Coming up with original Christmas gifts ideas can be tricky, especially if budgets are tight. But rather than waiting 'til Christmas Eve to make a last-ditch trolley dash, why not watch our webchat with interior design goddess Anna Ryder-Richardson instead? Anna will be showing you how to create unique, personalised gifts that your family and friends will love, and all you'll need is a PC and a little imagination.

If you own a digital camera or digital video camera, you're already halfway to creating a very personal present that will go down a storm with family members in particular. Adobe Photoshop Elements is the simplified version of the industry-standard design software. Anna will show you how installing it on your computer makes cleaning up and organising photos and footage a piece of cake. As she will demonstrate, you can do more than simply put paid to irritating little problems like redeye and poor lighting. You can seamlessly modify pictures, and also use a wealth of custom design tools to turn them into very special, one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones. Watch Anna here to show you how.

Anna Ryder-Richardson joins us online to discuss how Adobe Photoshop Elements helps to create unique, personalised Christmas gifts.

For more information visit www.adobe.com/uk/

H: Host, Yemi
A: Anna Ryder-Richardson, designer

H: Hello and welcome to the Lifestyle Show my name's Yemi. Now the Autumn leave are falling and I've spotted a huge range of gift items in the department stores, and my producer, his name's Darius, is even wearing a huge NorthFace jacket. Oh yes Christmas is most certainly coming, which can mean only one thing – it's time to start thinking about what we're going to get our loved ones. Well joining me today to talk about how we can get creative and deliver some really awesome and unique gifts is interior design goddess – yes goddess – Anna Ryder-RichardsonAnna, welcome to the show

A: I love you

H: The feeling's entirely mutual, trust! Thanks for joining us. Now we have got some questions for Anna which we've already had in advance so we're be getting those as and when we can, but for now Anna I want to ask you, it is approaching Christmas, hurtling towards the time – what have you got planned?

A: Well it's all been a bit of a whirl, the last 6 months because we bought a wildlife park and it's been open

H: Ah of course

A: And it's about to close on Sunday

H: For the winter?

A: For the winter, so then all the animals are going to get all sort of snuggled into their various enclosures and we're going to be able to run around the place with no visitors

H: Perfect

A: Not that I don't like the visitors, and then we've even got reindeer

H: Oh really. Wow

A: So I've got my own reindeer

H: They're quite big aren't they?

A: They are quite big, they've got lovely horns actually and when they first come they've got sort of velvet gloves on the outside and then they split out

H: Nice, nice

A: It's amazing what facts I know about animals now

H: You live and learn don't you?

A: So really it's just deciding whether we stay down in South Wales or we go up to Scotland

H: Sure

A: And I really want to stay in South Wales because I would like snow

H: Would that be – have you been in South Wales Christmas before?

A: No it would be my first time, right in the middle of the park, lovely little wooden cabin we live in

H: Yes nice

A: So it's kind of very Christmassy already

H: Sounds quite idyllic really

A: It is I think

H: Is it very Christmassy household in yours, with the kids and everything –

A: It is

H: Is there a lot of excitement?

A: Yes, you know they're only 5 and 6 and I think if I'm honest I'm quite excitable at Christmas as well, and I just pretend it's all about the children but my husband's got quite a big stomach as well

H: You don't have to say that on TV!

A: I'm just thinking, slip a grey beard on, pop a red suit, no one will know. Own reindeer!

H: Excellent. Do the kids pester you for presents, have they got ideas about what they really want to have?

A: They've just started doing their Christmas list which I thought was a little early

H: Right

A: Bear in mind you know we are only just getting through Halloween, but yes they've asked for the most ridiculous things –

H: Just ignore it

A: Nintendo this and Dick Dick that and –

H: Don't need it. Don't need it

A: What about a little piece of wood and a little thing to carve it with?

H: So what are you going to have, what are you going to give for presents, should I say? Have you got anything in mind?

A: Well it's interesting you see, because I'm now stuck out in the country and I'm not surrounded by shops and city life, which is love, I spend quite a lot of time fiddling around on my computer and probably like most of us, we've got little digital cameras

H: Yes, everybody's got them

A: And I find I've got them all loaded up on my computer which is great, you know if you remember every now and then, as my husband did last night, he had some friends round who he hasn't seen for a year, and so we sort of sat back and he clicked the thingy and before you knew it we were sitting through about a thousand images

H: Yes just going through

A: Which frankly they –

H: Slide show

A: Didn't want to see did they, so I've discovered this fantastic new product which I think you might like. I think the whole world might like actually

H: Yes I'm all ears

A: Photoshop. Have you heard of Photoshop?

H: Absolutely, absolutely

A: And most people think oh hang on a minute, that's very expensive and it's very complicated

H: Well that's just it, isn't it a professional standard piece of software that costs thousands, you have to be a genius to use and –

A: Exactly. That I am not. Goddess maybe, but no. now they've launched, Adobe have launched this new product which is Adobe Photoshop Elements, and basically it is just very user-friendly for people like you and me who've got images on their computers and they want to do something with them, and that's not just maybe print a photo, put it in a frame, and send it off to your mum

H: Right

A: This is really exciting things where you can actually touch up the images

H: For sure

A: You know, take people out, maybe you've been on a holiday and someone's just walked past a really great photo and you're like I don't even know that person. You can take them out

H: Perfect

A: You know if the sun's not shining that much you can make it look like it is. You can actually be quite arty, I've been trying with my animals, taking pictures of the zebras and changing the colours and then –

H: Very nice

A: Blowing them up

H: Just making it right

A: Absolutely then there are millions and millions of websites on the computer as well. You don't even have to leave your living room, where you can send the image off and then it comes back in some magnificent product which I've got here to show you

H: Great. Now you have got a few examples of what you can do and how you can do it. Are you going to talk us through one of those or –

A: I could yes, why don't I start with a little trip I had – this was a while ago – but to Paris

H: Yes

A: Ok? Now on the day it was not very sunny, so I've got the image up on my screen here

H: Right

A: We're already in the quick part which is basically a section on the Photoshop where it's really easy to just do quick things like this

H: Sure

A: So I'll just show you – for instance the sky was blue but it wasn't as blue as it actually was that day and I think to put it onto a product, I wanted it to be more vivid anyway, so you just go round, I click the blue thingy, I'm on the image and you just sort of wiggle it about

H: Oh look at that

A: And look! Oh I didn't do that bit very well did I – oh there we are

H: Done quick, how quick was that?

A: That was really quick wasn't it?

H: So you jus simply click the icon, go to the image, that's pretty much done and you drag it along

A: You see I still get very excited when I do things because I can't believe I did that whereas on a real Photoshop thing you'd be like that – aaaah

H: For sure

A: But this is really easy, so do you want me to – then I sent it off, got it on a pack of cards

H: Some playing cards, perfect

A: Just for – my brother. And then for my husband, just to remind him of the lovely trip we had, and how sunny it was, and how happy we were – we were once! £20 and he's got cufflinks

H: That's brilliant because it is something that you need – if you've taken these photos and they're not quite right, and if you are thinking about gifts for Christmas and so on, just make it look perfect, change it, put it in a bit like a playing card or cufflinks –

A: Exactly, it's really nice

H: And you're away

A: Because I think people are used to seeing maybe an image on a handbag or something like that, but you had to send off for that and it was quite complicated. This is easy peasy

H: We like that. We like that

A: And also it files them all so you can find them, you can just reference them and –

H: Oh that's what we're talking about, having them filed, easy to find

A: Yes rather than having to scroll through the whole lot and going –

H: Like last night

A: It wasn't that one, it wasn't that one – it's really boring for whoever's watching you can just make a selection and send them off to your friends or

H: Do you know Anna we said at the top of the show that we had a few advance questions

A: Yes

H: From people who sent them in, I've got one or two

A: Ok

H: I'll go for one now

A: Not too hard

H: No this is from John

A: Ok John

H: Hey John, how are you doing?

A: Lovely John

H: Have you ever given someone a Christmas present which you knew they didn't like? Now I don't think you'd ever do something like personally

A: I might have possibly made a few things when I was little

H: Yes

A: But you know, that was excusable because I was little

H: Yes yes

A: But if I did it now and they were gross people might question it, but I did give my brother's sister, whose quite square a lovely sort of hippy hat, which I thought was fabulous. I possibly was trying to change her a bit, and rather than sort of go thanks very much, she went – ah that's lovely but I'll never wear it

H: Ah

A: Unbelievable!

H: That's just bad manners

A: So basically I took it back!

H: That's bad manners! Ok – and get the money, you should do

A: Yes

H: Ok we've got another one for you here Anna – ok this is from Lucinda and Lucinda asks "what's the best and worst Christmas presents you have ever given / received?" Lucinda's got like four questions in there in one!

A: Lucinda!

H: Yes – but she wants to know what's the best and worst Christmas presents you've ever given or received?

A: I think the best – ooh – can I count the present I've just given my husband, because it is going to be the present for the rest of his life frankly – his birthday has just been and Christmas is coming but I just bought him a huge great big horse

H: Oh wow!

A: Did he want one, no but –

H: Yes ok – that puts a whole new complexion on things

A: He's so lovely, and he's a bit like my husband, he's got a big nose, big tummy – quite handsome but in a sort of very messy way

H: There's love there, there's love there

A: That was the best one

H: And the worst?

A: Worst one – I don't really know if I've got a worst one that I can admit to, apart from the hat

H: The hats yes, there we go. Do you know what, I once got some haircare products – gels, mousse, yes –

A: You are joking

H: Have you always been like that?

A: Pretty much, yes pretty much

H: Ok. Now have you got any more examples for us Anna, like what you can do with the Photoshop

A: Right ok

H: Because it's a good, it's a good program for people to be able to use in their homes, you know they're not professional, they're not fully versed –

A: It's fantastic and also a really good price as well

H: Yes

A: Rather than the thousands it's only £75 so it's an absolute bargain. Great Christmas present actually. Now if I go on this other image that I've got here. Now, I took this in our little pond we have

H: Oh ok

A: Of a lily, and what I wanted to do was keep the image quite strong, the flower with all the colour, but then make the background black and white, so again really easy, click on the black and white, shimmy your cursor around it, you don't have to be that –

H: Dextrous

A: No. I could even do it with my left hand –

H: Oh that's good

A: There we are – look at that

H: That's going to work. That's really arty

A: And it really makes the flower stand out, so then what I did was, look at this – for a little fashion item

H: Great

A: Pop that on your wrist – that was only £20

H: And you just go somewhere online is it to get that done?

A: Yes absolutely, go online, send your image, choose your gift and back it comes as well. And that's completely unique as well because it was my image, my choice of what I put it on

H: For sure

A: So when I hand it over to say you and go look – there's only one of those in the world actually

H: It's all about the personal thought that's gone into those isn't it?

A: Yes, and I took the photo. I took this one as well which I thought was rather nice – lighter

H: Ah nice. Nice nice

A: Maybe not that kind of shade but you know, really nice

H: The personal touch is really nice isn't it?

A: Yes I think so. But what about this?

H: Ok. Ah a whole book

A: A whole book. Now this is for my very dear friend, Grace, here – you see?

H: Ok

A: And this is her sister – now they weren't both in that photo together

H: What have you done there then?

A: In fact I'm going to show you how I did this because it's not that difficult at all. So I've got first of all, the first image was Grace, so obviously what we want to do is have them both in the photo, so I'm going to trace around Grace, which is actually not as difficult as you'd think. You can be fairly rough with it. Just down over her legs – oh and there she has instantly jumped over to the photo on the other side and it actually looks like she's feeding ice cream to her sister, which I think's pretty amazing

H: So you put those two people together there, but let's suppose they had a bit of a falling out for one reason or another – could you potentially remove one from –

A: Yes

H: The photo?

A: Yes you could. Say you fell out, got divorced or worse – you could just go through all your images erase, erase, take it out – be gone!

H: Be gone with the exes

A: And it would be like it never existed

H: Perfect

A: I think that's great!

H: Yes it is very good, very good indeed. All great options and ways to use the Photoshop software isn't it really?

A: Absolutely and I mean I could take a little image of you now couldn't I? We could fiddle around with it, maybe –

H: Make it –

A: Cut some hair from someone, pop it on top, see how you look

H: I want Russell Brand's hair! You know what, are they going to like their presents, are they going to love them?

A: I think they are you know because I have actually spent – I haven't' spent a lot of time because it's very easy with the Photoshop, but I have spent some time and thought on the images and who gets what and – I'm actually quite carried away now

H: No it's all good Anna, all good. Before we finish up I'm going to ask you a couple more questions

A: Yes ok

H: From the guys that are watching. This comes from Sarah and Sarah wants to know "how did you first get into designing things and were you a natural at an early age?"

A: Well Sarah I'll try and keep this short, but basically I was a little hypo when I was young

H: Yes

A: What do you mean yes?

H: I mean possibly, I don't know –

A: Apparently what I used to do – actually I remember doing this, when my mother put me to bed, because I wasn't very tired, I used to just change my furniture around a lot – and do you know what I still do that now. My husband's like – oh – trying to watch a film and there's me going dad a da- shoving this, moving that. So I just like moving stuff around, and I think everybody's creative to be honest it's just whether you let it out or not

H: Yes you've got to haven't you? In your own home as well

A: I think so. Your home is your palace after all, you should have everything that you like in it, and if you like purple and orange –

H: Bring purple

A: Bring it on!

H: Yes. Ok last question for you before you go Anna. "My photos all look a little dull and lifeless. Is there any way I can brighten them up before I print them?"

A: Well absolutely –

H: That's from Gillian by the way

A: Basically Gillian you just go out and you buy your Adobe Photoshop Elements and before you know it, put all your images on and you can brighten every single one

H: Like we did with the Eiffel Tower earlier on

A: Yes.

H: So straightforward

A: Easy peasy

H: Ok well that's about it, Anna thank you so much for coming in and joining us

A: Thank you

H: So what's the name of the software again?

A: It's Adobe Photoshop Elements

H: Brilliant. So if you want to check out anything you need to know about Adobe Photoshop Elements go to adobe.com/UK. That's it from us, we'll see you next time. Bye bye

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