Dive into the wonderful world of digital art with this simple but amazing watercolor painting technique. With an ordinary photo, some watercolor brushes and our textured background paper, you’ll be “painting” with pixels in no time!

It’s not often that a digital technique can work just as well for a camping page or a wedding page, but the mesh you’ll learn to make with this video does both with ease! Once you learn the technique, you’ll be able to apply it in so many ways to enhance your pages!

Calling all sports Moms! We all like a good action photo. And if your kids play sports, you’ve probably got tons of photos just waiting to be scrapped. This month we’re bundled a couple of our favorite action video tutorials together to help inspire you. This bundle contains: Out of Bounds, Way Out of Bounds, In Motion and Photo Journaling. So what are you waiting for? Get into the game, get creative!

Note: Photoshop Elements 9 contains a more automated way to create a simple out of bounds photo, but these two Out of Bounds videos will help those who don’t have Photoshop Elements 9.

1) Out of Bounds – Every once in awhile it’s fun to do something different to draw attention to a special photo. In this lesson you’ll do just that by making an object or person in the photo appear to step right out of the photo! This is the sort of technique that makes your family and friends think you’re hot stuff with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements-and yet it’s so easy to do!

2) Way Out of Bounds – When you really want to grab someone’s attention, here’s a great way to do it- with an extreme out-of-bounds technique. If your photo subject is:

* Easy to select
* If it would look good outside the bounds of a photo
* And if it’s oriented vertically so the subject would come out the top, chances are you have a great photo to try out this technique, which will make your subject appear to be standing on top of the photo!

3) In Motion – Learn how to set up a photo shoot and use several photos to create one amazing photo that appears to be partly “in motion.” You’ll also learn how to blend three photos together seamlessly into a compelling artistic statement!

In this lesson you’ll be using a layer mask (both Photoshop and Elements) and the Radial filter.

4) Photo Journaling – They say, “A Picture Paints A Thousand Words,” so learn how to make your photos tell most of the story. PLUS you’ll go through the steps to create a simple template that can accommodate any photo orientation to tell your story in pictures.

Please Note: These videos were originally distributed to Premier members, so if you were a Premier member during:

• February 2008 (volume 31)
• April 2010 (volume 57)

OR if you purchased the CD compilation of Premier 2008, you already have some or all of these videos.

With the start of every school year comes the return of school pictures. This year, use your own skills to create memorable photographs of your child. We’ve bundled a couple of our favorite videos together that will help you achieve those professional images. Our School Picture bundle includes: DIY School Portraits, Healing Brush Tips, Color Balance and Silky Smooth Skin. Buy them together and save!

1) Do It Yourself School Portraits – Whether you’re working with your own family members or the children of a neighbor or friend, “homemade” portraits can do a far better job of capturing your subjects’ unique personality than the mass-produced and stiffly posed images typically shot by school photographers.

2) Healing Brush Tips – Fixing flaws in old photos or removing unwanted elements from digital photos can be tedious work that isn’t for the faint of heart. Here are some fabulous tips on using the Healing Brushes that will speed up the process or simply help you do a better job.

3) Color Balance – Color problems with photos may be due to “warm” or “cool” light sources. In this lesson we’ll take a look at two photos with different white-balance problems and review two different ways to correct white balance for a more natural or simply more attractive effect.

In Photoshop Elements:
Learn how to use the Eyedroppers with the Levels dialog box to cool down a warm photo and bring out its natural color. Use the Skin Tone filter to adjust the color of a cool photo.

In Adobe Photoshop
Learn how to use the Eyedroppers with the Levels dialog box to cool down a warm photo and bring out its natural color, and learn to use Curves to warm up a cool photo.

4) Silky, Smooth Skin – Give any subject picture-perfect skin in just a few seconds. This technique allows you to create a final effect that’s soft and smooth, yet still natural in appearance. For an added effect, give your photo a Renaissance style high contrast or a delicately toned, vintage-style look.

Please Note: These videos were originally distributed to Premier members, so if you were a Premier member during:

• April 2009 (volume 45)
• June 2009 (volume 47
• August 2009 (volume 49)
• February 2010 (volume 55)

OR if you purchased the CD compilation of Premier 2009, you already have some or all of these videos.

Alignment is a design principle that can help you know where and how to place items on your page in a way that creates a clean organized look. If you struggle at all with page design, this lesson will improve your pages!

Page and photos: Jenny Binder
Paper and Embellishments: Menagerie Kit by One Little Bird Scrapbook Designs.
Fonts: Century Gothic.

Tags: Page design, alignment, template

Create a darling newborn baby bracelet by pairing alphabet beads with simple gradient beads and a ribbon. You’ll learn the secret of making the alphabet bead appear bevelled around the letter, which makes the beads almost pop off the page!

Page & Photos: Linda Sattgast
Papers and Embellishments: Menagerie by One Little Bird
Font: Honey Script

Tags:
filter: Ripple
gradient
Shapes
Strokes

Create beautiful beads from ordinary photos using filters. Easily give each bead its own unique pattern and make it appear rounded and shiny. Beads can be used by themselves as accents or strung together to create lines, curves, or shape outlines.

Credits:
Page: Linda Sattgast
Papers and Embellishments: Menagerie by One Little Bird
Fonts: Honey Script, Trebuchet MS

Tags:
blend modes
filter: Twirl, Wave
selections

It’s easy to see when a less-than-perfect shot needs a little editing to make it look great. But what about the “good” shots? We often overlook those, thinking they don’t need any enhancement. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to take your images from good to great, in just a few simple steps!

Photo: Jan Walker
Tags: photo enhancement

Most of us frame our photos in rectangles or squares. It’s time to think outside the box! Here’s a quick and easy way to highlight multiple photos in a circular frame.

Credits:

Page: Susie Roberts
Photos: Andrea Graves
Papers and Elements: Back2School kit
Fonts: Print Bold, Learning Curve Pro, Collegiate Heavy Outline

Tags: template, page design, frames, selections, circles

Tattered edge overlays are an indispensable addition to any digital scrapbook kit. Learn how to create a cracked and worn overlay to use on any color paper to give it a vintage look.

Credits:

Scrapbook page: Susie Roberts
Photos: Andrea Graves
Papers and Elements: Back2School kit
Fonts: Tall Drink, Print Cearly OT.

Tags: brushes, clipping mask, frames, overlay