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Review by Brenda Peters
Note: This product review was written using PSPX in Windows XP.
I have been waiting to use Brandie's Layer Your Own Recipe Cards for a specific layout I’ve wanted to make for some time now. I just kept putting it off, and now that it’s time to do this review, it seemed the perfect opportunity to finally use them.
There have been a few recipes that have become traditional for our family over the years. I thought it would be wonderful to actually document them. The reason this came to mind was because of a couple occasions when I wish my own mother had documented a family favorite recipe or two. And now that she is gone, there have been times when I wish I had them to refer to.
I do have some of my mother's other (more famous) favorite recipes paper-scrapped and fully intend on switching them to digital eventually. But for now, I’m concentrating on one of my own family recipes for this layout. I want to share with you how easy the Layer Your Own Brushes are to work with.
First, I want to point out that when you purchase a Layer Your Own Brush Set, you’ll notice that it comes with multiple files (or graphics). Each one represents a different portion of your final element. For instance, there will be a base, which is the first layer that you will use. Then there may be different types of borders, which may be your second layer. You get the picture so far? You layer each portion (or graphic) to create your final element. You choose which portions you want to use. And what really makes these great is that fact that you can make them any color you want. It’s all up to you. Let’s get down to business!
Once I created everything in my layout, I was ready to create my recipe card. I started out by clicking and dragging the base file from the organizer (browser) onto my open layout. PSP X allows me to do click and drag from the organizer.
Note: With newer versions X1 and X2, you have to open the file first (double-click from the organizer) and then click and drag from the open file's Layers Palette onto your open layout.
Once I placed the base where I wanted it, with the base layer still active, I clicked on the Magic Wand Tool, with Tolerance: 10, Match Mode: RGB Value, and clicked on the black base to select it. This will create marching ants around my black base.
Now I want to give that black base some color. I can either Flood Fill it with a color, or I can fill it with a background paper, which is what I chose to do. Once I browse to my desired paper, I double-click on it to open it. Whenever I open a file, I always duplicate it by clicking Shift+D, and then close the original so I don’t make any changes to it.
Now comes the fun part. I go to the Materials Palette and click on the “Foreground and Stroke Properties” box. That will open the Material Properties options.
Now click on the "Pattern" tab, then the "Current Pattern" drop-down option arrow, and finally, choose the current pattern (which will be the background paper that you previously opened and duplicated). Now click "OK."
Minimize your background paper and then click on the layout to make it active. You should still have the marching ants around the black base. Now click on the Flood Fill Tool. Click on the base layer to make it active and then click inside the marching ants to Flood Fill it with your paper. Now click Selections> Select None. Wow!!! That was easy!
Now I want to add a border to my recipe card. There are several different kinds of borders to choose from, but I chose the Double Frame Border from Brandie's ScrapSimple Layer Your Own: Recipe Card 2 Brush Set Biggie. Once I click and drag it onto my layout, I position it correctly over my base using the Move Tool. An easy way to do that is to zoom in first (use the scroll wheel on your mouse if you have one) on the corner of the border. It makes it easier to see when you position it to the corner of your base.
Now I want to change the color of my border. But first, notice the border while it is still zoomed in. There are some opaque areas in the border. Knowing this determines what settings we’ll use on our next two tools. Click on the Magic Wand. Settings> Add Mode> All Opaque Match Mode (this assures that all colors including opaque areas will be selected). Now click on one of the borders and then hold down the Shift key and click on the second border to add it to your selection.
Next I clicked on the Flood Fill Tool. Open the Material Properties. Select the "Color" tab and then hover your mouse over a color from within your layout and click on it. I chose brown from another part of my layout.
Click "OK." Flood Fill Settings> All Opaque Match Mode> Blend Mode Normal> Opacity 100. Now click on both of the borders to fill them with the new color.
Now click Selections> Select None to deselect. You’ll notice that all of the opaque colors filled with the new color too. Now I’m ready to choose another element to add to my recipe card.
Next I choose the recipe card lines to add to my card. Click and drag onto your layout. Use the Move Tool to position it correctly. I like the way the lines look they way they are and decide not to make any changes to them.
I’m ready to add another cute element and choose the family favorite logo. Again I just click and drag the logo onto my card. See how easy this is?
Before I make my element smaller, I want to change the colors of it to match my layout scheme. I click on the Magic Wand> Settings> Add Mode> RGB Value> Tolerance 10 and click on the outside black border of my element. I also want to select the inside border and each letter. I make sure to hold down the Shift key and click on each selection addition.
Now that it’s selected, I want to change the color. Click on the Flood Fill Tool.
Open the Material Palette. Go to "Options" and click on the "Color" tab. Hover over and click on a color from within your layout. Click "OK." This time I went with blue. Now click on each selected area to Flood Fill with blue. Selections> Select None.
I also selected all of the white and Flood Filled with a paper from the Legacy Collection.
The element is a bit large, so I need to make it smaller. I click on the Pick Tool, and then click and drag inward on a corner from the abounding box that now surrounds my element. I make it small enough to fit inside my recipe card.
Now all I have left to do is type out my recipe. I create a new vector layer for each line of text so I can position them on each of the lines. When I finished my text, I simply added some buttons to bring attention to each of my ingredients in the recipe. That’s it.
My finished recipe card:
I’m done. Wasn’t that easy? Here’s my final layout.
Layout by Brenda Peters
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Brenda is a self-proclaimed computer geek whose fascination with computers and digital graphics has led her to Scrap Girls. She considers Scrap Girls to be her home away from home and has found herself to be completely captivated with digi-scrapping the lives of her beautiful little grandchildren.
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