GemFOX Tips and Tricks

Last updated
Saturday, July 3, 2004 0:38 AM (EST)

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Index
GemFOX Custom Toggles	Adding text to image	Cropping image square	Lowering image file size

GemFOX Custom Toggle Closures 7/01/04

An easy custom closure to create with small lampwork, large hole bali, or whatever for focals, to coordinate perfectly with the piece it's for! I hope to refine and further develop variations of this project.

Materials I used:
• 18g full hard sterling wire (for the T-bar) • 20g dead soft sterling wire (for the loop) • 3mm sterling or silver plated brass spherical beads • 10mm lampwork beads • coated round nose pliers

1. Working off the spool, I string the focal bead, loop around and string through again. I maneuver the wire to shrink loop, pulling the excess wire through the bead	2. I pull tight, being careful not to nick the wire with the glass, and cut, leaving ~5/8" (15mm) on each side	3. I string on 3 beads and bend wire at right angle upward	4. With the tip of pliers I create a small loop to secure and pinch it to close	5. I repeat for other side, gently shape, and the T-bar is done!
6. For the loop, working off the spool I string the focal bead then 14 silver beads	7. I loop around and string through the focal again, leaving a short tail	8. I pull the wire tight, smoothing out the loop, and bend the ends downward	9. Still working off the spool, I smooth the wires along the contours of the focal gently with pliers	10. Using wire from the spool side, I create a loop and wrap tightly, cut off ends, and shape the loop on a ring mandrel

Adding text to your image in Photoshop 3/24/04

Select the text tool (see picture at left) and drag a text box over the area on your image you want to fill with text
type in the text. To edit, select the text and change whatever you want, like the font size, color, style, etc.
click CTRL-Enter to confirm (or click the checkmark).
You can also reposition the text box if you need to
Note: your image now has multiple layers, the text being its own layer. When you save, Photoshop will want to save the file as a .pdf (which preserves these layers). To save as a .jpg image file, you can either flatten the image [Layer>Flatten Image] or simply choose .jpg as the format you want to save in when you save the file.

Cropping image square in Photoshop 3/24/04

Choose your crop tool (see picture at left)
While holding shift, drag from one corner to the opposite over the area you want to crop
If adjusting size, hold shift when moving a corner node
To rotate cropping area, mouse away from the crop frame until the arrow turns to a bent arrow and click/drag to rotate
Click enter to confirm (or click the checkmark)

Lowering image file size in Photoshop without lowering the resolution quality 12/04/03

To lower an image's file size without lowering the resolution quality, blur or smooth out non-essential parts of your image, such as the background. This will increase your subject's focus and importance.