Corrections, Additions, Addenda..

Hey..

I've gotten some emails and comments. Let's see...

1. Save the file by right-clicking it and choosing Save Image As. It should save the .png file. From there you'll open it in Photoshop, and keep going with the instructions.

2. I made an error in the PSCS2 instructions. The Create Layer Mask key combination is Ctrl-Alt-G. I changed it in the orginal as well.

3. I made an error in the resize instructions. The resize command is under the Edit menu, rather than under the Image menu. Thanks for catching that! I changed it in the original as well.

If you have questions, or can't get something to work, feel free to email me. Link is in the sidebar.

Enjoy! :)

Photoshop Friday! {Issue No. 3}

Welcome to Photoshop Friday!

Today’s inspiration will be fun, I think. :) I had a great time making it, anyway.

After you complete today’s tutorial, you’ll be able to give any photo a cool grungy border that bleeds into the background, like this one:

Or with a small change, you can give it a strong black (or any color) border, like this one:
(I did some fun layer styling to the photo to make it look handtinted-keep reading).

This is actually somewhat of a carryover from last week’s Photoshop Friday, because this technique simulates a layer mask just like last week’s did. I say simulates, because Photoshop Elements doesn’t have true layer masks. Luckily this technique works in ALL versions of Photoshop.

Okay, ready?

You’ll need to download this file by right-clicking it and choosing Save As:


The grunge mask is sized for a 4x6 photo, but it’s easy to re-size before applying it.

Here are your steps:

1. Open your mask and the photo you’d like to grunge-i-fy in Photoshop.
2. Duplicate the photo onto a separate layer (right-click on the photo background layer and choose Duplicate Layer). It’s always better to work in a copy of the photo.
3. Turn off the original photo layer.
4. Drag the mask onto the photo.
5. Resize the mask to fit the photo (Edit>Transform>Resize).
6. In the Layers palette, drag the mask layer BELOW the photo layer.
7. Select the photo layer in the layers palette.
8. Hit Ctrl-G (Ctrl-Alt-G in PSCS2) to create the mask.
You should see the edges of your photo masked out by the layer below them.

If you like your photo to bleed into the edges of the background, simply link the layers together and drag them onto your layout.
If you’d like to add a black (or any other color) border:

1. Create a new layer and position it at the bottom of the stack in the Layers Palette.
2. Use the paintbucket tool to fill the blank layer with the color of your choice.

Here’s an inspiration layout to get you going:

For this layout I used Tia Bennett’s rockin 70 kit which is so fun and retro, and has this utterly delicious montage that I’ve used for my background all ready to drop in and go. Also appearing is one of Katie Pertiet’s sun print brushes. These are just great for accents, since they’re botanical silhouettes. And of course I am totally in love with Rhonna Farrer’s new Old Stamps brush set. It has all the months, as well as numbers for each month, all old and grungy and random and awesome.

I can’t wait to see what you make with your grungy photo mask. Here are some ideas:

-Change the mask by deleting other sections (such as a word) from the black, or by painting on the mask in black with a digital brush.

-Create a large black background and place three grung-i-fied photos side by side. Add a bit of white text in the black area, and you have an awesome frameable storyboard.

-Create your own grungy mask by cutting away bits from a black rectangle. You can use text, grunge brushes, anything you like.

Where do I get grunge brushes, you might ask?

Well, here are some places:
Misprinted Type
MissM
Scrap Artist Distressing Kit (which comes with a tutorial)
Pea Blossom Kit by Rhonna Farrer (which comes with a digital inking and sanding tutorial)

Please let me know if there’s something you’d like to see. Have a great week, and don’t forget to link up in the comments when you make something! :)

p.s. Want to know how I made the photos look kind of cool and old and dreamy and handtinted? Stay-tuned! There’s going to be a mid-week Photoshop tip. ;)

Photoshop Friday! {Issue No. 2}

Hello!

Welcome to another installment of Photoshop Friday.

Here’s today’s inspiration.See the accent in the bottom right corner? That’s what we’re going to make today.

Here’s what you’ll need to complete the tutorial:

1- a brush image (I’ll give you that)
2- a digital patterned paper (you can check out some of the free digital kits at Two Peas in a Bucket if you don’t have any papers)
3- Photoshop. :P

Okay.. here we go.

Creating Patterned Paper Accents with Brushes
Skill level: Intermediate

So last week you made your own brush. How cool was that? I love PS brushes. Seriously, give me a brush and I’ll follow you anywhere. But then you have to feed me and give me a place to stay.. so better be really sure you want to give me that brush.

This week, you’ll be making a brush from this image:

I think it’s pretty and kind of Art Nouveau. So we’ll take it, and make a patterned paper accent with it to either print, or put on a digital page. This brush, like last week’s, came from the Dover book 1500 Decorative Ornaments.

Right-click the image above to download, open it in Photoshop, and create a custom brush.

Now we’re all set to create a patterned paper accent.

1. Open a patterned paper in Photoshop. (I chose this great word one from Jen Wilson, in her Being kit.)
2. Open a new Photoshop document, 12x12, 300 dpi, and drag your patterned paper into the new document. (I really highly recommend that you never do anything to an original patterned paper. Trust me on this one).
3. Create a new layer above the patterned paper layer (Ctrl-Shift-N).
4. Hit B to choose the brush tool, and select the brush you just made from the image above from your brush palette.
5. Resize the brush to a really nice big size by hitting the ] key a few times. (Incidentally, the [ key makes it smaller.)
6. Stamp your brush anywhere on the paper, in any color.

Cool. Now you should see your patterned paper with a stamp on it. Something like this:


But we’re on to the coolness now. The first thing we’ll want to do is create an outline for our patterned paper accent, so the edges don’t bleed into the background when we cut it out of the patterned paper.

Create the Brush Outline

1. Open your layers palette (Window>Layer), and right-click on the thumbnail image of the stamp you just stamped.
2. From the flyout menu, choose Select Layer Transparency.

You’ll get the marching ants selection around your brush.

3. Create a new layer (Ctrl-Shift-N).
4. Go to Edit>Stroke.
5. In the dialog box that appears, choose 10 pixels, and a nice dark color to complement your paper. Also choose Outside for the location.
6. Hit OK.

Now you have an outline around your brush image.

Create the accent

Now for the final set of steps to acually make the accent.

1. Back up in your layers palette, drag the brush image (not the outline) just below the patterned paper layer.
2. Select the patterned paper layer.
3. Hit Ctrl-G (in CS2, the new command is Ctrl-Alt-G) to create a clipping mask.

Your patterned paper should disappear except for what’s inside the outline.
You can even move the paper around inside the mask, until you flatten your accent to make it draggable onto another document.

It should look something like this:


Now you’re free to print your accent on photo paper or cardstock and cut it out, or use it on a digital page.


The challenge:

-Okay, now go make a layout. Paper or digi, it doesn’t matter to me. And use the techniques outlined above to make a cool patterned paper accent. Don’t forget to link up in the comments when you’re done! :)

Oh, and please feel free to send me an email if you have questions or coments. My email address is in my Blogger profile.

Photoshop Friday!

Well, I have done a lot of thinking over the past few weeks. A lot of thinking and not a lot of blogging as you can see.

I’ve decided to start a little something I’ll call Photoshop Friday. I chose Friday because it’s my favorite day of the week. So full of hope for the weekend, things winding down from a usually hectic week, that kind of thing. I’m just usually in a great mood on Fridays, and I hope you are too.

Well, what I would like to do is share a little bit with you. Not just a layout, and not just a tutorial, but sharing ideas and inspiration for Photoshop as it specifically relates to digital scrapbooking.

I put together a layout, and some little instructions, which you can use to do the Inaugural Photoshop Friday challenge: creating your own digital brush.

*This is geared specifically toward Photoshop. If you use another program for your digi scrapping, you can still download this image and use it!

First, you need an image. Try this one (you can right-click this image to download it):

This is a royalty-free image from a Dover Books publication called “1500 Decorative Ornaments”. If you like what you do with this, and dig digi brushes, I recommend this book. :) Plus it comes with a CD, which makes creating brushes just about as painless as it can get.

Okay, so you have your image ready to go?

Now let’s set about making your brush:

1. Open your file in Photoshop.
2. Select Edit, Define Brush Preset.
3. Type in a name for your new brush.
4. Hit OK.

If you open your brush palette, you will see your new brush down at the bottom of the list.

Now using your new brush:

1. Open a blank canvas. (I usually start out with 12 x 12 inches, 300 dpi)
3. Hit B to choose the brush tool.
2. Open your Brushes palette (Window > Brushes). (If you don’t have a tool active that can use the brushes, they will be greyed out)
2. Hit Shift-Ctrl-N to create a new layer. (It’s generally good practice to create a new layer any time you’re going to stamp with a new stamp. This keeps things individually editable.)
3. Select the brush you just made (it’ll be at the bottom of the list).
4. Pick a cool color for your brush.
5. Click anywhere in the document once. Brushes are like stamps.

Next Photoshop Friday we’ll talk about using Photoshop brushes in other ways. Stay tuned.

Here is a layout I created using my custom-made brush:
I used the brush as a single stamp for an accent, as well as creating a new layer just over the background paper, stamping randomly, and playing with the layer blending modes until I got just the tone-on-tone I was looking for.

All of the papers and the journaling tag are from the Jungle Cruise Digi Kit by Kellie Mize. Love this kit!

Okay, now the fun part.
Go make a layout. :)
And if you do a layout with this brush, PLEASE link it up in the comments so I can go check it out!

That’s it for now. Can’t wait to see! :)

Such a cool historical thing I (re)found. :)

I am the queen of web searches. I remembered this really cool radio program about the end of World War II that was broadcast on NPR a few months ago. I heard it while I was driving back from the cardiologist, so I knew it was after March and before June. And that's all I could remember about it. :P Well I tracked it down. :) Turns out it was broadcast in May.

It's over at MPR, and you can listen to it in two parts on RealPlayer. This guy is so awesome. He's got this great 50s voice and accent, and the little music in between times is great. But the broadcast itself--celebrating V-E day--is really something I think everyone should hear:

"On A Note of Triumph"

Scroll on down to May 8, 2005. The two segments combined last almost an hour.. so turn it on while you make dinner or something. :)