Technology Tuesday: Say No to Squishing

3/26/2013

A pet peeve of mine, naturally, is squished clipart. It drives me nuts. I'm sure I drive you nuts, but not like this...

This is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Let's discuss the why...

1. The background is a hot mess. It's beautiful and adorable in it's full-size glory, but my lack of tiling it has resulted in a clipart muffin top. Not attractive.

2. The star. There's no reason for it to even be squished like that. It's making me sick.

If you're a newbie to making your own printables, then these videos might be helpful to you. I know, personally, that I will hop right no past any products that look anything like the star card above. I'm picky and like things to look proportional.

This first one shows you how to "unsquish" that background paper and make it look normal.

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The next video is super beginner-level. It shows you how to resize clipart while keeping it proportional. I also show you a couple ways to avoid squishing images. Sorry I'm sick and sound like a man in this one. Also, I barely ran out of time so the end is crazy. Haha!

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My last words were "Hope that helps!" :)

Hopefully this helped if your somewhat new to making your own things. :) Happy Tuesday everyone.

And "Just Say No".... to squishing... and drugs.

Mostly to drugs though.

50 Comments

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Nicole Heinlein link

3/25/2013 08:18:38 pm

You are hilarious! I will say no to both squishing and drugs :)

Patty Rutenbar link

3/25/2013 08:41:16 pm

I love this! I hated squishing clip art....it reminds me of mammograms and our boobs getting squished! Thanks for sharing this all too important trick or tricks with us. Now, you need to say the word "crayon" on one of your tutorials sometime so we can hear what your students heard!
Patty

Nicole Alderson

3/25/2013 09:10:47 pm

Definitely say no to squishing!! Hot mess is right! I didn't know the tiling trick.. I always just crop the paper myself ;) thanks for the tip lady!
Nicole

Julia Flint link

3/25/2013 09:32:52 pm

My life is forever changed. I hate when clip art/backgrounds do that!! Thank you!!

wendy mccarty link

3/25/2013 10:18:20 pm

I love your tutorials! Thanks from a newbie!
<a href=http://1stgradefireworks.blogspot.com/>1stgradefireworks</a>

Julie link

3/25/2013 11:20:49 pm

Funny.... "I know it's mean, but it's the truth". Love it! Thanks for the tutorials!

Erica Brooke link

3/25/2013 11:54:52 pm

OMG...I had been adjusting the picture in iphoto and then adding it! You saved me so much work.

Heather Salsman link

3/25/2013 11:57:44 pm

I am just starting to make products. These videos really helped. Thank you! I will say no to squishing.

Heather Salsman
<a href="http://teachingthroughturbulence.blogspot.com">Teaching Through Turbulence</a>

3/26/2013 12:01:26 am

And here is another thing I just learned... HTML doesn't work from my IPAD (or maybe it is just this comment form.. idk)... but either way... I learned something new! :-)

Ashley

3/26/2013 12:56:58 am

Haha! Heather, when you leave a comment on my blog your name is linked to your blog already (when you fill in the website part). See how your name is blue? :) That will take others to your blog, girlfriend! I don't use blogger, so it's a bit different.

Ms. Kerri link

3/26/2013 12:40:57 am

Thanks for these videos. The tips for backgrounds were exactly what I needed. Now I want to create something. It is a good thing we're out for a snow day. Thanks again.

Andi

3/26/2013 12:43:44 am

I'm just old. In my ed tech class, we used floppy disks. So, these tutorials are exactly what I need. Some of the things I have figured out through hours upon hours of trial and error, but why do that when I can watch your videos? Thank you so much! This has been very helpful!

Jennifer Ross link

3/26/2013 12:44:20 am

I LOVE you for this! Just say no to squished background!!!

Rachel Lamb link

3/26/2013 05:57:25 am

Here,here!! I know Jen shares my dismay with sellers and their smoooshed clipart! It's actually listed in my pet peeves!!

Corinna link

3/26/2013 03:16:17 am

This is great! When I started creating I squished and stretched, lol! My good friend Jen at The Teachers Cauldron emailed me and politely and told me one of my products was stretched. She set me straight!

KinderMyles link

3/26/2013 05:37:07 am

You were definitely funny. I totally understand the nails on chalkboard feeling with squished clip art. I am big on locking the aspect ratio and the numbers on height and width. I always figured when the clip art was squished that someone used the clip art as the fill to increase transparency to save on color. Loved the tutorials. I blundered my way through figuring it out when I started using ppt to create.
Jenn
KinderMyles

Kristen Walker link

3/26/2013 06:16:06 am

You crack me up, I'm excited to start following you!

Tamara Russell link

3/26/2013 08:46:06 am

I was going to do a post on how to fix images...although I would not have been nearly as cute as you...with your...unsquishing! LOL! :) Loved it! :) Thanks for sharing this! :0) Good stuff, indeed!! ;)

Tamara

<a href="http://www.tamaravrussell.blogspot.com"</a>
<i><b>Mrs.Russell's Room</b>
First Grade</i></a>

Adrienne link

3/26/2013 09:47:59 am

You are awesome! Thank you for creating these videos. I've been adjusting stuff the really hard way to make it look cute. I'm going to save so much time! =]

Pauline link

3/26/2013 10:13:31 am

I knew about the tile button but I did not know how to use clip art off my paper, which I do all the time with my wooden stamps. Now I can do it on my digital stuff. Thank you.

karen link

3/26/2013 10:44:59 am

thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This was great.

Lindy Cranfill link

3/26/2013 10:48:46 am

Thank you so much for this tip!!! I hate when my backgrounds squish!

Heidi Harrell link

3/26/2013 10:59:09 am

This made me LOL! The star is making me sick! I spit Diet Coke out of my nose! Thanks for the great laugh and information!

Heidi

Sara link

3/26/2013 11:01:04 am

You crack me up. Thanks for this, Ashley! Very, very helpful.

Kourtney link

3/26/2013 11:05:25 am

This post is AMAZING! Who knew?! I will avoid using backgrounds that "Squish"because I don't like it. Now I know how to fix it. THANK YOU!! :)

Dana Lester link

3/26/2013 11:27:20 am

Thanks for the tip about tiling! I didn't know that!! Great job!

Tania K link

3/26/2013 12:41:10 pm

I have to agree about no drugs and no squished objects. It drives me bunkers!!!
Thanks for the cropping tip. I did not know that :)
I love learning something new everyday.

Halle link

3/26/2013 10:45:45 pm

Oh! I needed this tutorial for backgrounds! Thanks so much Ashley. You rock!

katie link

3/26/2013 11:25:17 pm

Thank you so much! I learned some things and can't wait to try them out on my products.

Christine Reeve link

3/27/2013 10:15:29 am

Thanks! Your tutorial on how to keep from squishing backgrounds is awesome. I'm pretty computer savvy but your video taught me something new!

Lisa Mattes - Growing Firsties link

3/28/2013 05:44:20 am

I spent forEVER this past winter break trying to figure out the unsquish...I knew that there just HAD to be a way to do it because it drives me craaaazy, too.

"Clip art muffin top" love it! (actually can't stand it, but love the term!)

Thanks for your overall fabu-rrific-ness, Ashley!

Cheri

3/29/2013 07:47:19 am

Thanks for the tutorials! The more basic the better for me!! I'm just starting to TRY making my own products. Nowhere near ready to offer to others, but I love clipart and need to know what to do with it :)
Thanks, again.

Deedee Wills link

3/29/2013 08:07:51 am

Love it!!!

Jill Sloothaak link

3/31/2013 09:23:50 am

Hi Ashley...thanks so much for this! I never knew the cropping trick! Love that! I do have a question though...I found everything in my version of powerpoint (different than yours) except the percentage trick. Do you know if some versions of powerpoint don't have that?

And another question that maybe you can tackle another time... when I create in powerpoint and then print, it doesn't go all the way to the edge. It LOOKS like it's all the way to the edges when I'm creating, but doesn't PRINT all the way to the edge of the page. I always end up creating things off the edges so that it prints how I want it to. Is there a trick to that too?? :)

Thanks so much for your techie help!!

Karli Lomax

4/2/2013 03:35:47 pm

Jill, you read my mind! I have powerpoint for mac and I do not have the scale option, only a small box to check off for "tile". While that still helps to unsquish, it seems to leave the pattern really BIG (at 100%) Ashley, any ideas about this? Maybe it's just a mac thing!

Also, I have the same problem with printing. Any tips? I agree that it would make a great Technology Tuesday post.

Thanks for the videos!!! So helpful :)

Kelli link

4/14/2013 05:14:54 am

I had the same problem on my Mac! I tried Crop to Fill and it worked -- under Format Picture, Crop, Crop to Fill!

Rachael link

3/31/2013 01:48:54 pm

Just watched your how to 'unsquish' patterns tutorial - so amazing! I have been wondering how to do that for ages! Thanks :)

Melissa Clancy link

4/1/2013 08:38:55 am

I love your passion for clip art!! I completely get it!! I feel that way about fonts it drives me crazy when someone has the worst fonts on stuff they have made. LOL! I could squish my clip art so I will listen to the info! Thanks Melissa

Rachael Fox

4/3/2013 10:51:22 am

This was so helpfull. Thanks

Love to Learn link

4/17/2013 04:12:11 pm

Thank you so much for the awesome tech tips, can't wait read some of your others!

Brittani Black link

7/12/2013 12:29:34 pm

Thank you so much for posting this video! This 5 minute video taught me so much! :)

Technology link

7/25/2013 09:04:07 pm

Technology Tuesday: Say No to Squishing....I admire your thoughts and your way of expressing and putting it in front of readers is really something that I have seen after a long time. We need more writers like you.

Impact of technology link

8/7/2013 08:46:26 pm

This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic. The article is nice and it is pleasant to read. I have known very important things over here.

Natalie link

7/29/2015 03:55:40 am

Ashley...Wow! I am so happy I stumbled across this little video. I had no idea I could change the percentages or center the background. I've been using Powerpoint forever and never hit those buttons before! Thank you so much!

Denise

6/27/2016 08:21:49 pm

I am SOO glad I found your videos (linked from Deedee Wills' blog).
Last year, my district confiscated all of our MacBooks and gave us PCs. Everything that I had created with Print Shop was no longer accessible and I am having to convert to PowerPoint. Your tutorials are perfect! Thanks so much!
Denise

6/27/2016 08:21:55 pm

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6/27/2016 08:46:31 pm

MaryAnn

7/1/2016 09:29:50 pm

After 20+ years of teaching, I made my own PPT printables for the first time last August when my principal chose a schoolwide theme. Oh, how the squishing undid me - gnashing of teeth, shaking of fists, etc. This post is a game-changer because new principal = new theme = new printables. Thank you so much!