Note: Tutorial was written with screenshots from Photoshop CS2 on a PC.

Every week, I love looking through the Scrap Girls Boutique to see all of the gorgeous new goodies. The beautiful colors and patterns available are so inspiring and get my creative juices flowing. And with digital scrapbooking, having the versatility to customize my supplies makes scrapping even more fun.

 

Here I have my layout started with my photo and background paper in place. I’m using Cherish – Solid Light Blue and a cute photo of my niece Cassidy. Hint: Save the file often.

 

I’m going with a princess theme, so Cassidy needs a crown. From the Tool Bar, I select the Custom Shape Tool. Along the Options Bar, I click on the little triangle next to the Shape Tool and select "Defined Proportions" from the drop-down menu. I select a crown from the shape drop-down menu. To create the crown, I click and drag my mouse across the layout. In the Layers Palette, note the look of the shape layer when it’s first created. I rotate the crown by Edit> Transform Path> Rotate. I’m using ScrapSimple Tools: Shape – Crowns 2101-6.

 

I rasterize the crown by Layer> Rasterize> Shape. Note the change to the layer in the Layers Palette. I don’t want the split leaf prongs on the crown. To remove them, I select the Polygonal Lasso Tool with the settings of Feather: 0 and Anti-Alias: checked. Slowly, I click around the prong until I connect back to the beginning. I now have marching ants and then I press my Delete key to erase the selection. I turn off the marching ants with Ctrl+D (or Select> Deselect). For the other two prongs, I repeat the same process and then add a style to the crown. I’m using ScrapSimple Tools: Styles – Grunged Metals – Zinc.

 

Continuing with my theme, I’m using a digital layout template. I make my background paper layer active (highlighted blue) by clicking on it in the Layers Palette. I open the pieces to the template and then select the Move Tool. To place each piece as designed, I hold down the Shift key as I drag the piece onto my layout. I layer the pieces in this order: grass, path, castle, cloud 1, with cloud 2 on top (I chose not to use the water section). I’m using ScrapSimple Digital Layout Template - Layered: Storybook Castle – Far 12x12.

 

I don’t like how everything in the template is hiding behind my niece. I move the clouds around until I like their placement. Since the castle, path, and grass relate to each other, I want to move them as a group. In the Layers Palette, I Shift+Click on the layers and use the left arrow key to slide all of them to the left.

 

On the Layers Palette, I click on the eyeball of the photo layer to make it invisible.

 

I can see the grass needs to be extended. With the Eyedropper, I choose the main color of the grass section.

 

I make the grass layer active. I select the Rectangle Tool and choose “Unconstrained” from the drop-down menu. I click and drag the mouse to make a rectangle large enough to cover the gap and slightly overlap the grass layer.

 

Layer> Rasterize> Shape to rasterize the rectangle. Then I select both the rectangle and grass layers in the Layers Palette and Ctrl+E to merge them.

 

With the grass layer active, I drag green paper onto my layout. I want to cover the whole grass shape without the little grass details. With the green paper layer active, I Ctrl+Click on the grass thumbnail which selects that entire layer with marching ants. Now I use Shift+Ctrl+I (or Select> Inverse) to reverse this selection (have marching ants on the part I want to be erased). I hit the Delete key (or Ctrl+X). Now the green paper is the same shape as the grass template. I turn off the marching ants with Ctrl+D. I’m using Bella – Paper 6.

 

Using the same method as the grass, I put paper on the path. For the clouds, I drag a cream paper on top of each cloud and use Ctrl+Alt+G (Ctrl+G in PSCS or PSE 3 or 4) to make a clipping mask. For the castle, I use the Rectangle Marquee Tool to select a small piece of brown paper and use the Move Tool to drag it onto my layout. I put it on the layer above the castle. Then, I click on the eyeball of the brown paper to make it invisible.

 

With the brown paper invisible and the castle layer active, I choose the Magic Wand Tool with the settings of Tolerance: 0, Anti-Alias: checked, and Contiguous and Sample All Layers unchecked. I click on the castle wall and see the marching ants. Then, I use Shift+Ctrl+I (or Select> Inverse) to reverse the selection.

 

In the Layers Palette, I click the eyeball for the brown paper to make it visible and also make the brown paper layer active. Now, I click my Delete key (or use Ctrl+X) to erase part of the paper. The castle wall is now covered. I complete the rest of the castle in the same way as the castle wall (but don’t cover the door, windows, and flag poles.) I do not merge the castle layers, so that I can add drop shadows later. In the Layers Palette, I make the photo layer visible again. I’m using Sweet Words (Brown Solid and Tan Solid), Journey (Text), Xtreme Teen: Skateboard (Concrete), Love Always (Brown Frame) and Altered Art (Past).

 

After adding a journaling box and text, I want to dress it up a bit. I’m using Lettering Delights Fancy Folks and Painter’s Hand Fonts, Cottage Quilt – Tile, ScrapSimple Tools: Styles – Grunged Metals 4101 – Brass, and ScrapSimple Tools: Styles – Glitter Brights 4101 – Aqua & Rose.

 

I like the scrollwork of the journaling frame, but don’t want the lines. I use the Rectangle Marquee Tool to select the top scroll and the Move Tool to drag it onto my layout. With the bottom scroll, I repeat the process. I’m using All About Marriage – Journal Frame 1.

 

To make the scrolls stand out more, I select them both in the Layers Palette with Shift+Click, then right-click and select "Duplicate Layers" from the menu. In the pop-up box I click "OK."

 

To make the journaling, scrolls and label all line up, I select all nine layers in the Layers Palette, then I click "Align Horizontal Centers" from the Options Bar. I also add a style to the scrolls. I’m using ScrapSimple Tools: Styles – Metals 1801-6.

 

To add a bit of “bling” to the crown, I find jewels I like on some paperclips. Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, I select the jewel from the clip and see marching ants. Using the Move Tool, I slide the jewel onto my layout. I repeat the process with the other jewels. I’m using Tangerine Dream – blue, orange, and pink clips.

 

I make two more copies of the blue jewels to finish off the crown.

To complete my layout, I add drop shadows to the layers.

Layout by Marnie Adams
larger view

	Note: Commercial license versions of Lettering Delights Fancy Folk Font, Lettering Delights Painter's Hand Font, ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: Crowns 2101, ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates - Layered: Storybook Castles, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Glitter Brights Super Biggie 4101, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Grunged Metals Super Biggie 4101 and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Metal 1801 are also available.

Tutorial written by Marnie Adams