Remember my 12 Days of Digital Freebies I did last Christmas? Remember this social media icon set I made?

It’s been a popular download, which awesome, but I got a request for a social media set that included Pinterest and Instagram. Apparently is harder to find than you would expect, given the popularity of both sites. To which I said, you got it.

I’ve updated the original set with icons for Instagram, Artfire, and Etsy. All of the sites now represented are: Artfire, Etsy, Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Email, Pinterest, RSS, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube.

I stuck to the individual logo colors for this set, though I’ve been thinking about whipping up other social media icons. If I do, is there a particular shape (like a square or rectangle) or size you prefer? Do you like the original logo colors, or would you prefer customized colors? Is there a site you love to use that I didn’t include? I’d love to hear your thoughts, if you get a chance.

To download the updated set, click here. Enjoy!

As soon as I figured out what Photoshop actions could do, I wanted to learn how to make them (maybe you remember?). I didn’t have time for it last fall, so after the holidays were over, I treated myself to an actions eclass. It was fun, but short; still, I got the basics down enough to make a few actions of my very own. And I’m sharing one with you today!

My inspiration came from this photo. I knew I wanted the final version to look dreamy (told you I was into the hazy look), like a soft memory. The original edit didn’t quite capture the feeling I wanted; it was close, but not exactly there. So, I kept playing and tweaking till I came on a nice pink overtone, and I’m really happy with the results.

The best part is that all of the action layers are customizable, so you can turn them off, bump up the opacity, or change the blending modes till you get the exact look you want. After a couple tries, I found that it works best on a clean edit where the photo has already been lightened and brightened a bit.

To use my Valentine action, you’ll need:

• Photoshop or Photoshop Elements – I made it so it would work in both
• The action itself (31 kb) – Right click and Save As to download

This is my first time sharing an action, so forgive me if it doesn’t work in your version of Photoshop or Elements. I tested it in the newest versions of both, but would love to know if it worked or not in your version (if you wouldn’t mind coming back and leaving a comment).

Happy Valentine’s Day!

UPDATE: If you’ve never tried an action before, they do need to be installed into Photoshop/Elements. Installation instructions are included with the download!

To use in Elements, open your photo, expand your Effects Panel, and make sure you’re under Photo Effects (third icon from the left) or All (icon to the far right). Scroll down the list till you find the Valentine thumbnail and double click it to run the action (select Show All from the dropdown menu if you can’t see the thumbnail).

To use in Photoshop, load it into your Actions Palette and click play. 

I’ve been in a reflective mood this week (have you noticed??), which feels kind of nice to be open about it all. So, before I return to normalcy, I thought I’d share one last thing with you.

As you know, I’m working on my goals list for 2012. I’ve been digging into worksheets and journaling a lot, but after I wrote down a few goals, my immediate thought was, “What’s next?”

Call me dense or slow, but I realized that I need to spell things out for myself when it comes to goals. It’s not enough to see the phrase on the list; that doesn’t tell me much about how to get it done (and I might not ever remember what I was thinking when I wrote it down in the first place). I need a plan with steps, something to keep me on track, something I can gleefully cross off when I achieve it.

So, I made a set of worksheets for myself, worksheets to help me clarify my goals and create an action plan for each one.

And I’m giving it to you.

 My Actionable Goal Worksheets are focused on taking your goal list and giving you space to brainstorm a plan of action. There are 13 pages total, with 8 worksheet pages that you can print off whenever you need them. They are also flexible enough that if you want to, you can make up your own instructions for them (though I did include what the purpose of each worksheet was, and how to use them).

Oh, and did I mention it’s free? Just right-click that button above, and choose Save As.

I hope you like them. I hope they help you clear your mind and focus, let it did for me. And if you do like them and they did help you, perhaps you’d be kind enough to tell your friends? There are social media buttons at the end of this post to make it super easy for you to tweet or share.

Enjoy!

On this, the last day of Digital Freebie-ness (and the English language cringes), I thought what did I want to leave you with? And it occurred to me that if nothing else, I wanted to send out a positive message. Remember the Word Art posts I used to do before life became super hectic? I like those. I miss those.

So, I scouted my favorite quotes and found one that really struck home.

I’ve got two versions for you, the original and a ‘uses less ink’ version (probably there’s a better word for that, but my brain isn’t awake yet). I printed it out and put it right in my office so I can see it every day.

Enjoy!

To use, you’ll need:

• The Word Art Print PDF (792 KB)
• Simply print off whichever page suits your fancy and hang it up wherever you need a reminder.

Terms of Use:

This freebie is for personal use only, no commercial use allowed. Please don’t redistribute, sell, or give away the files. Thanks for your cooperation!