Monday, March 03, 2014

Oh no! I am computer-free (not by choice) and a fun new watercolor app.

I am very frustrated.  This weekend I was working away happily on Photoshop and Lightroom on my iMac, trying to get all of my newest freebies uploaded and on posts when my computer suddenly froze and the screen was filled with multicolor stripes.

I freaked out (regretting not saving my Photoshop files as I was worked) and rebooted.  A new colorful screen came up that was light gray with lovely teal stripes.  And nothing else…  I freaked out again.

Luckily I have AppleCare coverage, so I called Apple and they set up an appointment at the Apple Store.  Then I googled and found out that this was probably the graphic card crashing and my iMac was part of a recall with faulty graphic cards.

I freaked out again, but then calmed down a bit with the hope that my hard drive had not crashed.  I then walked around in a daze for a while not knowing what to do with myself since I had so much to do this weekend and had no back-up computer.

My husband carried my heavy iMac in to Apple (he works out is and is ripped!) and they think it is the graphic card.  The replacement is free, but they are backed-up with repairs (what does that say about Apple???) and they might have my baby computer in there as long as a week…  ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Me, without a computer a week???  But I have designs to create and post, website designs to work on, photos to edit!  I feel like a teenager that dropped their iPhone in the toilet and have to go without it.

My first thought at the Apple store was to purchase a second computer for backup.  I looked at the laptops and they were nice, but nothing like my 27 inch screen iMac.  Not to mention if I buy a laptop then I can work anywhere, and honestly I need to have a break from work when I am away from home.  And cost is another big consideration.  I love Mac computers, but they are not cheap.  Nor are any laptops that are powerful enough for graphic design/photo editing.  And I am frugal (well, my husband says I am cheap) and hate spending money for something I really don't need.

So I am typing away on my mother's computer (another iMac) and deciding that the next few days I am going to be a hands-free Mama and computer-free (that sounds better than computer-less, right?).  It is ironic that I am reading Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! this week.

Perhaps this is not an unfortunate incident, but a sign that I need to take a small break and spend some extra time with the boys and my husband.  It is true that I spend quite a bit of time upstairs designing away, so this little break will be good for me.  And I promise as soon as I get my computer back I will be back to work posting all of the free stuff I have ready to go but not written up in posts yet.  :-)


I also wanted to mention a new and fun app I read about on Kevin and Amanda's site.  It is called Waterlogue and it is so addictive!  I did a quick edit with this simple photo.


Here is the natural watercolor version.  Isn't that amazing!  This app is so much better than any watercolor filter I have used in Photoshop.  I really hope they make this program available for desktop computers since I hate editing on my iPhone.  I can print these out on watercolor paper, frame them, and have almost instant personal wall-art!  Now if I can just write an action to duplicate this cool effect…

I hope everyone has a great Sunday and I hope to be back posting in a few days.

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

9 comments:

  1. Oh nooooo!
    I have a 27 in. iMac also that is about a year old now. I'd be lost without it, but like you, I would use the time to do other special things. :-)

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  2. I would soooo love an action that could do what that apps does! Hopefully your computer will be fixed soon!

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  3. I LOVE that app - I've playing with it for over a week. Hurry up & get your computer back and figure out how to write that action girl!!!
    In the mean time, enjoy your "time off"…..you so deserve it!

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  4. Sorry about your computer! It's always a bummer, but kind of a blessing in disguise too! I hope you can create an action that does the watercolor application. I've seen that a few places on the web, but I don't have an iPhone! Having it compatible with PS would be great, I can use some of my better photo's!

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  5. My computer went out last year, right after vacation. I was without it for two weeks and while part of me felt COMPLETELY lost, I did find myself enjoying more of the real world. :o)
    LOVE that app. All the pictures I've seen using it are just gorgeous. It makes me sad that they won't be making it for Android...would be awesome to have something like that for my phone. Even better if I had an action on my computer.
    Hope you get your computer back soon!

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  6. The water color version of that photo looks awesome. I want.

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  7. All I can say is Enjoy your time away. We will all be here waiting for you when you come back. :}

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  8. Love your actions and would love one that works as this app does for PSE!

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  9. Do you know of any watercolor action that will do this in photoshop? I love the effect and would love to add this. Thank You

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Rita