Blog Headers
 Bloggers love how Graphics-Toolbox helps them enhance and personalize the look of their blogs. Designing new headers, manipulating their photos and customizing images of all kinds allows writers of all genres to entice the public to read their message, by making a visual impression first.
This blog header was designed by a home school blogger. Let’s let Susan tell you more:
“Did you notice my new blog header and background? I’d been thinking about giving myself a new look for awhile, and I had a bunch of digi-scrap elements I liked, but, I’ll be frank, I’m definitely not a graphic artist. That’s where Graphics- Toolbox comes in. Read More...
Visit Susan’s blog at: homeschoolheartandmind.blogspot.com
Elements of Art and Design
 Line, shape, texture, value and color. Working and playing with the elements of art and design are a fun way to express your ideas, your emotions and, of course, your creativity! Designing with Graphics-Toolbox doesn’t always mean creating a practical project like a homework assignment, business presentation or party invitation. Sometimes just playing with the functions to see what happens inspires new ideas and hones new skills that the more structured projects wouldn’t elicit.
Read More...
Experiencing History
For this project, we will let the creator tell you about it! “The problem with history is that it is, well, something that has already occurred. So trying to get a child to become truly ‘involved’ in it, can be a difficult challenge indeed. By using Graphics-Toolbox, and a bit of one’s imagination, you can draw (quite literally) the child into any time in history to create a memorable report cover, picture for a lapbook or notebooking page, an entertaining picture for a scrapbook page, or even a center piece for a history display board.
Read More...
Warhol Effect
We enjoy seeing projects that our users create, and this Warhol effect image is a perfect example. Ethan and his mother Jessica started with a nice snapshot of Ethan, and by using a few of the Graphics-Toolbox functions, they converted a typical photograph into a fun work of art. They began by making an irregular frame around just Ethan, which cut away the background. Then they used the Grouping Colors tool to reduce the thousands of colors in a typical photo to just a few. Reducing the number of colors flattened the image. After fine-tuning the image further
Read More...
Creative Creatures
Color. Creativity. Imagination. These wonderful characters were created by a 9- year old boy using Graphics-Toolbox. With the fun drawing and coloring tools he was able to vividly render his imaginary beings. He was new to Graphics-Toolbox, but quickly started freehand drawing and experimenting with filling solid and gradient colors, expressing his own personal artistry. He created and saved each one individually, but now there are so many things that he can do with them! The images can be saved as...
Read More...
Design your own photo Christmas cards
Christmas cards can be a truly personalized message to our friends and family at this wonderful time of year. Use Graphics-Toolbox to express your creativity by combining beautiful and spiritual graphics with the wonderful contemporary tradition of sending family photos. The Christmas graphics that you use with your photos can be collected from everywhere: Internet images, scanned images, photos of your own decorations or stained glass windows and statues from churches you may have visited. There are also many good websites with meaningful Christmas phrases that can be used for the message... Read More and see more beautiful cards...
Creative Birthday Cards
Commercial greeting cards have their place, but who wouldn't rather receive a personalized card made by the giver? We have featured various cards throughout the year that were made with Graphics-Toolbox, but none are more fun and appreciated than this whimsical birthday card! You can see the images that Chris and Kevin used to create Mike's birthday cake. The original cartoon clip-art cake is boring compared to their final version with their older brother's head as the candle flames. Laying out the card with the Mike-cake, adding a colorful ribbon from Graphics-Toolbox as a border, then finishing off with the text message... Read More...
Times New Roman Poetry or Fun Poetry?
What do we want our students to learn? What does the 21st century require? What do children enjoy? Striking a balance is essential for educators, but when all three questions can be fulfilled together, everyone succeeds. Compare the two versions of this 6th grader's autobiographic poem. The words are the same. Which would you read first? Which better represents the personality of the author? Which do you think the student is most proud of and enjoyed working on? Quality writing is essential, but how it is presented is also important. When we teach our students to express themselves with their writing beyond... Read More...
Business Flyers
Small businesses and entrepreneurs need to create striking and effective flyers and marketing materials that set their products and services apart from the rest. Often that means conveying a creative and appealing company image. Colorful flyers, business cards and post cards with interesting and relevant graphics are captivating; grabbing the eye of the prospective customer is the first step to getting their business. Consider this colorful flyer created by a small painting company. Without a budget to hire a graphic artist, they created the flyer themselves in Graphics-Toolbox. They chose .... Read More...
Book Cover Project
Language arts students and aspiring authors alike enjoy designing their own book covers in Graphics-Toolbox (GT). Teachers assign the project to students to allow them a creative way to show their understanding of their book and the literary themes it contains. For students it is more fun to write a back cover summary and book reviews than it is to write a typical essay. Adding artwork adds an important creative element too. Even students who are not artists can use Graphics-Toolbox to manipulate graphics in an interesting and personalized way. The artwork on this cover was hand drawn - black lines on white paper - then scanned and the black and white colors swapped in GT. .... Read More...
Happy Birthday! - Birthday gift ideas
d Happy birthday to you d!
Give a gift that will always be treasured! There is no better way to celebrate and honor a special birthday or event than to create a memorable collage. Take pictures throughout the day, find meaningful quotes, and combine them in Graphics-Toolbox. Format the collage into a standard frame size like 5x7 or 8x10, frame it, and give it as a gift. A personal and thoughtful gift like this shows your creativity and will be cherished for years to come.
Dream Machine - Playing with photos
Sometimes we just want to play with our pictures and imagine. Do you have a dream house, dream car or dream vacation that seems out of reach? In this economy we may not be able to be extravagant, but we can have fun dreaming and playing. Why not use Graphics-Toolbox to make your dreams come true in pictures, for now anyway. .... Read More...
Shower Invitation
There is no doubt that planning a wedding is one of the most exciting activities in life. Some people may enjoy it more than others, but most revel in choosing the colors and dresses, flowers, music and invitations. The bride and groom have an opportunity to express their creativity, and their family and friends begin to build up excitement for the big day as they see the plans unfold.... Read More...
Say No to Bullying! - School Poster
Back to school. There's so much to learn, and it's not all academic. Fortunately, many schools are becoming more proactive in teaching children about the harmful effects of bullying. We hope that if it is confronted head-on, bullying will be unacceptable and thwarted before children are harmed. If we can stop bullying in the school yard, maybe those kids won't grow up to be older, more dangerous bullies.... Read More...
A Tribute in Pictures
Being part of a team is a valuable childhood learning experience. Some students are involved in one sport, others many. Some teams rarely win; others win championships. Winning, losing, feeling the pressure at bat and on the mound, all the emotions that surround the competition prepare kids for the challenges that they will encounter throughout their lives. Capture those emotions with Graphics-Toolbox!... Read More...
Soccer Sharks - Team T-Shirt Graphics
 Many of our Featured Projects are contributed by our Graphics-Toolbox users and new users are very proud and excited when they complete their first project. Most do not have a graphic background and never thought they would be able to create their own professional-looking flyer or graphic layout. To quote this new user:
"This was the first Graphics-Toolbox project I have ever created. I am a team soccer.....
Read More...
Summer Vacation Timeline
 What did you do for your summer vacation? The question is coming: are you ready? For decades teachers have greeted their students in the fall with this famous question. It is usually posed as a writing topic and the students use this opportunity to introduce themselves, their family and their interests to the teacher and the rest of the class. There is also historically a certain amount of groaning in reply to the query, since most kids have short memories and imagine that their own summer must pale in comparison to that of their classmates..... Read More...
Longwood and Winterthur Gardens Family Collage
 We often measure our lives by memorable events, such as vacations and weekend getaways. For many of us, life is a timeline of special memories with our mundane routine filling in the gaps. We can maximize our significant moments, however, without going to exotic destinations. A walk in the woods, a trip to the park, or a day in the city can be special if we make it so by creatively documenting these more ordinary events. This family loves beautiful gardens and they took a spring weekend trip to southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. The trees and shrubs were in bloom... Read More...
Champion Butterflies - combining photos and graphics
 We may take hundreds of pictures a year, thanks to digital cameras, but only a handful may truly capture the essence of the moment. This young catcher played in and his team ultimately won their Little League Championship game. Once the dust settled and the trophies were examined, it was time to start reliving the highlights through the photographs. His parents thought this was a great shot of him: attentive and ready at the plate surrounded by the umpire and the fans. The catcher looked at it differently. Read More...
Thank you Mr. Ullman! - Teacher Appreciation
 Teachers impact their students in so many ways. They do more than educate; they are role models, parent-figures, friends, disciplinarians, mentors and more. During the school week, they usually spend more quality time with our children then we do. Some young children even slip and call their teachers mom or dad.
So as the school year ends, this 3rd grader wrote a letter to his teacher thanking him for a great year. He used Graphics-Toolbox to add personalized photos to make it a special keepsake for both of them. The year may be over, but the influence of his teacher will stay with him forever.
Egg Drop - Physics Project
 Physics: the science that studies matter and its motion through space and time. Some of us may have science brains and others not, but everyone learns better when images are added into the teaching process. This high school physics diagram was easily created by a 15 year-old student in Graphics-Toolbox using the line and curve tools. Read More...
Fashion Trends - Trend Boards
 Businesses and students of diverse specialties need to analyze trends and report on them. By presenting buying patterns, consumer behavior and upcoming trends in a clear visual format, designers and business people decide on logical corporate and product directions. Graphics-Toolbox has the easy-to-learn-and-use tools that allow researchers to create effective presentations by combining their data with images that they collect from all types of sources, like Internet, newspapers and magazines. Read More...
Heaven - Personal Expression
 You have probably thought about it. You may have discussed it with your family and friends, maybe not, but what does Heaven mean to you?
We can only imagine and it is such a personal image. Is it angels and chocolate cake? Billowy clouds and sunshine? God on a throne surrounded by his devoted. If so, what does God look like: the classic image of an old man with the long white beard or a more personalized vision? Are all the best things from Earth in Heaven? And more? Read More...
Removing the Idiot
 As much as I like to give humanity the benefit of the doubt, some people's behavior baffles me. We recently visited the Miami Aquarium and with a nod to Pinocchio and Ahab took a family picture in the mouth of a whale. We never met him or even noticed him that day, but when we got home and saw our pictures, we saw him: the Idiot. I'm not sure why this grown man wanted to be in our family picture. Did he think we were famous? Did he think that the woman who kindly used our camera to take the picture was part of a television camera crew? Was this... Read More...
The Flip - Transparency with Photos
 Summer will be here soon and Graphics-Toolbox's Transparent Glide is so much fun to use!. With all the action going on around us everyday, why don't you try capturing some 2009 memories like we did with this flip. Let's face it; he's only got a few good flipping years left. If you don't catch it now, it might be too late!
Literary Elements
 We have featured many projects where students have created dynamic homework assignments using Graphics-Toolbox, but teachers use it as well to prepare more personalized and effective posters and learning aids for all core curriculum subjects.
This poster was created by a 5th grade Language Arts teacher to help her students recognize the Literary Elements... Read More...
Jillian
 Poetry and images are a natural pair. As simple words are combined to create poignant verbal imagery, our minds absorb the phrases trying to bring them to life - to attach a picture to the words. Adding graphics to the page both helps the reader better understand the poet's meaning and turns the page into a work of art.
Look at this poem with and without the photograph. This 10 year-old boy wrote it for his new cousin's christening.The poem is heartfelt and touching; the colorful words are playful and happy, but... Read More...
Easter Memories
 Give those special pictures the finishing touch with our Fancy Lines and Ribbons as borders. Choose from hundreds of choices in our exclusive libraries and color them to match your pictures. Add text to make the memory complete.
Hoola-Hoop Girl
 It's time to think spring and what better way then to get outside with a hoola-hoop! Look at the vibrant colors in this image. Now picture it without the border - still a nice picture, but adding the colorful floral Ribbon border spotlights the bright colors in the photo, energizes the action of the young girl and turns it into a perfect birthday card or scrapbook element.
Animated Band
 Create a whole different photographic image by adding outside elements. These solid color cartoon instruments give the photo a playful attitude and personalize the picture for each child. The colorful Ribbon border is the finishing touch for a graphic that was used for a band teacher thank you note.
Who Am I?
 "Who am I?" Think of how many times we ask ourselves that question throughout our lives. We can be introspective and analyze our deepest feelings or we can have fun with it like Chris did.
Teachers inspire kids to think about themselves (a student's favorite topic!) and a recent 7th grade health class assignment was to create a collage showing "Who am I?". Instead of making his mom dig out a stack of 4"x6" photographs and trying to fit them onto poster board, Chris was able to use digital pictures that were already on their computer. He resized and cropped them his own way:... Read More...
Happy St. Patrick's Day
 Who can think of March and not consider St. Patrick? (Or at least corned beef and cabbage, parades, Irish walking caps, green beer...) We wanted to take this opportunity to give a tribute to the man behind the holiday. This beautiful image was created by a 10 year old boy... Read More...
Taking the Stress out of Health Class
 Using Graphics-Toolbox with MS Publisher allowed this 6th grader to create this professional-looking brochure. After researching stress issues for kids online, he combined the new info with his health class notes to create the informative categories that the assignment required. Then he had fun searching the web for fun cartoon images of stressed-out people! Read More...
Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Rose and Mike!
 Have you noticed how this common wedding pose is flattering for almost every new bride and groom? Is it the joy they feel from walking out of the church as man and wife? Is the car door a perfect frame for the couple in their white and black finery? Does the unnatural position make them feel a bit silly and therefore have a naturally happy smile? Does blood rush to their cheeks as they bend over giving them a healthy... Read More...
So Sweet!!
 Show off your sweet side and impress your Valentine with your creativity. Use a graphic, like this chocolate bar, and add photographs and message to make a great greeting. This photo was converted from a normal color photograph to a milk chocolate brown tone in seconds. Once hooked on projects like this, you'll be craving more opportunities to use Graphics-Toolbox all year round.
P.S. This project was calorie-free!
A Slice of Game
 The time has come to stop thinking of photographs with 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 limitations! Photo quality printers are almost as commonplace in today's homes as computers filled with digital pictures. There is no reason to crop pictures to fit into a stereotypical photo size when you are printing it yourself. Make your photo albums more interesting by combining photos of mixed sizes.
A Different Kind Of Love
 The St. Lawrence O'Toole Teen Club, run by Mary Ellen Tiernan and a 6th Grade CCD class, taught by Maureen DelGuidice, each spent an hour session creating Valentine cards on Graphics-Toolbox software to send to the critically ill. None of the students had ever used Graphics-Toolbox before and they had a selection of Valentine- themed images to choose from. Their personalities shined through as they selected their graphics, laid out their card using fancy lines and ribbons and typed their message in their favorite font. The final... Read More...
Gator Boys
 "Using Graphics-Toolbox and a little imagination, you can have fun creating unique photo images. We used the Irregular Frame tool to select the boy on the right with the alligator, mirrored the image and placed him back to back with his brother. We also used the Cloning tool to remove the rubber bands from... Read More...
Inspirational Collage
 Photos evoke so much emotion. Our pictures arouse pride, as we look back on the many stages of our life with family and friends. Our brains can fail us; the details fade away, but photos bring them back and help us revisit the special times we thought we would never forget. Read More...
Filmstrip
 Trying to get brothers to cooperate and take the perfect picture isn't always easy. In this case, their mom decided to bring the squirmy pics to life and let everyone enjoy her picture-taking process with this filmstrip layout. Saving it in the Jpg format allowed her to print it at a professional lab inexpensively and send it out with their Christmas cards.
Leeza's Place
 The Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation was created by television personality Leeza Gibbons and her very close friend, Dr. James Huysman. LGMF not only helps those caregivers dealing with memory loss, but all chronic illnesses. The month of November is National Family Caregivers Month and LGMF wanted to do something special for its National Newsletter. We knew right where to go. Read More...
Photo Cartoons
 Create your own cartoon world and add photos to produce customized whimsical pictures for invitations, favors, t-shirt transfers and more. Start with clip-art graphics or draw your own; recolor them your way with our Color Change tools; add the photograph and then wait for the compliments to start pouring in.
Click here to see the development steps for this personalized shower favor.
Autumn Puzzler
 It is fun to play with photos and make up your own puzzles. All the changes in the bottom photo were created in one of two ways: by using the Irregular Frame tool and copying parts of the image
or using the Clone tool to erase by cloning part of the background.
Click on photo to enlarge and find the 10 differences.
Perspective Kids
 It is fun to play with pictures when you have the right tools! After removing the background from around the kids in the original photo with our Irregular Frame tool, we Resized the image and played with perspective to create a dynamic effect. We used Tonal Color Change and mirrored the image in the background for a great finishing touch.
Customized Halloween Party
 My two sons have birthdays on either side of Halloween, and for 8 years, we have hosted a big Halloween birthday party. The boys invite about 40 friends and in lieu of gifts, we ask the guests to bring food for the local Thanksgiving Food Drive. One of the fun elements of the party for me is designing the invitations, address labels, thank you notes and other party necessities. Read More... Click here to see other party images
Warhol Effect
 Have fun with your pictures. Take a normal photograph with millions of colors and reduce it to a few colors in only minutes with our Grouping Colors function. Then change colors instantly to create great images like this Warhol effect. Alexandra was thrilled and her mom used the image as a unique birthday party invitation!
Fast and Easy Scrapbook Pages
 Trying to make use of your digital photos or those mounds of pictures in the dresser drawer? With Graphics-Toolbox's scrapbooking layouts, colorful ribbons and fancy lines, documenting your precious moments is fun and easy.
Graphic-Toolbox is not another template based scrapbooking program; it is professional level graphic software that is ideal for scrapbookers. By using Graphics-Toolbox, you can maximize free on-line digital kits... Read More...
The Pitch
 Convey the action and excitement of the moment with Graphics-Toolbox's Transparency Glide. This image was created by combining 3 separate photos and simply sliding the Transparency Glide to produce the desired effect.
Baby Shower Invitation
 From baby showers and 1st birthdays to graduation and weddings, your personalized invitations and announcements will not only grab the reader's attention inspiring them to attend your special function, but become lasting keepsakes in the years to come.
With a computer full of digital photos and a creative idea, Graphics-Toolbox can make sharing your favorite pics simple and fun. You can send... Read More...
Fun Puzzler
 Kids of all ages love picture puzzles and this one is great fun. We used the Irregular Frame tool to frame sections and copy them elsewhere in the photo. We also used the Cloning tool to eliminate sections by cloning the nearby background. Color changes were done with our Tonal Color Change tool. Click on photo to enlarge and find the 10 differences. There is actually 11 for the seriously astute among us!
Be Cool Poster
 Teenagers love creating colorful posters and signs for their lockers, bedrooms and friends. Graphics-Toolbox gives them the tools to be creative so they can express their individuality and ideas.
|
