Tutorial: How to Make a Printable Doorknob Hanger

Tutorial created using Abobe Photoshop CS3 with Mac OSX 10

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to make a Printable Doorknob Hanger. These are a fun way for kids to make a statement about their rooms or personalities. They also make great party favors!

First, make a rectangle that is 3.5-inches wide x 8-inches high on its own layer in Photoshop. Fill it in black using the Paint Bucket Tool. Then, make a circle selection using your Circle Marquis Selection Tool. I made mine approximately one inch down from the top. The circle selection should be approximately 2.125 inches around. Then delete the circle. You will now have a hole with the transparent background showing through. Use this as your template.

Next, open a pretty background paper. I used a pink star paper from the Sleepover Collection. Clip the background paper into the black rectangle by holding down the Option key (Alt on a PC) until you see the two little circles form between the layers. (Background paper layer should be on top of rectangle layer, as you are clipping into the rectangle layer.)

Next, choose the photograph that you would like to use on your printable doorknob hanger. Drag and drop this photo and place it where you would like on the rectangle. I used the Eraser Tool and a large soft brush with Opacity lowered to erase and soften the edges of the photo. Then I made an adjustment layer to play around with filters. The adjustment layer box is the fourth box from the left at the bottom of the Layers Palette. Adjustment layers are great… no commitment involved! You can make a bunch of them to play around with filters and still be able to go back to your original photo. Just delete the adjustment layers (or hide by clicking on the eye icon in the Layers Palette) that you are not happy with. I wound up posterizing my photo at a level of 3 using an adjustment layer.

Now it’s time to add some fun embellishments! I chose a zebra-filled heart and the word “Rockstar” from Sleepover Collection because don’t we all secretly want to be a Rock Star? Then I added, “Do not Disturb” on top of my Printable Door Knob Hanger in a grunge-style font. I gave that a drop shadow using a dark pink from my background as the shadow color. I added in some more stars, changing the brush size and Opacity of my star brush as I went along. I printed mine on glossy photo paper.

Finally, I took my craft knife and carefully cut out the printable doorknob hanger. About halfway through the circle, I cut in and around it. There you have it! A Printable Doorknob Hanger. If you are making these as a party favor, you can swap out pictures to personalize for each child. The Printable Doorknob Hanger is a hit! All kids love their privacy!

This tutorial uses:
Sleepover Collection
http://store.scrapgirls.com/product/23633/Sleepover-Collection

Tutorial written by Kathleen Szatmary
http://www.scrapgirls.com/AboutUs/AU_KathleenSzatmary.html