I love photographing the sky. Some days, when conditions are just right, there’s that beautiful blue expanse, punctuated with big, white, fluffy clouds.

Whenever I see a spectacular sky, I always try to stop and get a few shots of it… even if the scenery below isn’t all that special. Why? I collect good skies to replace the bad ones in some of my photos.

But sometimes it isn’t practical, or even necessary, to totally replace the sky in an image. Maybe you’ve already got the clouds, and a bit of blue, but the sky just seems a little pale and washed out. And sometimes, even a pretty nice looking sky can benefit from just a little boost.

You’ve heard the phrase, “high drama”… well, what about “sky drama?”

Here’s a two-step trick to improve the look of so-so skies in your photos!

Step 1: Choose Your Photo

• Open the image you want to work with.
• At the bottom of the Layers panel, click on the Create A New Layer icon.

Step 2: Enhance The Sky

• With the new, blank layer selected, take a look at your Color Chips to make sure they’re in their default position of black over white. If they’re not, press the letter D on your keyboard.
• Get the Gradient tool (it’s below the Paint Bucket). In the Options Bar, open the Gradient Picker and choose Foreground to Transparent. Also in the Options Bar, set the Style to Linear (it’s the first style next to the Gradient picker in the Options Bar.)

• Hold down the Shift key and click and drag a straight line down the center of your image, extending from the top of your photo to about an inch to an inch-and-a-half below the point where your sky stops.

• In the Layers panel, set the blend mode to Soft Light. Take a look and see if that makes a significant change in the look of your sky. It usually will.
• If you like what you see, you’re done! If you think the sky could use a bit more color and drama, use the Overlay blend mode, as I did here, and then adjust the opacity down until the sky looks natural. I set my opacity at 75%.

• When you’re satisfied with your sky, press Ctrl E (Mac: Cmd E) to merge the gradient layer down.

Reality Check: The key word here is “natural.” Resist the urge to over-saturate the sky. If you go with too much color, you’ll steal attention away from the actual focal point of your image, so blend wisely and adjust the opacity as needed.

This technique works well on landscapes, seascapes, or any other image with a fairly dominant sky. It works very nicely to enhance rainbows and sunsets, too! Take a look…

As you can see, this is a handy little technique that can make the difference between a good photo and a great one. Add it to your photo editing repertoire and use it often!

Credits:
Tip of the Week: Sky Drama by Jan Walker
Photos: Morguefile.com, Jan Walker
Software used: Photoshop Elements 10

Download a PDF version of this “Sky Drama” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

I love photographing the sky. Some days, when conditions are just right, there’s that beautiful blue expanse, punctuated with big, white, fluffy clouds.

Whenever I see a spectacular sky, I always try to stop and get a few shots of it… even if the scenery below isn’t all that special. Why? I collect good skies to replace the bad ones in some of my photos.

But sometimes it isn’t practical, or even necessary, to totally replace the sky in an image. Maybe you’ve already got the clouds, and a bit of blue, but the sky just seems a little pale and washed out. And sometimes, even a pretty nice looking sky can benefit from just a little boost. You’ve heard the phrase, “high drama”… well, what about “sky drama?”

Here’s a two-step trick to improve the look of so-so skies in your photos!

Step 1: Choose Your Photo

• Open the image you want to work with.
• At the bottom of the Layers panel, click on the Create A New Layer icon.

Step 2: Enhance The Sky

• With the new, blank layer selected, take a look at your Color Chips to make sure they’re in their default position of black over white. If they’re not, press the letter D on your keyboard.
• Get the Gradient tool (it’s grouped with the Paint Bucket). In the Options Bar, open the Gradient Picker and choose Foreground to Transparent Gradient. Set the Style to Linear (it’s the first style next to the Gradient picker in the Options Bar.)

• Hold down the Shift key and click and drag a straight line down the center of your image, extending from the top of your photo to about an inch to an inch-and-a-half below the point where your sky stops.

• In the Layers panel, set the blend mode to Soft Light. Take a look and see if that makes a significant change in the look of your sky. It usually will.
• If you like what you see, you’re done! If you think the sky could use a bit more color and drama, use the Overlay blend mode, as I did here, and then adjust the opacity down until the sky looks natural. I set my opacity at 75%.

• When you’re satisfied with your sky, press Ctrl E (Mac: Cmd E) to merge the gradient layer down.

Reality Check: The key word here is “natural.” Resist the urge to over-saturate the sky. If you go with too much color, you’ll steal attention away from the actual focal point of your image, so blend wisely and adjust the opacity as needed.

This technique works well on landscapes, seascapes, or any other image with a fairly dominant sky. It works very nicely to enhance rainbows and sunsets, too! Take a look…

As you can see, this is a handy little technique that can make the difference between a good photo and a great one. Add it to your photo editing repertoire and use it often!

Credits:
Tip of the Week: Sky Drama by Jan Walker
Photos: Morguefile.com, Jan Walker
Software used: Photoshop Elements CS5

Download a PDF version of this “Sky Drama” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

This time of year, I’m always looking for ways to save time. One kid needs a costume made for the madrigal dinner, another needs a craft project planned and prepped for her class holiday party, and yet another needs festive (FESTIVE!?!) cupcakes for the bake sale.

When exactly am I supposed to finish the calendars and photobooks I’ve promised everyone for Christmas?

So today I’m going to share with you a little tip that speeds things up ever so slightly — I call it my Multiple Layers Trick. Why do something to one layer ten times, when you can do it to ten layers one time?

This works very well for Text layers:

• Hold down your Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) and in the Layers panel click on the blank area of each layer you want to affect. All the layers will highlight showing they are active.
• Now go to the Options Bar at the top and change whatever you’d like — the font, the size, the justification or the color. All the layers you have selected will now have those settings.

I find this especially useful when I want to change fonts and I have a lot of text layers, or if I want to change the color of all the text on a page.

This also works well for other things — here’s one of my favorites:

• Apply a layer style (say, a drop shadow) to one layer.
• In the Layers panel, Right-click (Mac: Ctrl click) in the blank area on that layer and choose Copy Layer Style from the menu.
• Now hold down your Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) and in the Layers panel click on the blank area of each layer you want to affect. All the layers will highlight, showing they are active.
• Right-click (Mac: Ctrl click) on any of the highlighted layers and choose Paste Layer Style; the style from the first layer will be applied to all the layers! I use this to apply drop shadows to all the layers that need the same shadow. It saves a ton of time!

Now maybe I can get a layout done before the oven dings… hope you all have an enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend, and don’t forget to scrap your blessings!

Credits:
Tip of the Week: Multiple Layers – by Jennifer White
Scrapbook Page: Jennifer White
Paper and Elements: Jennifer White
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 10

Download a PDF version of this “Unlock the Power of Multiple Layers” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

This time of year, I’m always looking for ways to save time. One kid needs a costume made for the madrigal dinner, another needs a craft project planned and prepped for her class holiday party, and yet another needs festive (FESTIVE!?!) cupcakes for the bake sale.

When exactly am I supposed to finish the calendars and photobooks I’ve promised everyone for Christmas?

So today I’m going to share with you a little tip that speeds things up ever so slightly — I call it my Multiple Layers Trick. Why do something to one layer ten times, when you can do it to ten layers one time?

This works very well for Text layers:

• Hold down your Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) and in the Layers panel click on the blank area of each layer you want to affect. All the layers will highlight showing they are active.
• Now go to the Options Bar at the top and change whatever you’d like – the font, the size, the justification or the color. All the layers you have selected will now have those settings.

I find this especially useful when I want to change fonts and I have a lot of text layers, or if I want to change the color of all the text on a page.

This also works well for other things — here is one of my favorites:

• Apply a layer style (say, a drop shadow) to one layer.
• In the Layers panel, Right click (Mac: Ctrl click) in the blank area on that layer and choose Copy Layer Style from the menu.
• Now hold down your Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) and in the Layers panel, click on the blank area of each layer you want to affect. All the layers will highlight, showing they are active.
• Right click (Mac: Ctrl click) on any of the highlighted layers and choose Paste Layer Style; the style from the first layer will be applied to all the layers! I use this to apply drop shadows to all the layers that need the same shadow. It saves a ton of time!

Now maybe I can get a layout done before the oven dings… hope you all have an enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend, and don’t forget to scrap your blessings!

Credits:
Tip of the Week: Multiple Layers – by Jennifer White
Scrapbook Page: Jennifer White
Paper and Elements: Jennifer White
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5

Download a PDF version of this “Unlock the Power of Multiple Layers” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

This time of year, football is everywhere.
Our high school aged boys are playing under the Friday night lights.
Our university alma mater is playing on Saturday afternoons. And we are rooting on our Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoons!

Even if the Packers are not your team, surely you know someone who feeds weekly on football fever.
It’s a good thing. It’s scrapbook worthy!

In this tutorial we’ll spread a little bit of football fever across the background of our scrapbook page. Manuela Zimmermann’s kit, A Man’s World — available with the November 2011 Premier Membership — is the perfect kit for scrapbooking the football fan in your life.

But even if you don’t have this kit, follow along with me and adapt the tutorial to any kit you own.

Step One: Open a Paper and an Element

• Open (File > Open) a background paper.
  I am using paper 11 from this month’s Premier kit — A Man’s World by Manuela Zimmermann.
• In the Menu Bar, choose File > Duplicate.
• In the dialog box, enter Football Paper and click OK.

Step Two: Define a New Brush

• Open the element file you are going to use.
  Note: When deciding on an element or image to use for this tip, it is best to choose a file that is surrounded by transparent pixels. Usually any .png file will be okay.

This is the football element from this month’s Premier kit — A Man’s World by Manuela Zimmermann.

• When you have your football element file open, go to the Menu Bar, choose Edit > Define Brush, and click OK.

Step Three: Activate the New Brush

• Get the Brush tool.
• In the Options Bar, open the Brush picker.
• Scroll to the bottom of the list and choose your new brush.
• In the Options Bar, change the Size to around 400 pixels.

Step Four: Change the Brush Dynamics

• In the Options Bar of the Brush panel, click on the Brush Dynamics icon.
• In the dialog box, set the following options:
  • Fade: 0 (fades the brush to 0% Opacity in this number of steps)
  • Hue Jitter: 100% (uses foreground/background Color Chips)
  • Scatter: 40% (spaces brush vertically)
  • Spacing: 500% (spaces brush horizontally)
  • Angle: 0 (sets the angle of the brush)

Step Five: Choose a Color Scheme

In this step we will set the Color Chips for the Hue Jitter.

• In the Tool Bar, click on the Foreground Color Chip.
• In the Color Picker, choose color #6c2712 or a color of your choice.
• Click on the Background Color Chip.
• In the Color Picker, choose color #b28b7f or a color of your choice.

Step Six: Paint With the Brush

• Now that your brush is ready, go back to the Football Paper document.
• In the Layers panel, click on the Create a New Layer icon.
• Paint a brush line from one side of the paper to the other.

Step Seven: Change the Brush Angle and Repeat

• Open the Brush Dynamic Options again.
• Change the Angle to 30.
• Brush another line on the document.
• Repeat with Angles set to 60, 90, and 120.
• Option: If you’d like to have more flexibility with each brush stroke, paint them on individual layers.
• Option: Also try slightly changing the size of the brush before each individual brush stroke.

Step Eight: Save the New Background Paper

• Save the document (File > Save As).

And here is my scrapbook page using this tip. I’m looking forward to seeing all your creations in the Tip of the Week gallery at Digital Scrapper!

Credits:
Tip and Scrapbook Page: Jen White
Paper and Elements: A Man’s World, Manuela Zimmermann
Font: Plastique
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0

Download a PDF version of this “Background Paper – Football Fever” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

This time of year, football is everywhere.
Our high school aged boys are playing under the Friday night lights.
Our university alma mater is playing on Saturday afternoons.

And we are rooting on our Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoons!

Even if the Packers are not your team, surely you know someone who feeds weekly on football fever.
It’s a good thing. It’s scrapbook worthy!

In this tutorial we’ll spread a little bit of football fever across the background of our scrapbook page. Manuela Zimmermann’s kit, A Man’s World — available with the November 2011 Premier Membership — is the perfect kit for scrapbooking the football fan in your life.

But even if you don’t have this kit, follow along with me and adapt the tutorial to any kit you own.

Step One: Open a Paper and an Element

• Open (File > Open) a background paper.
  I am using paper 11 from this month’s Premier kit — A Man’s World by Manuela Zimmermann.
• In the Menu Bar, choose Image > Duplicate.
• In the dialog box, enter Football Paper and click OK.

Step Two: Define a New Brush

• Open the element file you are going to use.
  Note: When deciding on an element or image to use for this tip, it is best to choose a file that is surrounded by transparent pixels. Usually any .png file will be okay.

This is the football element from this month’s Premier kit — A Man’s World by Manuela Zimmermann.

• When you have your football element file open, go to the Menu Bar, choose Edit > Define Brush Preset, and click OK.

Step Three: Open the Brush Panel

• Get the Brush tool.
• In the Menu Bar, choose Window > Brush to open the Brush panel.

Step Four: Change the Brush Tip Shape Settings

• In the Brush panel, activate the Brush Tip Shape settings on the left.
• Scroll down the list of brushes and click once on the newly defined brush.
• Move the Size slider to around 400 px.
• Place a check mark next to Spacing.
• Move the Spacing slider to around 140%.

Note: These are my personal choice of settings for this particular brush. Your settings may need to be altered to fit the brush you are using.

Step Five: Change the Shape Dynamics Settings

• In the Brush panel, click on the Shape Dynamics setting on the left.
  Note: Do make sure “Shape Dynamics” is check marked!
• Move the Size Jitter slider to around 30%.
• Move the Angle Jitter slider to around 30%.

Step Six: Change the Scattering Settings

• In the Brush panel, activate the Scattering settings on the left.
• Move the Scatter slider to around 150%.

Step Seven: Change the Color Dynamics Settings

• In the Brush panel, activate the Color Dynamics settings on the left.
• Move the Saturation Jitter slider to around 50%.
  Note: You will not see a visible change in the preview of the Brush panel.
• Make sure all other Brush panel options are unchecked.

Step Eight: Paint With the Brush

• Now that your brush is ready, go back to the Football Paper document.
• In the Layers panel, click on the Create a New Layer icon.
• In the Tool Bar, click on the Foreground Color Chip.
• In the Color Picker, choose a color (I chose #883f29) for your brush and click OK.

• Zoom out on your document so you can clearly see the edges.
• Holding down the Shift key, click outside the left side of the document and drag in a straight line past the right edge of the document.

Step Nine: Save the New Background Paper

• Save the document. (File > Save As)

And here is my scrapbook page using this tip. I’m looking forward to seeing all your creations in the Tip of the Week gallery at Digital Scrapper.

Credits:
Tip and Scrapbook Page: Jen White
Paper and Elements: A Man’s World, Manuela Zimmermann
Font: Plastique
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5

Download a PDF version of this “Background Paper – Football Fever” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

I like to tell my kids that I am always justified in my actions. They don’t believe me, but one day they will find that I was telling the truth. When I am journaling, there is also justification. I mean right or left justified.

When you create journaling, it is usually left justified, meaning that the text will align to the left of the page. Sometimes I like to create a more visually interesting journaling area, by changing it to right justify — having the text align to the right side of the page.

Step 1: Open Your Layout

(Page created using October’s Premier Kit, Me Personally by Taylor Made Designs. Picture of my very happy daughter taken by me.)

Step 2: Create Text Box

• Get the Horizontal Type tool.
• Click and drag your mouse to create a text box.

Step 3: Set Your Text Options

• In the Options Bar, choose your font and the size.
• I chose Century Gothic as my font.
• I used 16 pt as the size.
• I also chose Right Align Text.

Step 4: Enter Your Text

• Click in the text box, and start entering your text. (I used the alphabet and one adjective per letter to describe my daughter.)
• When you are done, click on the check mark in the Options Bar to confirm the type.

Credits: Tip of the Week: Justified: Rightly So- Lisa Hanks
Photo and Scrapbook Page- Lisa Hanks
Paper and Elements: Me Personally by Taylor Made Designs
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4

Download a PDF version of this “Justified: Rightly So” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

I like to tell my kids that I am always justified in my actions. They don’t believe me, but one day they will find that I was telling the truth. When I am journaling, there is also justification. I mean right or left justified.

When you create journaling, it is usually left justified, meaning that the text will align to the left of the page. Sometimes I like to create a more visually interesting journaling area, by changing it to right justify — having the text align to the right side of the page.

Step 1: Open Your Layout

(Page created using October’s Premier Kit, Me Personally by Taylor Made Designs. Picture of my very happy daughter taken by me.)

Step 2: Create Text Box

• Get the Horizontal Type tool.
• Click and drag your mouse to create a text box.

Step 3: Set Your Text Options

• In the Options Bar, choose your font and the size.
• I chose Century Gothic as my font.
• I used 16 pt as the size.
• I also chose Right Align Text.

Step 4: Enter Your Text

• Click in the text box, and start entering your text. (I used the alphabet and one adjective per letter to describe my daughter.)
• When you are done, click outside of the text box to commit your text.

Credits: Tip of the Week: Justified: Rightly So- Lisa Hanks
Photo and Scrapbook Page- Lisa Hanks
Paper and Elements: Me Personally by Taylor Made Designs
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 10

Download a PDF version of this “Justified: Rightly So” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

Sometime you just need a little extra ’something’ to spiffy up a scrapbook page without stealing interest from the subject.

Embossing a shape into your background might be just the thing that makes the difference. Try it out and see what you think…

Step 1: Create a New Document

• Create a new document (File > New > Blank File) at 300ppi with a white background.

Step 2: Add a Background Paper

• Open a background paper (File > Open). I’m using the SolidTaupe paper from At Home by Paislee Press.
• Get the Move tool.
• Holding down the Shift key, click on the paper and drag it onto your scrapbook page.
  
• Close the original background paper.

Step 3: Add an Element, Shape, or Stroke

• Open an element (File > Open) with an interesting outline. I’m using Leaves1 from At Home by Paislee Press.
• Click on the element and drag it onto your scrapbook page.
• Close the original element.

Step 4: Apply an Emboss Layer Style

• Open the Effects panel by choosing Window > Effects from the Menu Bar.
• In the Effects panel, click on the Layer Styles icon.
• Open the Styles drop down menu and choose Bevels.
• Double click on the Simple Emboss icon from the selection of bevels.

Step 5: Adjust the Embossing

• In the Layers panel, double click on the fx icon in the element layer to open the Style Settings.
• Move the Bevel Size slider to 0 and click OK.

Step 6: Duplicate the Paper and Move It

• In the Layers panel, activate the paper layer by clicking on it.
• Press Ctrl J (Mac: Cmd J) to duplicate the paper layer.
• Press Ctrl ] (Mac: Cmd ]) to move the duplicated paper layer to the top of the Layers panel.

Step 7: Clip the Paper Down

• In the Layers panel, choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask.
  Note: Earlier versions of Elements will refer to this as Group With Previous.

Step 8: Lower the Layer Style Opacity

• In the Layers panel, activate the element layer.
• Lower the Opacity of this layer to around 50% or whatever looks good to you.

Here are more examples showing what can be done with this technique using the same paper and different elements:

Above: Swirl-Doodle from our Sugar and Spice kit.

Above: Flourish-Border from our Cherish This Moment kit.

Above: WordArt3 from our Back 2 School – Whimsy kit.

Above: And never underestimate the powerful addition of just a straight line or two.

Credits:
Tip of the Week – Embossed Paper by Jen White
Paper: At Home by Paislee Press
Elements:
At Home by Paislee Press kit
Sugar and Spice kit
Cherish This Moment kit
Back 2 School – Whimsy kit
Software: Photoshop Elements 10.0

Download a PDF version of this “Embossed Background Paper” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.

Sometime you just need a little extra ’something’ to spiffy up a scrapbook page without stealing interest from the subject.

Embossing a shape into your background might be just the thing that makes the difference. Try it out and see what you think…

Step 1: Create a New Document

• Create a new document (File > New) at 300ppi with a white background.

Step 2: Add a Background Paper

• Open a background paper (File > Open). I’m using the SolidTaupe paper from At Home by Paislee Press.
• Get the Move tool.
• Holding down the Shift key, click on the paper and drag it onto your scrapbook page.
• Close the original background paper.

Step 3: Add an Element, Shape, or Stroke

• Open an element (File > Open) with an interesting outline. I’m using Leaves1 from At Home by Paislee Press.
• Click on the element and drag it onto your scrapbook page.
• Close the original element.

Step 4: Apply an Emboss Layer Style

• In the Menu Bar, choose Layer > Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss.
• In the dialog box, change the Style to Emboss.
• Move the Size slider to 0 pixels and click OK.

Step 5: Duplicate the Paper and Move It

• In the Layers panel, activate the paper layer by clicking on it.
• Press Ctrl J (Mac: Cmd J) to duplicate the paper layer.
• Press Ctrl ] (Mac: Cmd ]) to move the duplicated paper layer to the top of the Layers panel.

Step 6: Clip the Paper Down

• In the Layers panel, choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

Step 7: Lower the Layer Style Opacity

• In the Layers panel, activate the element layer.
• Lower the Opacity of this layer to around 50% or whatever looks good to you.

Here are more examples showing what can be done with this technique using the same paper and different elements:

Above: Swirl-Doodle from our Sugar and Spice kit.

Above: Flourish-Border from our Cherish This Moment kit.

Above: WordArt3 from our Back 2 School – Whimsy kit.

Above: And never underestimate the powerful addition of just a straight line or two.

Credits:
Tip of the Week – Embossed Paper by Jen White
Paper: At Home by Paislee Press
Elements:
At Home by Paislee Press kit
Sugar and Spice kit
Cherish This Moment kit
Back 2 School – Whimsy kit
Software: Photoshop CS5

Download a PDF version of this “Embossed Background Paper” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Leap Frog To The Next Level!

Rather than learning a bit here and a bit there, why not leap frog to the next level? Our Learn Digital Scrapbooking class takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!

Find out more about the Learn Digital Scrapbooking Class.