digital scrapbooking tutorials

Using a Photo as a Background

August 11, 2011 By Misty 7 Comments

I’ve seen lots of gorgeous pages in the galleries recently in which scrappers have used a photo in place of a background paper. Being a fan of any technique that puts photos front and center, I decided to give it a try.

Sometimes trying something new can be a bit intimidating and I went through several processes until I found one that worked for me. Thought I’d share it here for others who may want to try.

First I identified a photo I wanted to use as my primary background photo. We spent a few days this summer with friends an family on Jetty Island and my mom got this great shot that capture the sand, water and surrounding mountains.

Next I ‘hide’ the photo background so I could scrap my remaining photos. You can hide and layer by clicking on the eye icon to the left of it in the layers palette. To scrap the rest of my photos, I decided to use this template from Cindy Schneider’s Set 96.

I focused only on creating the cluster around the photos and deleted the templates background layers.

Unhiding my background photo by clicking on the eye icon again, I ended up with something that looks like this.

I resized and moved the photo cluster. To easily move them all at once, I held down the control key and clicked on each layer in the layers palette. Then I clicked the links icon (looks like a chain) at the bottom of the layers palette. Once linked, layers will move and resize together. See the Creating Your First Page tutorial for an introduction to moving and resizing. I ended up moving around a few elements and added my title.

As a last touch I used a mask from Sanded Photo Masks 2 to rough up the edges on the main photo. A tutorial on photo masks is available here.

Credits: Shore Thing by Misty Cato and Amanda Heimann, Sanded Photo Masks 2 by Misty Cato, Cindy’s Layered Templates Set 96

Paintstroke Tip for Photoshop and PSE

May 19, 2011 By Misty 7 Comments

Paint strokes, splatters and other painty elements are great for adding depth and texture to a layout. However, depending on the design of the element, sometimes simply dropping the element on your layout obstructs some of the layering effects. Take a look at the close up below.

I want the page to look as if I’ve ‘painted’ over the corrugated background, scrollwork matting and one other paper layer. If I had actually run a paint brush over this page, the paint would be slightly textured by the corrugated background and you’d still be able to see some of the layering. Here is a quick tip for getting some the layering effects back, while keeping the paint stroke.

Begin by duplicating your paint element once for each layer the paint will cover. In my case, I need three paint strokes. To copy your paint layer, click on the paint layer in the Layers Palette, and go to Layer>Duplicate Layer or drag the layer to the New Layer Icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette.

Now click and drag your paint layers in the Layers Palette and move them around so the one sits directly above each layers to be ‘painted’.

Clip the paint strokes to the layers directly below.

To do this in Photoshop, click on the paint stroke in the Layers Palette and keystroke, Alt+Ctrl+G.

To do this PSE, click on the paint stroke in the Layers Palette and keystroke, Ctrl+G.

Repeat for each paint stroke.

Click on one of the paint strokes in the Layers Palette and use the opacity slider to lower the opacity so some of the layer below shows through. Repeat for each paint stroke layer.

Here is my completed layout.

Credits: Friends by Choice by Misty Cato and Meredith Cardall, SSD, Date Bits 33, Timeless Frames and Painted Backdrops by Misty Cato, Fonts – Lullaby and Birch Std

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, Photoshop Element Tutorials, Photoshop Tutorial

Dashed Rectangle in Photoshop

April 28, 2011 By Misty 7 Comments

SUBJECT: Create a dashed rectangle in Photoshop

PROGRAM: PSCS3 (can be adapted for other versions of Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of the layers palette, brushes and paths.

In digital scrapbooking a simple dashed line or rectangle can go a long way emphasizing a title, framing a photo, creating a visual flow or simply defining a space on a layout. In this tutorial I’ll walk you through the process of adding a dashed rectangle to a page.

Start with a digital scrapbooking layout in process. Create a new layer for your dashed line/rectangle, Layer>New or Shft+Ctrl+N.

Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools Palette. Click and drag on your canvas to create a selection rectangle for your dashed line.

Click on the brush tool in the Tools Palette. Click on the small down arrow to the right of the word ‘Brush’ in the Options Toolbar near the top of the screen. Click on the small right pointing arrow in the upper right side of the drop down menu and select ‘Square Brushes’.

Choose a Hard Square Brush (I selected the 14 pixel brush for a relatively thin dashed line).

If your Brushes Palette is not visible, go to Window>Brushes to bring it up.

Click on the Shape Dynamics section of the Brushes Palette.

Make sure all sliders are to the left (0%). Turn off the Size Jitter ‘Control’. Set the Angle Jitter Control to ‘Direction’.

Click on the Brush Tip Shape section of the Brushes Palette.

Slide the Spacing slider to the right until the spacing is as desired.

Adjust the roundness to change the square to a dashed tip. I set mine at 44%.

Go to Windows>Paths to bring up the Paths Palette. Click on the create path icon at the bottom of the Path Palette, then click on the stroke path icon to create your dashed line.

Continue putting the finishing touches on your page.

Credits: Kickin’ It by Misty Cato, SSD – blue background, blue banner in title, alpha; Put Me in Coach by Julie Billingsley, SSD – green paper, stars, bat, ball; Date Bits 29, Misty Cato, SSD; Squiggle Grunge 2 by Fee Jardine (retired); Fonts – CK Cheer Squad, DJB Gimme Space

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, Photoshop Tutorial

Resizing and Saving Layouts for Web in PSE

March 31, 2011 By Misty 1 Comment

There are lots of online digital scrapbooking communities where digiscrappers can show off their pages and browse for inspiration. Most of these galleries have limits on the size of file that can be uploaded. The limit will vary from site to site, but usually falls in the 125-200KB range. In order to post digital scrapbook pages to these galleries, users create smaller ‘web-sized’ versions of their layouts. Here is a run down on how to resize your pages for the web in PSE8. It will be very similar in other versions of PSE.

Start by opening your original layout in PSE. Go to Image>Resize>Image Size.

Make sure the ‘Resample Image Size’ box is checked at the bottom of the Image Size dialogue box and adjust the following settings.

Width: 600 (you may choose to go as low as 550 or even 500). I usually start at 600.

Height: 600 (with same comment as width)

Resolution: 72

Set the drop down menu at the bottom of the dialogue box to Bicubic Sharper, then click OK.

Go to File>Save for Web.

In the Save for Web dialogue box, adjust the Quality Slider until the adjusted file size is at or below your target file size (usually around 150KB for most galleries).

If you have to loose too much quality to achieve the desired file size, you may need to go back to the image resize step and try resizing to 500px instead of 600px. When you are at the file size you need, click OK, give your file a new name and save.

Credits: Sunbleached by Misty Cato, Art and Soul Alphas by Julie Billingsley (recolored), Date Bits 16 by Misty Cato, Bad Sewing Machine XVIII by Traci Reed, Fonts – Traveling Typewriter

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, Photoshop Element Tutorials, Resizing for web

Quick Tip – Inverting a color scheme

March 24, 2011 By Misty 4 Comments

Using Keystroke Ctrl+I in Photoshop or Photoshop Element inverts the colors scheme. In many cases this will result in a really ugly paper/element, but in some cases the result is quite good and can give you a whole different look with the same product. Here are a couple of samples from Date Bits 30 and Le Jardin.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, Invent

Creating a Text Path for Journaling Mats Part 2

March 17, 2011 By Misty 15 Comments

SUBJECT: Create a text path for adding text to a journaling mat.

PROGRAM: PSCS3 (can be adapted for other versions of Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of the layers palette and the selection and text tools, Creating a Text Path for Journaling Mats Part 1

Last week’s tutorial Creating a Text Path for Journaling Mats covered making a path that fits inside a journaling mat, but what if you have elements around the mat? Or have ‘tucked’ the mat under a photo. This tutorials will show you how to use the selection subtraction options to further customize a text path.

My starting point below is a journal spot that I have embellished with various elements. Each item is still in it’s own layer. I’ll quickly recap the steps covered last week, see the first part of the tutorial for more detailed steps with screen shots.

1) Ctrl + click on the journaling mat icon in the layers palette. You should have marching ants around the edges of the journaling mat.

2) Go to Select>Modify>Contract, enter the number of pixels you want to contract the selection. Click OK.

3) Click on the Polygonal Lasso tool in the Tools Palette. Toward the left side of the Options Bar, you’ll see 4 icons with various square configurations. Click on the third one from the left. This is the ‘Subtract from Selection’ option.

4) Now outline the area around your elements that you want to ‘take away’ from the selection. To do this, click on your canvas to create ‘corners’ of a shape around your elements.

Continue around your elements until you are back to your starting point and click.

The shape will automatically be subtracted from the original selection.

6) Repeat this process as needed until only the area in which you want text is selected.

Note: I use the Polygonal Selection Tool because I find it works the best for creating an irregular shape around elements. However you can use the subtract setting with any selection tool (Lasso Tool, Marquee Tools, etc.)

With your selection set, all that remains is to create your text path and begin typing. These steps are covered in detail in part 1, so I’ll just give you the basic steps here.

7) Open the Paths Palette by going to Window>Paths

8) At the bottom of the Paths Palette, click on the dotted circle with two arrows to create a path from your selection.

9) Click on the text tool in the Tools Palette then click on your canvas inside of the path.

10) Begin typing your text. Your text should fill the inside of your journaling mat as you type.

Embellishments used in this tutorial are from Down in the Meadow available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, journaling, text path

Creating a Text Path for Journaling Mats Part 1

March 10, 2011 By Misty 17 Comments

SUBJECT: Create a text path for adding text to a journaling mat.

PROGRAM: PSCS3 (can be adapted for other versions of Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of the layers palette and the selection and text tools

This tutorial walks you through creating text inside a journaling mat. It works on mats of any shape (hearts, brackets, etc.) as long as they don’t have irregular or intricate borders (such as scallops or scrollwork). While this tutorial will work for rectangles and squares, this tutorial walks you through a faster method. Begin by opening your journaling mat. If the Layers Palette is not open, open it by going to Window>Layers.

Hold down the control key and click on the journaling mat icon in the layers palette (see arrow below). You should have marching ants around the edges of the journaling mat.

Go to Select>Modify>Contract.

Enter the number of pixels you want to contract the selection, this will be larger for a large mat or a mat with a large border. Click OK.

Open the Paths Palette by going to Window>Paths.

At the bottom of the Paths Palette, click on the dotted circle with two arrows to create a path from your selection.

Click on the text tool in the Tools Palette then click on your canvas inside of the path.

Begin typing your text. You can adjust the font, size, color and alignment as desired.

Your text should fill the inside of your journaling mat as you type.

You can take this technique one step further and create a text path that fits a journal spot while leaving room for element clusters or ‘tucking’ the mat in behind a photo. Find out how in Creating a Text Path for Journaling Mats in Photoshop Part 2.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, photoshop, text path

Two Tone Framing in Photoshop

March 3, 2011 By Misty 6 Comments

SUBJECT: Creating a two-tone frame around a photo.

PROGRAM: PSCS3 (can be adapted for other versions of Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Be able to open a photo in Photoshop and use the foreground/background color picker to select colors.

In this tutorial I will demonstration how to set up a stroke layer style to create a two tone frame. Once you understand how to set up the layer style, you’ll be able to create frames of multiple colors and varying widths.

To begin with open a photo in Photoshop and go to Layer>Layer from Background.

To facilitate things later, set the foreground and background colors to the two colors you want to use for your frame. This step is optional, but will save time later. I’ve chosen black and ‘Minnie Mouse’ pink.

Go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke.

The Layer Style dialogue box will open. Make sure the box labeled ‘Preview’ on the right hand side is checked.

Next set the ‘Position’ to Inside. Adjust the size slider until your frame is at the desired width.

Now to go ‘Fill Type’ and select gradient from the drop down menu. Click on the Style drop down and select Shape Burst.

Your dialogue box should look like mine below, with the likely exception of the size slider.

Next click on the gradient bar within the Styles dialogue box to open the Gradient Editor.

In the Gradient Editor you should see a gradient bar, likely showing a gradient from black to white. Click on the small box at the far lower left of the gradient bar (see arrow 1 below). Then click on the color picker within the Gradient Editor (see arrow 2 below). Thirdly click on the desired color in the foreground or background square of the Tools Palette (see arrow 3 below).

Now click below the gradient bar at about the midway point to create a new gradient stop (see arrow below). This one should be in the same color as the one you just set up.

Repeat this process by clicking on the small box at the far lower right of the gradient bar (see arrow 1 below). Then click on the color picker within the Gradient Editor (see arrow 2 below). Thirdly click on the desired color in the foreground or background square of the Tools Palette (see arrow 3 below). This color should be different from the color used on the previous two stops.

Now click below the gradient bar at about the midway point to create a new gradient stop (see arrow below). This one should be in the same color as the one you just set up.

Click and drag on one of the middle two stops so that they are on top of each other.

Click OK to close the Gradient Editor and OK to close the Layer Styles dialogue box and your photo should have a two-tone border.

Once you get the hang of working with the Gradient Editor, you can set up a wide variety of color stripes and combinations. Below is a sample of a gradient bar for a three-tone frame.

Here is the resulting frame.

Have fun experimenting!

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, framing, Photoshop Tutorial

Making Waves in PSE

December 30, 2010 By Misty Leave a Comment

SUBJECT: Creating a Wave Shape

PROGRAM: PSE8 (can be adapted for PS and/or other versions of PSE)

This tutorial walks you through the steps of use the Wave Filter to create a wave shape in Photoshop Element. This shape can then be used as a clipping mask or template shape in a digital layout.

Open Photoshop Element (or Photoshop). Open a new document; File>New>Blank File (Keystroke Ctrl+N).

Enter the size of your new canvas in the dialogue box. Typically digital scrappers use the following settings to work with a 12×12 inch page.

Width: 12 inches

Height: 12 inches

Resolution: 300 pixels/inch

Color Mode: RGB Color

Background Contents: White

Select the rectangle tool from the tools palette (see large arrow below).

Click and drag on your canvas to draw a large rectangle across the page. Exact size and dimensions are not critical, but it should span the entire canvas.

Go to Filter>Distort>Wave.

A dialogue box may appear notifying you that the shape must be simplified. Click ‘OK’.

Now use the Wave dialogue box to set up the wave parameters. Use the following settings.

Number of Generators: 2

Wavelength Min: 999

Wavelength Max: 999

Amplitude Min: 70

Amplitude Max: 71

Scale: 100% (Both Horizontal and Vertical)

Type: Sine

Undefined Areas: Repeat Edge Pixels

Then click ‘OK’.

You should now have a wavy rectangle. You can further distort your rectangle. Click on the Move tool in the tools palette (Keystroke V). Hold the Control key (Ctrl) and click and drag on any of the bounding box handles (see small arrows below) to manipulate the wave. When you are satisfied with the result click on the green check mark on the lower right of the bounding box.

You can see below that my wave shape exceeds the size of my canvas. To crop the shape go to Image>Crop and then click on the green check mark to the lower right of the bounding box.

Your wave shape is complete.

Further Application

Experiment with different size rectangles or even other shapes
Experiment with other settings in the Wave dialogue box
Make a ricrac shape: Start with a 1/4 inch high rectangle and use the following settings in the Wave dialogue box. Number of Generators 5, Wavelength Min 100, Wavelength Max 100, Amplitude Min 1, Amplitude Max 20, Scale 100, Type Sine

Here’s a sample of some waves put to use in a layout.

HardKnockLife

Credits: Most items from Rainy Days and Mondays, white papers from Backdrop Papers, bracket journal bit from Shabby Orchard, glitter edging on perimeter created for this page, Font: FO Howie’s Stamps Lowfat, Love Ya Like a Sister and LDJ Go All Out

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking tutorials, Photoshop Element Tutorials

Loading and Using Brushes in PS

December 30, 2010 By Misty Leave a Comment

SUBJECT: The Basics of Using and Loading Brushes

PROGRAM: PSCS3 (can be adapted for other versions of Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of layers, be able to open a document in Photoshop, general familiarity with the Tools and Layers Palettes

RELATED DOWNLOAD: Demo Brushes

Brushes are one of the most versatile artistic tools in Photoshop. In digital scrapping, brushes are most commonly used much like ‘stamps’ are in traditional scrapping. This tutorial covers the basics of loading a new brush set into the brushes palette and ‘stamping’ a brush onto a layout.

Before starting this tutorial download and unzip the Demo Brushes (or any other brush set you want to use). Open Photoshop and your layout or a blank canvas.

Create a new layer for your brushwork. Layer>New>Layer (Keystroke Shift+Ctrl+N).

In the layers palette, click and drag your new layer so it is positioned where you want your brush work. I want my brushwork on top of the background, but under the photo cluster so I’ve moved it to the second position in the layers palette.

1PS

Click on the Brush Tool in the Tools Palette.

2PS

Click on the small down arrow to the right of the ‘Brush’ in the Options Toolbar (marked arrow 1 below) and then click on the small arrow icon in the upper right corner of the drop down menu (marked arrow 2 below). Select ‘Load Brushes’ from the fly-out menu.

3PS

Navigate to the Demo Brush Pack you downloaded and unzipped at the start of the tutorial (or brush set of your choice) and click ‘Load’.

4PS

Scroll down in the brushes drop down menu to find your newly loaded brushes and click on the one you want to use. You can also move the ‘Master Diameter’ slider to adjust the size of your brush.

5PS

Click the Color Picker Tool from the Tools Palette and use the dialogue box to select a color for your brushwork. I will be using black (#000000). Click ‘OK’ once you’ve selected your color to close the Color Picker dialogue box.

6PS

Position the cursor on your canvas and click once to ‘stamp’ your brush. Mine is the long, black rectangle below the yellow paper.

8PS

That’s all there is to it. The colorful highlights in my journaling was also done with brushes. Enjoy experimenting with brushwork.

Filed Under: Freebies, Tutorials Tagged With: digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking freebies, digital scrapbooking tutorials, photoshop brushes, Photoshop Tutorial

Primary Sidebar Widget Area