Brad, brad, where are you? (Photoshop)

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 and Contour

In the Menu Bar choose Layer > Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss.
In the dialog box enter the following values:
- Style: Inner Bevel
- Technique: Smooth
- Depth: 225
- Size: 21 px
- Soften: 16 px

In the list of styles to the left, under Bevel and Emboss, click on the word Contour.
Click on the down facing arrow next to the contour thumbnail.
Pick the Half Round contour.

Click OK

Step 5: Finishing Up

Right click (Mac: Ctrl click) on your brad layer in the Layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object.
Right click (Mac: Ctrl click) on your brad layer one more time.
Choose Rasterize 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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