Victorian Sig Tag

At one time there used to be lots of web groups online and I belonged to several Paint Shop Pro web groups. They used to be so much fun and typically a group would post links to great PSP tutorials, set challenges to encourage creativity, and image sharing was eagerly encouraged. The images would be cut out from an image and shared as a PSP tube which could then be used in any number of ways to make a completely new graphic. My inbox used to get very full!

Although these kind of web groups don't seem to exist anymore (let me know if you know different), I still have lots of these tubes and still intend to use them for future PSP projects. I find them particularly useful for creating sig tags. A sig tag is a little graphic that has your name and can be used signing off an email. So not only is it pretty but it is functional too. 

Here is a victorian sig tag I made a number of years ago. I created it in the style of a real victorian notecard and I love the way it turned out.

One of the things I enjoy about making sig tags is finding a font that looks good with the image, and by using different text effects (shadows, colouring, embossing, etc) you can get a really unique effect.

I am planning to make this into a tutorial if there is enough interest. I can also make a personalised sig tag by request, either using this tag or completely from scratch. Perhaps you already have an image you would like me to use? Leave a message and I will see what I can do!

Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy

Over the years I've joined many web groups and forums relating to Paint Shop Pro and making various sorts of computer graphics. On some of these forums you could request graphics from other members, often in exchange for some virtual "payment" (e.g. in-game currency or points). Anyway one day someone requested me to make them Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dollies. If you don't know, Raggedy Ann and Andy are dolls that originated in America although I am not sure if they are as popular as they used to be years ago, but it just so happened when I was younger I had been given these dolls by a family friend so I knew what they were. I looked on the internet and found hundreds of examples as reference.

I don't remember which forum that was now, it was a few years back now, but you can almost guarantee it no longer exists. I was left with these two cute little dollies and didn't really know what to do with them, so decided to make them into a little sig-tag (a fancy sign-off at the end of an e-mail or message). Here was what I came up with.:

Cute huh? They were such fun to make, and by converting them into a sig-tag they became something useful too! Would you like to see your name on this tag instead of mine? Just email me your request and I will be happy to make one for you?