Brads, those tiny little fasteners that you can NEVER find when you need them. It’s a classy little fastener that can be used to hold thing down, or hang things up. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time keeping them in one place. My kids love them, the dog loves them, and I would love them…if I could find them. This is one of those reasons I love digital. I can make them in a matter of minutes.
Step 1: Create a New Document
- Choose File>New.
- Your document should be 1 inch x 1inch, 300 pixels/inch on a transparent background.
- Click OK.
Step 2: Create Your Shape
- Get the Elliptical Marquee tool in the Toolbar.
- In the Options Bar above, make sure that New Selection is chosen, Feathering is at 0, and the Style is Normal.
- On your document, click and drag your circle out, holding the Shift key to constrain proportions to a perfect circle.
Step 3: Fill Your Shape with Color
- Click on the Foreground Color Chip, pick the color you would like your brad to be, then click OK to close the Color Picker.
- Press Alt Backspace (Mac: Opt Delete) to fill your circle with color.
- Press Ctrl D (Mac: Cmd D) to deselect your circle.
Step 4: Adding Bevel
- In the Effects panel, to the right, choose Layer Styles.
- Choose Simple Inner Bevel and click Apply.
Step 5: Finishing Up
- Right click (Mac: Ctrl click) on your brad layer in the Layers panel.
- In the options, choose Simplify Layer.
- Done!
I bet you didn’t know how easy brads could be. There are so many ways you can play with them. Experiment and have fun!
Credits: Tutorial, photos, layout, and brads by Lisa Hanks. Kit used: June’s Premier Kit, Cherish This Moment by Digital Scrapper Designs.
Download a PDF version of this “Brad, brad, where are you?” 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.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Perfect and easy. Thank you!
I’ve always wanted to know how to do this. Thanks for the tut!
Thanks so much for the easy instructions for making brads.
Thanks – you made that look so easy.
Never knew it could be so easy to make these brads. Thanks for sharing this technique!
Thanks for such a fun and easy way to make brads. I will definitely be using this tip over and over.