Technical Tuesdays with Terri

Okay, go ahead and laugh at my alliteration.  Go ahead . . . I'll wait. I thought about "Technique Tuesday" but that was already taken. Or maybe "Tool Tuesday" . . . no, I don't think so. So "Technical Tuesday" it is.

I thought it would be fun to share a bit of technique with you all on occasion. When I run across something fun, I want to be able to share it with you. Today's example is something I found in the new HGTV Magazine in an ad for Sherwin-Williams. Yes, the paint people. You can find inspiration in the most amazing places if you're looking for it. You just upload your photo and it will automatically create a "paint palette" like the one above with the colors in your image. Fun idea, no?

So here's how it works. First, go to letschipit.com. Here's what you'll see:

There you can drag the "Chip It" button to the tool bar of your internet browser (i.e., Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.)

The idea is that, when you see an image on line, the "Chip It" tool will create the color palette for that image. It helped me to watch their little video before I started. Then I opened the Pioneer Woman website and found a photo I liked. I clicked on the Chip It button in my tool bar and then moved my curser over the photo and this is what I got:

You can save these palettes to "Chipbooks" or albums divided into various subjects (see the bar across the bottom in blue).

But you can also choose to upload your own photo. I found that I had to resize mine down to about 12x8 at 240dpi first or it wouldn't upload. Click on the "Upload an Image" box and select your photo. It will automatically make a paint palette out of the colors in your photo and this is what I got when I uploaded my photo:

I usually want to crop the image and paint chips out of what is shown on the screen so this is what I do next: 1. Click "Print Screen" on your keyboard; 2. Go into Photoshop or Elements and click File>New; 3. The correct size for your screenshot will automatically be set so you just need to click OK to open up a new blank page and then click Ctrl V to paste the screenshot into the document; 4. Select your crop tool and clear all settings by clicking on the Clear button to the right of where you usually select the crop size; 5. Crop to the desired part of the image. Then you can save it. It should look something like this:

You are able to save your palettes into albums so you can go back later and retrieve them. Here's one from my Flowers album:

Have fun with this. WARNING:  It can be addictive!  Hope you enjoy playing and be sure to post your results as well as any questions you might have and I'll be happy to answer them.

We are coming to the end of our monthly theme "Connections" and I hope you've had a chance to share some of your photos in the Flickr group. Our In Focus selections have been amazing so don't miss out on your chance to have your photo featured here.  As always, thanks so much for joining us.