How to Create a Text Mask in PicMonkey

 As you may know, I make and sell printables on Etsy!  And one of my favorite looks is a Text Mask.  That's when you see an image in the letters themselves!  It actually is not as hard as you'd think.  Just follow the steps of this PicMonkey (I highly recommend the Pro plan, but Basic is pretty good, too!) tutorial, and you'll soon have some gorgeous images or quotes of your own!

Step 1:  Pick the image you want to see in your text.  It can be anything you like.  Personally, I prefer bright, colorful graphics!  Just make sure that it is the right size to match your font.  Or pick one that could be stretched or shrunk to the right size.

Step 2:  Login to PicMonkey and click Create New and pick the size you want.  I like to use 8x10 for most of my creations!

Step 3:  Next, add your text.  There are a lot of fonts to choose from on PicMonkey, and you can also use your own!

Step 4:  Click the Layers icon at the bottom of the page, then click Flatten Image in the Layers Palette.

Step 5:  Now click Add Image at the top of the page and find your photo.  It can be something from your computer or one of the stock images PicMonkey provides.  Your text will be hidden from view until the next step.

Step 6:  With your image still hiding the text, change the Blend Mode to Lighten or Add.  Unless you choose to go with a black background and white text, then you'd choose Darken or Add.

Now all that's left is to Download or Share your beautiful image!  If you're creating it to sell on Etsy, you might want to save both a JPG and PDF version, because sometimes customers can print one out easier than the other, so you can include both options in your listing!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful!  Please let me know in the comments, and feel free to share your creations!

Summer flowers

My garden won't win any awards, but I get some good looking plants and flowers!  This year my Mexican Sunflowers are my "prize winners" this year!

They are so tall, but you have to take into account, in the pic with me in it, that I'm only five feet tall!  LOL

The butterflies and hummingbirds, amongst other things, really seem to enjoy it!  🦋

Quarantined - A night out

I never thought I would be able to say I lived during a pandemic, but here we are.  The entire world is scared to get something called the Corona virus.  Many people have died. And it has finally found it's way to my little corner of the world.  (Like WV has corners.  LOL). But West Virginia was the last state to come down with the virus.

It's a terrible, scary thing, but a lot of people get through by trying to stay light-hearted.  So, we make jokes and do what we can to get through the days.  Especially now, when so many people are quarantined. 

Schools are closed, restaurants and bars, as well as many other businesses have closed their doors for the safety of others.  And people are quarantined, as well.  We can only go out to get groceries or other necessities.  

So, that's why I was so excited to go to Walmart this evening.  I actually fixed my hair and put makeup on!  LOL. I have been stuck at home almost the whole month since it got to be a big problem in the US.  Just me and the boys.  

The boys are Zeus and Beau!  Beau is just three months old, and quite the handful.  Just ask Zeus!  LOL

Sooo, I was especially excited to not only go to Walmart, but we also went through a Wendy's drive thru and took our food to the park to eat!  It was pretty quiet there and chilly, but it was so great to be out of the house for a couple hours!

I don't care about being quarantined.  It's not fun.  People are going a little stir crazy.  But I just hope we can get through this pandemic without very many more deaths.  I think people are really pulling together and trying to do the right thing.  So hopefully it will be over by May or June, and this will be a bit of history where the whole world will have learned that we can do anything if we work together! 

Positivity and Love can do anything!  Stay well, people!

WV Mountaineer Snowman - A Painting

I thought I'd show you a painting I created before Christmas!  I'm not sure how the idea came to me, but I think he turned out pretty cute!  My friend Melody gave me the idea to use the Flying WV as snowflakes.  LOL  He's my whimsical tribute to two WV college teams.  Obviously, WVU's Mountaineers in Morgantown, but also Glenville State's Pioneers.  I grew up in Glenville, you see, and the Pioneers are very similar to the Mountaineers (the people, if not the teams).

I teach paint parties, but this isn't one of my classes.  I would love to make some more and sell them, though!  What do you think of him?  Let me know in the comments below.