Quick tip: Easily finding the cursor in Photoshop if it's the same colour as your background

Sometimes you can't see the cursor when you're in a greyish area of your document.

Quick tip: press the spacebar and the hand icon will be displayed where the cursor is 'hiding'.

Quick tip: Advertising rates are not set in stone. Always negotiate.

This applies to all advertising whether it be magazines, newspapers, radio or TV etc. Let the person selling you the ad space know early on that you're not interested in their full rate. A 20 to 30% reduction makes your ad more profitable.

Also, booking your ad closer to the deadline is more open to negotiation as Sales teams become more desperate to sell the ad space to reach their targets and fill the space. You could be surprised at how low they're willing to go rather than let the deadline pass without booking anything!

Quick tip: Always advertise on the right hand page of a magazine

Why?

Because when people flick through magazines they normally flick through from the back. Eyes are drawn more to the right hand page that lays flat as you flick. Statistically, more people will see your ad on that page. If you can stipulate outer right hand page to the publication, even better.

You may pay a bit more for your advertising as this has been tested time after time and results show campaigns are more successful if advertised on the right hand page but it would be worth it.

So when booking your ad space ask for a right hand page.

Quick tip: Finding Pantone, LAB, HSB and HEX equivalents from RGB or CMYK files using Photoshop

Often I am asked by a client 'what is the Pantone reference' of a logo or something that I've created in 4 colour. This tip takes you to the computer's 'best guess' Pantone equivalent. It is still advisable to agree on a swatch colour with a client from a Pantone book for absolute 100% accuracy but it is normally pretty near. I am using Photoshop here for my tip but it can also be done in other softwares like Adobe Illustrator.

Also this tip will give you the HSB, RGB, HEX (colour code for web) and CMYK equivalent colours for files.

1. Open the file in Photoshop
2. In the 'tools' window click on the eyedropper tool (pipette icon)
3. Click on the colour you wish to convert on your image
4. Go back to the tool window and click on the square that has changed to the colour (the foreground colour square)
5. A Color Picker window will appear.
6. Click on 'Color Libraries'
7. Scroll down from the 'book;' drop down menu to your required Pantone library. Photoshop will automatically jump to the closest Pantone colour in the list.

To find HSB, RGB, LAB, CMYK and HEX equivalents follow steps 1 to 5 above and in the color picker window it will give you all the values for the above. Note: the box at the bottom with the # sign in front of it is the HEX code - the colour code for web.

Handcrafted cards

So... whilst the boys are fishing at the weekends - if I'm not doing the girly shopping thing or tagging along with them if the weather is OK, I like to do my hobby which is card making. I started it whilst on chemo last year as it is really therapeutic. Pam (Gary's mum) does it too and we sell at craft fairs and to friends. We've built up a massive stock of different cards and I personalise each one with the same handwriting that you see on the photograph...

I've just started selling them on ebay too and you can view them if you search for my user name: carolineedmonds you can do this by following these 4 steps:

1. Click the “Advanced Search” link located at the top of most eBay pages.

2. On the left side of the page, click the “By seller” link.

3. Enter carolineedmonds select the “Show close and exact user ID matches” option.

4. Click the Search button.

or I've put a couple of links here but they will go out of date when they're finished:

starfish card
puppy card

I'll gradually put more up on ebay. If you're interested and you're local and can pick them up then I sell them for £1.99 each for A6 size and £2.99 for A5 size - the offer of buy 5 and get 1 free still stands. (The £3.50 charge for the A6 ones on ebay covers my ebay, postage and PayPal fees. If I eventually post A5 ones then they will be £4.50 on ebay).

Just email me or phone with your text details and I will make one for you.

Anyway, I hope you like them - if you do, please save me as a favourite seller on ebay then you can catch up with new ones that I put on there.

Lymphoma 2009 and coming through the tunnel

Sorry, it's been a while since our last blog. A lot has been happening which I'll gradually get around to posting - but one thing was that a good friend of mine, Brigitte Houghton, of Houghton Communications: http://www.houghtoncommunications.co.uk who is absolutely red hot in PR (bit of a plug there but she is sooooo recommended - the results she gets you for your business are truly outstanding, and her dynamism, enthusiasm and energy for pushing you and your business along are quite addictive!) said we should post an article about something that happened to me last year. It was the second time somebody had said the same thing - another good friend, Val Reynolds, editor and creator of online health and lifestyle magazine 'In Balance', had suggested the same and had offered to post it on her magazine site: http://www.inbalancemagazine.com.

I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer, which I have now been through and come out the other side and all's well, thank goodness, but when it was suggested to me about the article I thought it might be a good idea too to show people that there is light at the end of the tunnel and if anybody out there needs any support then please contact me.

Brigitte wrote the article and Val has posted it on her website under 'Lifestyle'. (see the website above). Houghton Communications also have a blogspot which it is posted on too: http://www.houghtoncommunications.blogspot.com

Thank you to both for your help and special thanks to Brigitte for writing it, I could never have written about myself like that - it's one thing to copywrite for clients but completely different to write about yourself.

And if anybody reading the article would like help through their own personal journey of lymphoma - please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Writing articles and photography for fishing / angling magazines

Those of you who know us will know that Gary is just 'slightly' interested in fishing(!) Though I think that is the understatement of the year!

Gary and Sam, our 15 year old son, go fishing at any available opportunity and because they are interested in photography too they've put the two together and have started writing articles and supplying photographs to fishing magazines.

The above double page article was published in The Angling Times a few months ago and over this past year they have been writing quite a few articles and have a vast photographic library now of fishing, landscapes, different locations we've been to here in the UK and abroad and associated nature subjects.

So any journalists out there looking for material for your magazine on any of these subjects please get in touch.