Photo Editing Update

Good afternoon! If you read my recent blog post {about my computer crash of 2016}, I have an update for you! I’ve blogged before about photo editing and which programs I use – search PHOTO EDITING on my blog.

Photoscape – I use this for adjusting photos, cropping, lightening, combining pics, adding watermark, resizing, etc. = pretty much everything. It’s FREE!

Before the *CRASH*, I also used Photoshop Elements 10 to remove the background of my design photos for the website. I was unable to get PE10 back after the crash because a) I couldn’t figure out how to download it again for the life of me because I have zero record of my serial number and b) I now have Windows 10 and PE10 is an older version and unfortunately not compatible with Windows 10. I DID download a trial version of PE14, and I played around quite a bit with removing the background. I watched lots of YouTube videos. I am just not that photo savvy folks! By the way, PE10 had a handy dandy Magic Extractor tool that made it super easy to remove your background (I did a blog post on this too). Around the time they came out with PE12 I think, they decided to leave that handy dandy tool off, so PE12 and after (or maybe 11 or somewhere around then) you have to remove your background using some other very difficult {to me at least} methods.

SO………………. I finally had sense enough to google “removing backgrounds from photos” and discovered Clipping Magic! It’s essentially the Magic Extractor from PE10 but has a lot more features and is MUCH easier to use. The only downside is that you pay a monthly fee, but it is totally worth it to me! $3.99/mo gets you 15 projects/month and credits carry over. $7.99/mo gets you 100 projects, and $14.99/mo gets you 500 projects/mo. I went with the cheapest version since I only really need this for new designs and we MIGHT do 15 in a good month!

It is SO EASY! You just click on the parts you want to keep with GREEN, and parts you want left off (the background) in RED. As you do this, it forms a border around the parts you want to keep – see the yellow line. You can also adjust this easily! Here are a couple of examples…

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Here is my before and after! Check out their website too to see other features and neat things Clipping Magic will do! I use it for design photos, but you might see some other use!

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The Gulledges are in SURVIVAL MODE around here. It’s May, which means we have 28 events on our calendar and school is wrapping up. Sunday was Jeff’s birthday AND Mother’s Day (plus we had our last soccer tournament all weekend in Decatur, AL). My triplet nieces and nephew turned 16 yesterday (and all 3 passed their driving test!). My middle child “G” turned 10 today. Jeff and I celebrate 15 years of marriage Thursday (Whoop!) and Browder will turn 13 (GASP) on the 25th. And school gets out May 20th for my oldest and May 27 for my youngest 2. Then it’s SUMMER!

Applique Cafe NEWS: All of our DESIGNS are on sale through May 17th, and you can see what’s new below! Lots of cute stuff for SUMMER!

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Until next time…..

Black Screen of DEATH

Last Monday, April 11th, my computer was making a funny noise, so I turned it off to let it “rest”. A few hours later I turned it back on to find the black screen of death! You’ve all heard of it. You’ve all feared it. I lived it! After several attempts to “revive” it, I texted my husband who spoke to the computer guy at his office who confirmed it was dead. Dead. Hard drive was dead. Don’t you love my Emojis??

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Jeff took the computer to work Tuesday and I had it back by Thursday with a new hard drive AND Windows 10. With a lot of patience and a little help, and the saving grace of Carbonite, a little over a week later and I am back in business. The only casualty that I know of right now is my Photoshop Elements 10 photo editing software which I can’t seem to recover. I don’t believe it would be compatible with Windows 10 anyway, so I will most likely upgrade to PE14. One of the reasons I can’t recover it is because I can’t seem to find any record of when or where I got it! That is my fault.

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Reinstalled Monogram Wizard Plus with a simple upgrade from the MWP website… Check!

Reinstalled all of my MWP fonts I’ve purchased over the years (both from CD’s and from online in the Needleheads store)… Check!

Reinstalled Sew What-Pro. I did have to get my registration info from Sands Computing because it had been on my computer since September 25, 2008 and I had failed to write it down… Check!

Reinstalled my Photoscape photo editing software… Check!

Reinstalled my Canon camera software… Check!

Now on to Carbonite. The day my computer “expired”, I called Carbonite to let them know what was going on. They sent me an email with great instructions on how to restore all of my files. On Sunday afternoon I began the process, which took a little over 24 hours to complete. 12 years worth of embroidery and applique designs… RESTORED! 12 years worth of kid photos, design photos, website photos, etc… RESTORED! There were some files that were unable to be restored, but so far it’s not anything I miss. There are also some email files I had saved in my Live Mail that we have not restored yet, but they CAN be restored. If our computer guy can’t figure out how to restore them, then you can pay a support service of Carbonite 50 bucks to restore them for you. Worth it. Did I mention we pay less than $100 PER YEAR for Carbonite service? That “insurance” is well worth every dime, nickel and penny should your computer crash like mine did! I have customers email me all the time saying their computer crashed, and they’ve lost every design they’ve ever purchased (which is usually $2-4 a pop). I didn’t lose a single design, or a single photo of my precious children!

What I have learned… KNOW what softwares are on your computer and keep a hard copy somewhere of registration numbers, serial numbers, a list of where you purchased them etc. Also, keep all software CD’s in a safe place. I was able to re-install all of my MWP fonts I purchased (before the creation of the Needleheads Online Store) because I had all of my CDs and their serial numbers. I had to do some searching to find all of the above, so I will be more organized from now on.

I’m still getting used to Windows 10, but thankfully everything has been compatible and I got back to business with ease.

What else I have learned… go get Carbonite NOW, or SOME TYPE of backup system. You are CRAZY not to!

Let me know if you have any questions!

I’m leaving you with a couple of personal pictures. Jeff and I celebrated (early) our 15 year anniversary this past weekend down at The Grand Hotel in Fairhope, AL. It was FABULOUS and I’d move there Saturday if I could. Great shopping, TOP NOTCH eating (every restaurant downtown is a “local” place), and everyone and everything was so laid back. The people who waited on us in every restaurant and store we went in were super nice. Loved it! The Grand is a remarkable place in and of itself! And the TREES….

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Lastly, (2 of) the kids and I met Steve Harvey a few weeks ago. We are huge fans of his show Little Big Shots, and everything else he does (Family Feud, his talk show, Miss Universe (oops), etc). Mr. Harvey is friends and business partners with my neighbor, so when my neighbor saw the kids and I loitering on our front porch stalking them like crazy, he called us over for a picture. He was in town all weekend, so it was quite an exciting few days on our street. Lots of texting with neighbors and tracking his every move! That night Mallory asked if she had to take a bath, because Steve Harvey had touched her shoulder!! L…O…L Anyway we are big fans and can’t wait for him to come back to town!

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Have a great weekend!

Applique Cafe Christmas List!

Just a quick post to share with you all the things we offer at Applique Cafe that should be on your Christmas list! 🙂

  1. GIFT CERTIFICATES!! We sell them in $10 increments and they can be printed and mailed to you or to your mom/friend/cousin/neighbor. If time is of the essence, I can also fill in the info and email it to you to print!

Applique Cafe gift cert 400

2) Monogram Wizard Plus!! I’ve sold 2 this week, so a couple of people are getting new font software for Christmas! There is an actual installation CD for MWP which is shipped to you. I usually mail same day, so it will arrive in your mailbox within 2-3 days (we ship USPS Priority Mail). If you are new to embroidery and are frustrated with the fonts that came on your machine, or with merging letters together, then check out MWP! It’s a GREAT investment for your embroidery business. Below is an example of your screen and it’s super easy to use!

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Look at all the possibilities! It comes with all of the font options you see below, plus you can add to your font collection with a few clicks at the Needleheads store.

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3) Needleheads Store Gift Cards!! You bought or already have Monogram Wizard Plus, and you want to add to your font collection? We sell $25 Needleheads gift cards for $19.99, so you’re saving $5.01 off the bat! Needleheads often runs sales and specials too, so you can save more by using our gift card on top of their sale! We have physical gift cards we can mail you, OR, most people just want the code to get the discount (which we can email to you). Needleheads gift cards are redeemed at the Needleheads Online Store.

Needleheads gift card sale

4) Sew What-Pro Embroidery Software!! SWP is a top seller at Applique Cafe month after month. Not only is it super affordable ($65), it’s easy to use and honestly I couldn’t survive without it! I use it for merging (adding a name to an applique design), minor editing (deleting a part of a design) and for the most part, just to SEE the applique design I’m working on. It shows me the size I’m working on, each step in the process and I can play around with colors (thread) to help me choose my fabrics!

Here are a couple of workspace examples, and I just updated my SWP last night so the screen now looks a smidge different! By the way… the names you see are done in Monogram Wizard Plus, then merged in to Sew What-Pro!

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5) Durkee Cap Frame!! OK so we don’t sell cap frames, but if you saw my recent post on the “new” Durkee Cap Frame, then you might want to add it to your list too! Check out my blog post from earlier this week to learn all about it – HERE. If hats are on your product list, then consider investing in a DCF to make life easier! 🙂 They have frames that are compatible with multi AND single needle machines!

Durkee Cap Frame

6) Mighty Hoops!! Again, not something we sell here at Applique Cafe, but again, check out my recent blog post on the super easy magnetic Mighty Hoops! The hoops can be used alone, or with a fixture to help with centering and easy hooping. Check out that blog post HERE. Below is the 6.5″ square Mighty Hoop and Fixture, and I’m giving it a workout this week monogramming towels!

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And here is my 7.25″ square Mighty Hoop that I use without a fixture! It’s great for items like bibs and bags that are a little harder to hoop.

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7) Applique Cafe Christmas & Holiday Designs!! Lastly….. all of our Christmas & Holiday designs are 40% off, so if you are still working on Christmas shirts, towels or even winter (this category includes snowmen, ice skates, mittens and other winter designs), then they are on SALE!

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