This free digital scrapbooking tutorial was created using Adobe Photoshop CS with Windows, but should be able to be adapted easily to other systems. If you have questions about how to do this, just ask on our message board!

Locate the drive where your Photoshop or Photoshop Elements software is installed. Mine is installed on the C drive. Click on “Local Disk (C:).”

 

Choose “Program Files.”

 

Chose “Adobe.”

 

Choose the software in which you wish to organize your brush files. I am going to organize my “Photoshop CS” brush files.

 

Choose “Presets.”

 

Choose “Brushes.”

 

I am now in my brush file folder. You will see that I have a lot of brush files installed.

 

If I choose to just use this long list of brush files from within Photoshop, it would look like this.

This is what I have been doing. But I have to admit that it is getting kind of hard to use this way when I am digitally scrapbooking and I have a lot more brushes that I would like to install. So for the purpose of this tutorial, I'll organize them today!

 

First, I'll create a set of folders that I want to file my digital scrapbooking brushes in. I'm creating my particular set of folders based on my experience of the types of brushes that our designers usually create.

 

Next, I highlight the brushes that I want to file. (You can select individual files by holding down your Ctrl key on PCs and Command key on Macs and clicking on the brush file names.) I'll just drag them into the correct folder after that.

 

If you are not sure what a brush set is about as you are filing, just go into your software and look at the brush set image or use it to stamp on a background.

You can rename a brush set if you have created something with a name that is confusing. If you have purchased a brush set, it is recommended that you NOT rename the file as the file names generally are set up to allow you to understand who created them and what the brush set is all about.

 

In this instance, I created a neat border brush set one day and named it something ridiculous (“NewBrushesMay2005.abr”), which was the month I created it. No wonder I forgot about the brush!

 

As you file, you will likely find new themes you need for your folders and may slightly rename your existing folders. Here is what I ended up with after I filed everything. See how neat and tidy it looks?

 

To locate a brush file that you wish to use, go to your “Load Brush” area of your brush commands. This window pops up.

 

Click into the folder that you wish to pick a brush from. Here, I am in my “Layer Your Own” brush folder. I going to select Mandy Steward's ScrapSimple Layer Your Own Striped Ribbons Brush Set. Select it and hit “Load.” The brush set is now available for you to use.

When you want to install new brushes, just put your new ABR file into the correct folder. It's that simple. But remember, in order to get your new brush set to show up automatically, you have to restart Photoshop.

 

Photoshop Elements

 

Everything works exactly the same way for you, except your “Presets” list looks like this.

Digital Scrapbook Layout by Valerie Randall
larger view

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Ink Trails, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Seersucker Linens, Brush Set: CookBook Stains Biggie, and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Jelly 2101 are also available.

Free digital scrapbooking tutorial written by Ro.

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