Tag Archives: Adobe InDesign

The Family: A Proclamation – png template update

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pages 2 and 3 of my “The Family” photo book

So I finally figured out how to export my InDesign template for my “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” photo book into png files that could be used in the software of your choice. It is a multi-step process that takes two exports and the combining those files back together in Photoshop. So I haven’t gotten the whole book done but wanted to share the good news in an update. It will take me a while to process all the pages and get them uploaded. In the meantime, feel free to test out this spread and give me feedback on how you like it.

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The Family: A Proclamation to the World – InDesign Template

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title page of “The Family”

While I haven’t figured out how to translate this project into png files, I have cleaned it up and prepared an InDesign template to share. Send me an email to raelyn@tellingfamilytales.com and I’ll send you the fold with the template, links and fonts I used. Here are jpgs of all the spreads from the InDesign template created in Adobe InDesign CS6. They could be used the way they are but there are issues with overlapping elements when adding photos and the placeholder text for labeling the photos. If you find them helpful feel free to use them for personal projects or gifts but not for any commercial use. Hopefully I’ll have the png images done soon.

Family Tree: 8×10 Photo Pedigree Chart Template

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blank 8x10 photo pedigreeAs promised here is a link to the InDesign CS6 template for my 8×10 photo pedigree. (Remember that the template file in Dropbox will look really strange but if you save it and open it in InDesign it will look right there.) Feel free to use the template for personal use or gifts. If you’re not an InDesign user, I’ve open an Etsy shop focused on products for puppy raisers and service dog handlers called The Salty Pup Shop. I’ve got both the 8×10 and the 4×12 photo pedigrees available there as custom items. Proceeds from the shop go to paying for the costs of raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

 

Family Tree: 8×10 Photo Pedigree Chart

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Banta 8x10 photo pedigree

I’ve really had lots of fun doing photo pedigree charts for pups. When I looked into having the 4×12 panoramic printed, I realized that not everywhere prints that size. So I changed things up and designed an 8×10 version because it is also super easy to find an 8×10 frame too. I really like this size. I’ll post the InDesign template for this tomorrow.

Yes, Banta has the same grandpa on both sides. When I first found that out I thought it must be a mistake but they sometimes do that in dog breeding. Kentucky was a very successful stud. I’m sure they were hoping that Banta or one of her littermates would be a breeder. Banta was selected for breeding but she was just too much to handling and she didn’t like having her blood drawn or the other things that female breeders have to go through so she was released by the breeding department after a week. Also as you can see I don’t have photos of Kentucky’s parents yet.

Family Tree: Panaramic Photo Pedigree Chart

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Fable’s pedigree

Inspire by the Colorful Clan post, I did a photo pedigree chart for Fable. As you can see I have two grandparents that I don’t have photos for. I found someone who has puppy photos of Laramie but I’m hoping to find an adult photo. I’m really happy with how it came out. I’ve uploaded an InDesign CS6 template here for your personal use. It shouldn’t be too hard to adapt it to humans. I’d love to see your project if you use the template.

Family Trees: a colorful clan – InDesign Template

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Apex panaramic clan family treeversion of the colorful clan for Apex (the first puppy we raised for GDB)

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on colorful clan family tree for a 4″ x 12″ panoramic frame. I’ve put together a simple Adobe InDesign template to recreate the one from Parents.com. As I was working on it I realized that I didn’t need to have different colors of paper. With a color printer I could just print my background color.

For a sample I decided to show Apex’s (the first puppy we raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind) family tree. As you can see I don’t have all the birth dates and I don’t have any death date though some of these dogs have certainly passed away. But I though it would work to show what the template is like. Of course when you open the template up in InDesign you will be able to customize anything you would like from the fonts to the background colors.

You can download the Panoramic Clan Template here from Dropbox. When you open it up in Dropbox it will look like crazy gobbledegook. But once you save it to you computer and open it in InDesign it will work fine. I made this template in InDesign CS6. Let me know if you have problems or suggestions. I’m hoping to make more templates this coming year.

Photo Birthday Card Book – template

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lighting mom's 90th birthday cake

lighting the birthday cake

Remember last week’s book of the week, “face BOOK“? Well it inspired me to take photos at my mom’s 90th birthday with the plan to put together a birthday card in the form of a book very much like “face Book”. I set up a spot at the party to take photos of all the guests. I brought a notebook for the guest to write a short message with a marker. I’ve set up a template for the book and now I just need to drop the photos in place. It is going to be a wonderful memento of my mom’s 90th birthday party.

If you would like the InDesign template for a 7×7 blurb book you can download it from my dropbox for personal use. These are fully editable templates from InDesign CS6. You can change the colors and text as you would like.

Celebrating Nine Decades Pages Template

Celebrating Nine Decades Cover Template

I’ll post a preview of the finished book soon.

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Shutterfly Book

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my 50 for 50 book cover

I received a free 8×8 hardcover book coupon for Shutterfly recently and decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it out. I’ve never even been the Shutterfly site before so things were a bit rough to start. After a few false starts I figured out how to get a book started and upload photos for the book. Even though I choose their customized book path I found myself wanting more control over what I could do. But then I’m used to have complete control over my projects in Adobe InDesign. I spent 4 or 5 hours putting together a 20 page book. Having done it once it would probably take about half that time the second time around.

I was able to export it to a pdf but as you can see from above (and below) it has a watermark on each page. The link below will take you to Shutterfly’s preview of the book.

I can see how Shutterfly would be a good option for many people. They have lots of ways to share your photos and they are geared to really put together projects without too much thought on the customer’s part. I can’t see me ever using them as my primary source for books though. I’m too picky about wanting things the way I want them. I’m looking forward to getting the book and see what it looks like. I’ll post again after in comes.

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

Gift Idea #33 – Family Calendar

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idea numbers33I’m working on my calendar to give this Christmas. It is still in process but I’m getting close. I’ll post about it when I get it finished. I’ve done a calendar many times before and there are lots of ways to do them. Most local copy centers are set up to do a calendar. You supply the photos and they do the rest. There are tons of online sources for calendars too. Here are just a few.

Shutterfly

Snapfish

Walgreens

Lulu

Zazzle

Cafepress

Minted

I’ve always made my calendars myself, using Adobe InDesign, so I can’t recommend any of these options but I’m sure that they all make some great calendars. It is fun to add family birthdays and special events to your calendar. I’ve seen calendars where you put the photo of the person on the date too. You can use current family photos or historical photos. This can be a quick project by using one of the services available or a longer project if you do it yourself from scratch. The possibilities are endless but a family calendar is sure to be a big hit.

Gift Idea #4 – Personalized Planner

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Last year I made one of Blurb.com‘s weekly planners for a friend. It turned out really nice with a photo for each month and the front and back covers. This year they have even more options and with their BookSmart tool it is an afternoon or evening project. There are other planners out there that you can customize with photos but in my searching I didn’t find one that will let you add important dates.

Of course you can design your own planner from top to bottom in Adobe InDesign but that isn’t an afternoon project and BookSmart gives a surprising amount of control. Which ever route you take I think it would be fun to put together a family planner with historic photos and important dates from the past. Click on the image below to a Blurberati Blog post about their weekly planner.