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I was asked recently to show, step by step, how to create a digital scrapbooking layout using one of our ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates. I have chosen to demonstrate this with one of our Layer It Up templates, as it will allow me to show you the concept repeatedly.
The truly nice thing about using these digital scrapbooking templates is that you are pretty much guaranteed that you will have a nicely laid out scrapbooking layout because they have been created by experienced scrapbookers. And they are really fast to put together as well, once you have the concept down.
I need to say that I am demonstrating this in Photoshop, but the steps are exactly the same for Photoshop Elements. Folks who are using Paint Shop Pro will have to use their method of cutting and copying backgrounds out of a shape and Digital Image Pro folks will have to use the Fill with Photo method. Perhaps, another day I'll demonstrate those as well. The main idea for this particular digital scrapbooking template is to demonstrate how you can fill them with color or use can use the shapes to easily cut how a background using them as the equivalent of a digital "paper cutter."
Here's the layout that I will be demonstrating.
The first thing I do is select my main focus photograph. In this case, I have chosen a striking photo I took of a white rose nestled in the middle of a bush that turns fiery red each autumn. It is simply one of our favorite sights each fall and we look forward to seeing it happen.
Next, I open the background template. You can tell it is the background because it pretty much fills up the entire page.
After that, I create a new 12x12 transparent 300 dpi document. I do this as a matter of habit and never work on top of my original background paper or template. This prevents me from accidentally ruining the original because I have a unbreakable habit of saving everything with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S as I work. (Yes, this is a PC thing. I imagine that the Mac has a similar shortcut, but I don't know exactly what that would be, as I am not a Mac user.)
By the way, this is a good habit to build as there is nothing worse than getting a long way into your layout and then having your computer freeze up and losing your work. The Ctrl+S habit prevents this from occurring.
Next I slide the template over to my new document using the Move Tool. Photoshop automatically creates a new layer, so if you look in the Layers Palette (at the bottom right hand corner), you will see the original transparent layer and the template layer. The template layer is highlighted, indicating that this layer is active.
If you are using Paint Shop Pro, you have to copy and paste your template into your new document. Digital Image Pro people don't do it this way at all, but they use the Insert File from Computer command to get the template into their layout. (I won't keep repeating this information over and over again, as that would get boring!)
Because I have already decided that I want the background of my layout to be white, I use the Paint Bucket Tool to dump color in my template and that does it.
Next, I move my photo into my layout and then move it underneath the template so that the photo is peeking out through the window. I resize the photo so that it looks right to me.
The next thing I am going to work on is cutting out one of the layers that will go on top of the photo. It will use the Layout Template, but I need to pick out a paper to use. I decide to use one of Tonya Doughty's Carnivale Papers. Pretty, huh?
Using the Move Tool, I slide the paper on top of my layout.
Now, I open the shape from the template that I want to use to "cut" out of the paper.
I slide the template shape on top of my layout and then move it so that it is UNDERNEATH the paper that I want to cut out. If you will look at my Layers Palette, you will see the template shape and see that it is underneath the paper.
Here's a closer view of the Layers Palette. Notice that I have now selected the paper layer by clicking on it and it is highlighted. This is critical because I am going to tell Photoshop to cut it out like the shape underneath it next. See the template shape underneath the paper layer? It is Layer 5.
To cut it out, I am going to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G (Mac users use Cmd+G). Hit the two keys at the same time. This works for both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. If you happen to have Photoshop CS2, though, you have to hit Ctrl+Alt+G at the same time, as Adobe changed the command slightly. Another way to do it is use the "long way" which is to go to Layer> Create Clipping Mask.
I would highly recommend that you memorize the keyboard shortcut, though, as this is one of the most useful things you will learn to do!
Now, see how the paper is the shape of the template? Cool. Bang, it happened. It's just like getting a paper punch and punching out a shape. (You can tell that I paper scrap too, huh?) I just love this.
Anyway, we have to tell the software to make the shape "stick" or it won't stay in place. The easiest way to do that is this. Turn off all of the other layers (all of the layers except the template shape and the paper that is now the template shape) so that you can't see them. To do that you just click on the little eyes on the left side. You will notice that the paper has a little arrow pointing down to the template shape. This is because we haven't told the software to keep the shape yet.
Now hit the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac users use the Command key) and the two things will merge together and your paper is now the shape permanently. Another way to do this is go to Layer> Merge Visible. Either way works, but I love those shortcuts. It's easier once you learn them.
Now notice that we only have four layers. That is because we merged the template shape and the paper shape.
I'll keep doing this several times until I get all of the template shapes cut out. I personally always turn all of the layers back on so that I can see them in between adding new layers so that I can tell if I like how things are looking. If you don't like a paper you selected, no problem. You can just pop another paper on top of the paper shape you just cut out and cut out another one from that! You do not have to open the original template shape again.
In this view, you can see that I've opened a second template shape.
Now, I've moved it below the first shape that I cut out because that is where I want it to end up.
I open another paper from Tonya's Carnivale Paper Set and move it over on top of the new template shape. This is the critical thing. The paper you are going to cut out has to be on TOP of the template shape.
Here's a close up of that. Now, again, I have selected the paper by clicking on it (see how that layer is highlighted?) and it is ready to cut out.
I use the keyboard short cut Ctrl+G (Ctrl+Alt+G for PSCS2 users) and the shape is cut out. See the arrow pointing down? That means the shape has been cut out, but the merging together isn't finished yet. Also notice that I have turned off the other layers so that I can't see them. I did this by clicking on the eyes. This is critical because anything that I can see will be merged together and I don't want anything but the paper and the shape to merge.
Now I have merged them together.
Next, I simply turn back on all of the layers and I can see how it turned out.
I repeat these steps to get the yellow strip across the bottom, as that is also a template shape. Then I embellish it using a brad and some stitching and date stamp brushes, a title with Tonya's Itty Bitty Alpha, add a little drop shadowing, and the layout is complete.
Layout by Ro
larger view
Tutorial by Ro
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