I started photography with a pinhole camera in high school. It was one of those “elective” classes I had to take. I thought it would be easy and I could breeze right through it. Little did I know black and white photography would become my passion. I’m sure my children think that my face is a Nikon since that’s what’s always in front of it!! My husband was deployed to Iraq this summer and it’s very hard to go on shoots when you have three kids. I decided to put my photography life on hold and help out some photographers with web design. I knew a little html when I started and just continued to teach myself something new every day. After a few great splash pages, I decided to help the masses. Word of mouth got around and Simply Splash was born. I find it hard sometimes to balance my work and life but I always make sure that my family and my clients are happy.

Describe your Style in 3 words:   Fun, Fresh, Relaxed

Your favorite Subject to Photograph:

Kids, hands down. They don’t worry about their hair or make-up or even if their clothes match. They just run around and have fun, which is what capturing the moment is all about.

When you need to get inspired what do you do?

I watch my children. They have so much life and vision in their own little minds! If I need inspiration on what to do next, they help me out.

Would you rather have one eye in the middle of your forehead that has 20/20 vision OR have 2 eyes in the normal places but be blind?

Oh give me one good eye! (I already have two in the back of my head ya know) I would never want to forego the beauty of this world, for the sake of my own personal beauty.

Favorite Website to waste time on:

HA! That’s easy…prophotogs.com or ebay.com

Favorite Photoshop Tool or tip:

 For my photography it’s the little paperclip that you can click on to keep your transform tool to a fixed….um what’s the word (so it doesn’t go all wonky and distort your images) LOL!! For my design, it’s definiately the Slice tool.

Fave Action in the Set:

If it’s phaunt then I know my fav is the GLAM IT!!!

Your latest endeavor with Simply Splash?

 The Jessica Dittmer line!! 

 Jessica Dittmer is now designing splash pages exclusively for Simply Splash! (It’s on the blog)

Tell us a little bit about what you do for photographers and how did you get to be so stinking awesome?

LOL!! I design splash pages for photographers of all skill levels. A Splash Page is basically the first page you see when you visit someones site. It’s an html page that allows different links to the various places in your online world. They can have images, elements, links and banners! They are also very helpful in getting you search-able if you have a flash based website. Of course there is lots of info on the site about it J

Famous Kim quote:

 I’m not sure who said it, but it’s “When in deep water, become a diver” I love this quote so much because in all aspects of our life sometimes we get in over our heads and think there is no way out. There is always a way out. There is always a way to make your situation better than it is right now; even if it’s good, it can be GREAT.

Kim's parting words:

"Just some more info you can add cause I like to talk LOL!!: Of course, I live by the Golden Rule also in my photography world and design world. I treat my clients as if they are my ONLY client. I try my hardest to make everyone feel like they are just as important to me as any other client. Afterall, that is how I would want to be taken care of. My clients are the heart of my business and without them I would not have a business. I think sometimes we all need to take a step back and remember that your clients are PEOPLE too. "

 

I couldn't agree more, Kim!

Be sure to check out all of Kim's designs at Simply Splash, tell her Kylie sent you :)

So, I did say I may have a freebie in honor of the always cool Kim. Since the Glam It Action is her fave, I guess I'll put that up for FREE for you to snag today ONLY.. after that it's going into the extras set and will only be available via purchase.

Grab it here.. :)

Mondays Rock.

Well, at least around here they do :)

First off, the winner for last weeks comments is

Lori B who sent me a great pick me up! But it did make me hungry :p

Lori wins her choice of the B/W or Color sets AND one of the new extras set (as soon as it's finished).  Email me at info@phauntactions.com to claim your prize :)

I am soooooooooo close to finishing the new extras set it's not even funny. My perfectionistic nature is coming through though, and I have to make sure I get all the good stuff in there that I wanted to get. Plus I have to test and retest before I'm satisfied.

But... I will say that there will most likely be 3 seperate sets, as I'm having too much to put in one. Same price, but I want to keep them seperated a bit more. AND.. there is going to be an awesome update to the famous Sunshine in your Hand action. Think you love that action? wait till you see the new one! It seriously rocks :)

Oh, and don't miss tomorrow, I'm going to be doing an interview with a very super cool awesome person. And I may just throw up a freebie to honor her dropping by the blog :)

Hope your week is starting off great!