Woo Hoo! Tiff here with my very first challenge… hopefully you like it as much as I do!

The instructions here are for Photoshop, The techniques may be slightly different depending on your program.

Find something you’d like to make into a sticker. For my page, I extracted myself out of a picture, but you could do any element, draw a shape and clip something to it, or even make your own word art for a title. Just use the type tool and then rastersize the type.

1. Add a stroke. Click the little fx icon at the bottom of the layers palette, and choose Stroke. (My background is blue so you can better see the stroke).

2. I chose 35 px, an outside stroke, and I changed the color to pure white. Just click on the color box and choose your color.

3. If we just added a drop shadow, it would be hidden under the stroke. We need to make the stroke part of the original layer. Check to see that your original layer is chosen, and then go to Layer > Layer Style > Create Layer. Now you should have two layers: one being your photo/element, and the other is the stroke.

3 a. I forgot to get a print screen of this, but you need to combine the two layers into one. Click the top one (mine is the photo of me), and hit Ctrl + E. It will merge the two layers into one.

4. Now add a drop shadow. (Click the little fx at the bottom of the layers palette again and this time choose drop shadow.)

Now just drag your “sticker” layer into your layout.

Here’s my finished layout:
(using BFF by wm[squared])

And here’s another one I did – this time changing the colors of the stroke:
(using Couch Potato by Jennifer Labre and Vintage Summer Bonus Alpha by wm[squared])

Here is some more amazing inspiration from the lovely creative team:

Kendall (kendallt) made her title into a sticker to help it stand out a little more:
(using Spring into Easter by Jady Day Studio & Sweet Spring Templates 1 by True Blue Studio)

Amanda (dznyscrapper) made her title and date into a stickers, and I love how even a small stroke and drop shadow can makes them stand out:

(using XoXo by Amy Stoffel, Handwritten Dates by Haynay and Just 4 Mom Templates by KimB)

Are you inspired to make some stickers? I can’t wait to see them… And if you have any questions… don’t hesitate to comment or PM me! I’m happy to help!

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of March to complete this challenge for March MOS points or wait to post in April for April MOS points!

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Hiya everyone! Melissa (profiler_mar) here with some fun and EASY tricks I use to enhance my photos. Easy is always good, right?? =) These tips are for PSE 8, but I imagine they are pretty easily adaptable for other programs.

First, open your photo in PSE. On the right, above the effects bar, you have three tabs that say: Edit, Create, and Share. Click on the Edit drop down menu and select Guided. This brings up a detailed menu with several options to edit your photo. Go to the second section, that says Lighting and Exposure. Select Lighten or Darken. Your screen should look like this:

Now play around with the sliders until you get a look you want. For my image, Nik had a shadow across his face. So first, I selected Lighten Shadows and increased that to 39. Next, I always adjust the midtone contrast, because it really makes the photo pop. On this photo, I selected 39 as well. I rarely go past 40. So now my photo looks like this:

Go down to the bottom right side of the screen and click on Done. This will bring you back to the Guided Edit Menu. Now choose Brightness and Contrast. Again, since there is a shadow on this photo, I am going to Brighten it first. Using the slider I adjust to 30. Next, I adjust the Contrast to 20, to bring a nice pop to the photo as well. Now my photo looks like this:

Now go back to your Edit Menu and select Edit Full. You could be done here if you wanted, the photo looks really good right now. But I am going to show you one more trick that helps make photos shine. This trick can be used separate from, or along with the Guided Edit.

First, duplicate your photo layer to create a new layer. With the top layer selected, go to Enhance>Adjust Color>Remove Color. This will turn your top image black and white.

Next, select Filter>Other>High Pass. Your screen will now look like this:

Adjust the Radius to 250.0 pixels and click ok.Now go to the right, to your layers menu. With the top layer still selected, choose an overlay that gives you the effect you want for your photo. I chose Soft Light and adjusted the opacity to 60%.

When you are happy with the image, merge the two layers together, and you are done!

So here is my photo before:

And here it is after:

Now wasn’t that easy?? And it looks really good too! Now we will get a little more advanced. I am going to talk about adjustment layers, which are another fun way to make your photos shine.

So, here is my photo:

Here it is after using Guided Edit to bump up the contrast:

When I am using adjustment layers, I do not do the High Pass filter. So now we are ready to play!

At the bottom of your screen in PSE, beneath the layers menu, is a circle icon that is half black and half white:

Click on it and it will show a menu. Select Gradient Map. This will create a new layer with a fill color. Whatever color you have been recently using in PSE will show up, but if you click on the color drop down box, you can chose any color gradient you like. I usually use black and white.

Now, go to the layers menu on the right and select a filter for the gradient layer. I usually use Soft Light. Then, adjust the opacity until you get your desired result. And wow! Look, your photo really pops right?!

Now, let’s say you want to make your photo warmer or cooler, or you just want to play around some more to see what looks you can get. I will show you one more adjustment layer I like to use. =)

Going back to the adjustment layer icon, this time select photo filter. Your screen will look like this:

Click on the filter menu drop down box:

You will see there are three warming filters, three cooling filters, and several colors. I chose warming filter (81). There is a slider to adjust the density of the color, which you can see is a mustard yellow. I increased the density to 61% and achieved a nice, buttery look to the photo:

But let’s say you want to try a cool filter. I will play with one now to see what we get! Using cooling filter (80) and a density of 60% I get this fun, moody look for the photo:

So play around, experiment, and find which settings work for you! Your challenge is to use at least one of the tips above on a photo and scrap it!

Here is some awesome inspiration from the super-talented CT:

From Sarah, using Mulberry Fields and Mullberry Fields Family Word Art by KimB Designs and Scraps By Number: Yours Truly by Stolen Moments Designs:

From Kim, using Bits and Bots by Stolen Moments and Nikki Beaudreau; and Retro Clear Alpha and Peek-a-Boos by Stolen Moments:

From Heather, using E-I-E-I-O Combo and Double Your Fun 2-page Templates, both by Chelle’s Creations:

From Chel using Serendipity by Plum Dumpling Designs:

From Kendall using Color Me Happy by Jenn Labre:

Reminders:

-You have until the end of March to post your entry. Be sure to post it to the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum.

-No double-dipping! This challenge CANNOT be combined with any other ScrapMatters challenge or Speed Scrap. Your layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You can earn an extra point for using any new ScrapMatters product during the first week of its release. Be sure to note the new product in your layout description and your post in the thread on the forum. In order to get your bonus point, it does need to be noted on your forum post.

-You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we like it when you do.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it can be to make your photos shine, without actions or presets. I can’t wait to see what you create!!

You know those neat layouts where there is a section (or sections) of the photo that they make just POP? Or those cool layouts where the photos look like a set of offset tiles? Well this tutorial will teach you how to achieve that effect.

First open the photo or photos you are going to use on your layout. Find a photo that you really love the whole photo but that also has something in it that you really want to stand out.

Now, open a blank 3600×3600 (like you do to start a layout) and paste your photo(s) into it. Position your photo on your layout. Then click on your Marquee tool in your tool box. Draw a selection around the item in your photo you want to highlight or pop up.

Now press Ctrl-J to make a new layer from your selection. This will make a new layer out of your selection and will not affect the original photo layer. Repeat this process as many times as you like, making sure you are on the original photo layer when drawing out your marquee.

Now add a drop shadow to really make your selection pop! The larger the shadow, the further off the page your selection will appear to be. Try different setting, play and have fun!

And here is what I created using Erica Zane’s What’s Cooking Bundle:

Check out the fun our creative team had using this simple method:

Cara:

Using Chelle’s Creations: Fetch That

Bonnie:

Using – That’s Not My Clover Kit & Add-On; & D.B. Wannabes v.2 by Erica Zane; & Doodle-Its: Borders Bundle by Jennifer Labre

Kim:

Using: The Places You’ll Go and Precious Alphabet from Amy Stoffel

Chel:

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in the appropriate thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of March 2011 to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Can’t wait to see what you create!!

Hi Ladies! Bonnie here with this week’s Saturday Special! This is my first time hosting this challenge, so I hope you all enjoy it! For this week, we’re going to be taking some inspiration from RL crafting & learning how to create a Sprayed Mask effect.

If any of you are also into crafting computer-free like I am, you’ve probably heard of this technique. As I was just doing this the other day, I started thinking how cool it would be to do it on my digital layouts. So I launched Photoshop & started playing. You can use this look for masking elements, alphas, overlays, papers, shapes…pretty much anything you want. As is most everything with PS, this is just one way of creating this effect. In writing this tutorial, it became evident how much different PS & PSE are when attempting this effect. So, for all you PSE users out there, I created a tutorial just for you which you can find if you scroll down.
You’re welcome.

You can click on any of the images below to see full-sized versions.

IF YOU USE PHOTOSHOP:
The first thing you want to do is choose what you want to mask. I used a heart lace doily from Erica Zane’s Love Happens Kit. Open the image in Photoshop or Elements & drag it onto a new page. You may find it easiest to mask over whatever paper you’re planning to use (I used Krafty Papers by Happy Scrap Girl), but you don’t have to.

Next, create a new layer for the spray mask. It doesn’t matter whether it’s above or below your element.

Control/Command + Click the icon of your element to select it (“marching ants” will appear around it). Go to Select > Inverse from the menu (or use the hotkey Shift + Control/Command + i). You can choose to hide the element now if you’d like by clicking the eye next to the element’s icon.

Choose your brush tool from the toolbar (the hotkey is B). The effect will look different depending on what brush tip you choose. Open your brush palette and choose a brush shape. The scatter brushes work the best for this technique. You can select one you already have, or do a search for Photoshop Spray Brushes & download some.

Once you’ve chosen your brush, check the Enable Airbrush Mode in your palette under ‘Brush Tip Shape’ (you should also see it in the Brush Menu along the top of your program). Play with the settings until you get the desired look you want. (See more on that here).

Make sure the new layer you’d created for the spray mask is selected. With quick, short bursts of clicking & dragging your brush, “spray” over the selection (the “marching ants”). I’ve found that the outcome looks much better if you spray from different angles & alter the direction you start your dragging. If you use something open or detailed (like the doily I used) make sure to spritz in the center of the selection to include all the detail.

If you’re not sure how things are turning out, you can hit Control/Command + D to deselect the selection so you can get a clearer picture of how it looks. If you still want to add more spritzing, hit Control/Command + Z to undo the deselecting & continue spraying with your brush.

When you’re finished spraying, deselect your selection. Drag the original element to the trash can to delete it from your layout as you won’t need it anymore. You can now give your mask some varying effects by changing the blend mode, adding a layer style, or changing the opacity.

Try adding a soft Bevel & Emboss style to it to give it a painted look (double click the layer in the layers palette to enable the effect)…

…or change the blend mode to give it a inked or bleached look.

If it’s too dark on your layout, soften it by decreasing the blend opacity or the fill opacity.
If it’s not bold enough, try changing the color of the “ink” or making a duplicate copy of the layer.

IF YOU USE ELEMENTS:
The first thing you want to do is choose what you want to mask. I used a heart lace doily from Erica Zane’s Love Happens Kit. Open the image in Elements & drag it onto a new page. You may find it easiest to mask over whatever paper you’re planning to use (I used Krafty Papers by Happy Scrap Girl), but you don’t have to.

Next, go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer for the spray mask (or use the hotkey command Shift + Command + N). It doesn’t matter whether the new layer is above or below your element, but do make it above your paper. LOL.

Control/Command + Click the icon of your element to select it (“marching ants” will appear around it). Go to Select > Inverse from the menu (or use the hotkey Shift + Control/Command + i). You can choose to hide the element now if you’d like by clicking the eye next to the element’s icon.

Choose your brush tool from the toolbar (the hotkey is B). Open your brush palette and choose a brush shape. The scatter brushes work the best for this technique. You can select one you already have, or do a search for Photoshop Spray Brushes & download some.

Once you’ve chosen your brush, check the Set to Enable Airbrush Capabilities button in your brush menu (you should see it along the top of your program). Play with the brush dynamic settings until you get the desired look you want. (See more on that here).

Make sure the new layer you’d created for the spray mask is selected. With quick, short bursts of clicking & dragging your brush, “spray” over the selection (the “marching ants”). I’ve found that the outcome looks much better if you spray from different angles & alter the direction you start your dragging. If you use something open or detailed (like the doily I used) make sure to spritz in the center of the selection to include all the detail.

This effect will look different depending on what brush tip you choose. For my example, I used the “Rough Round Bristle” on the left, and the “Dry Brush” on the right. See how different they turn out?

If you’re not sure how things are turning out, you can hit Control/Command + D to deselect the selection so you can get a clearer picture of how it looks. If you still want to add more spritzing, hit Control/Command + Z to undo the deselecting & continue spraying with your brush.

When you’re finished spraying, deselect your selection. Drag the original element to the trash can to delete it from your layout as you won’t need it anymore. You can now give your mask some varying effects by changing the blend mode, adding a layer style, or changing the opacity.

Try adding a soft Bevel style to it to give it a raised, painted look (NOTE: I’ve discovered this effect works much better in PS than PSE, but maybe I’m doing something wrong as I don’t ever use PSE… just in case you want to try it anyway, I’ve included the steps). Go to your effects palette on the right or under Window > Effects. Select the Layer Styles icon & then Bevel from the drop down menu. It appears “Simple Sharp Inner” is the only one that looks decent for this; it’s the fourth from the bottom.

To add an Emboss (which totally altered my color), go to Filter > Stylize > Emboss. This especially looked good on the heavier masked side (the right), only I couldn’t figure out how to get it to use the effect while still keeping my original color…

Double click the FX icon to the right of the layer to change some of the default settings for these effects.

You can also change the blend mode to give it a inked or bleached look.

If it’s too dark on your layout, soften it by decreasing the blend opacity or the fill opacity.
If it’s not bold enough, try changing the color of the “ink” or making a duplicate copy of the layer.
Have fun with this!

Here’s the page I made:
I used the technique on the doily and also on a couple of alpha characters to incorporate it into my title.

((using: Love Happens by Erica Zane; Krafty Papers, & Curvaceous Temples & Text Paths by Happy Scrap Girl))

& here’s some inspiration from our fabulous CT:

Melissa (profiler_mar) made these adorable scalloped hearts:

((using: What’s Cooking? The Whole Batch by Erica Zane))

Liz (mommy22girls) created these fabulous snowflake cutouts & title:

((using: Say It Ain’t Snow! by Erica Zane))

Becca (beca372) made these beautifully subtle florals:

((using: Happy Days Kit, Add-On, & Word Art by LDrag; & Fabulously Negative Vol. 6 Templates by WM[squared]))

Day (day) created All Boy:

((using Alex In Paperland by Erica Zane))

Some Challenge Reminders:
>>This challenge runs through the end of March, you’ll have until then to post your layout.
>>Remember, no double-dipping! Your layout must be unique to this challenge.
>>If you post your completed layout by February 28th, your points will be counted toward your February MOS Points earnings. If you post in March, you’ll have until the end of March for your points to be counted toward your March MOS Points!
>>You will receive one point for uploading your layout to <a href="http://scrapmatters.com/gallery3/showgallery.php/cat/503"]The Saturday Special Gallery & posting it in the forum.
>>You can earn an extra point for using any new ScrapMatters product during the first week of its release. (It too must be unique & only used for this challenge to count as an extra point). Please make a note of what new product(s) you used in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!
>>You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we sure do love it when you do!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, & thanks so much for playing along! I can’t wait to see what you create!!
~Bonnie

Happy Saturday to everyone!  Jan (QuiltyMom) here with you for another Saturday Special.  Today we will learn more about creating lovely panoramic photos from multiple pictures.

A while back Mary (Plum Dumpling Designs) hosted a Saturday Special on using panoramic photos in a page. The page I made used a panoramic that I had pieced together from three different photos, and she mentioned that I should host a Saturday Special on how I do it. So, here it is!

Note: When I started this tutorial I had no idea that there were programs that actually merged photos together for you, so this is for those people who would need to do it step-by-step.  I use StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0, which does not have this feature.  Bonnie (cursivesmile) was kind enough to put together a tutorial for Photomerge for you who have that program and still need to figure out how to use it. To keep this post from being longer than it already is, you can find her tutorial here.

There are times when I go places that taking just one photo of a scene just isn’t enough where you can’t fit everything into one photo, so I try my best to take a series of photos along a “horizon like” that I can use to piece and blend together to try and recreate the scene. It’s best if you don’t use a wide angle to snap the photos, because the wider the angle of your lens the more distortion on the edges of the photo there will be. But don’t worry about it too much if you haven’t, or if you forget to do it. You can still work with the photos. Make sure you overlap the edges of the photos so they can be blended in your scrapbooking program later on.

My one disclaimer about this tutorial is this: Don’t worry if your newly created panoramic photo isn’t “perfect.” Sometimes it will happen, other times it won’t. Remember the only person who knows this is YOU, and really, nothing has to match if you don’t want it to, either. Have fun with it and see what you can come up with.

In short, you will 1) choose your photos, 2) place them in order on the page, 3) edit so they match as much as possible, 4) line them up, 5) cut blended edges, 6) flatten together, and 7) trim (optional).

Place your photos on the page in order from left to right, then if necessary, edit the photos so they match as closely as possible in color, size of subject matter, horizon line, etc. This will make the blending much easier. Bring some of the photos to a 50% opacity level and overlap them in a rough panorama. Choose a focal point and/or horizon line to align them as best as possible, something that will matter the most to make the best seamless blend possible.

In my example you’ll see I’ve chosen the mountain edge as my guide for that is the focal point of the scene. On one side I’ve chosen a little dip in the mountain to fine tune the alignment; on the other a crook in the tree. There will be distortion at the edges of the photos, so you will be looking to find the point where you will want to make the blends for the most seamless transition.

When you’re happy with the arrangement, bring all the photos back to 100% opacity, make a copy of the photos, group and hide them just in case you make a mistake later on that can’t be fixed.

(You will only be blending the edge of the top photo. It isn’t necessary to make a blended cut on the bottom photo since it will be hidden.) Find the center point for a blend.

Using the blended edge on the straight edge cutter, place the median line for the blend cut on this center line, widening the blend amount as necessary, and cut. This takes some experimentation, so use your “undo” feature until you’re satisfied. Some photos will take a larger blended edge than others – it all depends upon the visual matter.

(You’ll notice that the tree branches don’t match up. This is when you ask yourself, do you really care? If it doesn’t bother you, then it’s good enough.)

Here is the other blend:

Repeat this for every edge where necessary.

Once you have everything the way you like it, flatten together the photos so they become one piece. Then trim the top and bottom edges – and you’re all done! (ETA: The final trimming of the photo is optional, especially if you would be trimming away important parts of the photo by doing so. Karen’s page, below, shows how she creatively displayed her un-trimmed panoramic photo.)

Here is my page with the final panoramic photo. I used Back to Nature by Mye DeLeon and Curvaceous Templates and Text Paths by Happy Scrap Girl.

And here are the wonderful pages made by our very talented Creative Team:

Karen (bydelstorp) created this lovely page. I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing her secret about her gorgeous photo, either. Since she wouldn’t have been able to crop the panoramic without cutting out important parts of the image, she brilliantly chose to cover the steps created by the photo merge with curved papers. Thanks for the tip, Karen! She used Bedazzled by LDrag Designs and Bend in the Road (altered) by Stolen Moments Designs.

Fiona (canadianmommy) Made a 2pager with hers, combining her photos with photomerge in CS4. She used Ho!Ho!Ho! and Double the Fun Templates by Chelle’s Creations:

Amanda (dznyscrapper) created this getting ready for Disney page with Photomerge, using Stolen Moments Makin’ Me Happy and Happiest Addon:

This darling softball page by Kelli (kellig) is made with Fuss Free Week by Week Set 1 by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs; and Batter Up, Batter Up: Black, and Batter Up: Softball; Kick It (alpha) by Chelle’s Creations:

Bonnie (cursivesmile) made this gorgeous page (check out that view!) using Imagination Creation Mega Collection by Stolen Moments & Studio Flergs:

Challenge reminders:

• You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!
• You have until the end of February to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.
• Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.
• You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

I can’t wait to see what you create!  – Jan

Good morning and HAPPY Saturday! I always love trying new ways to add focus to my pictures and found a new one (for me anyway) that I simply love! Blurring the background of your photo…

First open your editing software and the picture you are going to use. Next select the Magnetic Lasso Tool from your toolbar:

Using your magnetic lass tool outline the image you want to focus on (the part that will not be blurred)

When you have you image selected you might need to make a few corrections, so zoom in on your picture and use the Quick Selection Tool:

When you have all of your image selected…

You might want to expand the selection just a little bit so it’s not right on the edge of your image. To do this go to Select>Modify>Expand> I only expanded 1 pixel

Then you will want to invert your selection to create the blur…to invert you need to go to Select>Inverse

Then you can create your blur. On mine I went to Filter>Blur>Gauissan Blur…but you can use any of the blurs you wish. Play around with it!

Here’s my final pic:

Here is my layout created with the picture above using So Silly by Amy Stoffel, BBQ Weather Bonus Alpha by WM[squared] Designs, and Alphlets by Stolen Moments:

and here is what the amazing SM CT girls created using this tut: (please check out the forum to see what each girl did to their picture)

Andrea:

Fiona:

Becky:

Tanya:

Aren’t they all simply AMAZING?!?! Can’t wait to see how this tutorial inspires YOU!

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in Saturday Special 2.12.11 thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of February to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Now….get scrapping!

Yes. I said it. Be selfish. And by that I mean, focus on yourself. As scrappers, we spend a LOT of time documenting the lives of our family and friends. It’s not often that we get behind the camera much less that we scrap pages about ourselves. I’ve read quite a few encouragements to do that over the past couple of years, and really didn’t think I was including myself that much . . . but apparently I’ve gotten selfish because a fellow scrapper noticed that I have a lot of ALL ABOUT ME pages in my gallery.

My challenge to you this week is to take this special Saturday and grab a photo of yourself and document something about just you. If you don’t have a photo, grab your camera and take one. No excuses ~ you can crop that baby down until just your eye is showing, or blend it into the background if you don’t like the way it looks. But honestly, your face needs to be in your albums so everyone knows who the incredible person that crafted all the other layouts is! There’s no limitation on subject matter, although I’m highly encouraging you to include some journaling, even just a few lines.

Here are a few (of the apparently many) of my pages I scrapped all about me:

Here is what our great creative team came up with

By Becky aka hoo-rah:

By Carina aka cinna:

By Kendall aka kendallt:

Challenge reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of January to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

If you have ever looked through my gallery you may have noticed the credits list on many of my layouts is usually quite long.  That is because I love mixing and matching my kits to scrap my pages. The reason for this may go back to my paper scrapping days. It was a necessity for me to mix and match all the different paper lines because my local scrapbook store didn’t carry a company’s entire line of products. So in order for me to scrap with more than just a few items on my page, I had to learn how to match up what I had. The first thing I usually do is complete the majority of my page using the kit I have chosen. I then go through my stash and look for what I think my layout is still needing. If you have your scrap supplies tagged, this step is pretty painless. If you don’t, it may make this a bit more challenging.  Since I’m working on a PC (and don’t have my stash completely tagged), I go to the folder with all my digital scrap supplies and do a search for whatever it is I’m looking for. As I find the items I want, I open them in my Photoshop Elements. One of the great things about digital scrapping is it doesn’t matter what color the items are because you can recolor them if you need to. Once I think I have found everything else I need, I go back to my layout and finish it, recoloring items as needed. My challenge for you is to step out of your kit and use at least 3 different products (kits, element pack, alphas, etc.) to create your page.

Here is my page using Jolly Holly Day by Chelle’s Creations, Jolly Holly Day Glitter Paper by Chelle’s Creations, Believe by WM Squared & Graham Like the Cracker, Mini Glitzy Alpha by Plum Dumpling Designs, Candy Coated Christmas by Stolen Moments and Dates go Round by Stolen Moments.

Here is what our great creative team came up with

Day used Winter Holiday by Inspirations from day, Joyeux Noel by Stolen Moments and by Becca, and tiny alpha by Inspirations from Day.

Heidi used A Girl’s Perfect Birthday by Jay Day Studios,  Double Page Set 5 by Armina Designs, Metal Chic Alpha by Jay Day Studios and EZ Date Strips by EZ.

Fran used Be Inspired – Becca v2 templates by WM[squared]Designs, Happy Easter Bundle by WM[squared] Designs, Family Matters by WM[squared] Designs and Graham Like the Cracker.

Emilee used Black Belt by Chelle’s  Creations, Dream a Little Dream by geniaBeana, Date Borders by Erica Zane, Aviator  by Stolen Moments.

Bonnie used Frosty by WM[squared] Designs, A Touch Of Winter by Erica Zane, Borderlines: Winter by Chelle’s Creations, Feelin’ Flakey by Trixie Scraps & Be Inspired: Jen D., Vol. 2 by WM[squared] Designs.

Challenge reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of January to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Today I’d like to talk about how to tone a photo to suit your layout. Sometimes we have awesome photos and we find the perfect kit. Then we get those beautiful color photos on the layout we’re working on and find that it’s all the wrong colors and tones for the kit we just had to have! Well, black and white can be really helpful but what if you really want to keep color?My solution is to tone the colors in my photo softly to fit my layout.

I’m going to start with a SOOC photo taken in RAW (doesn’t have to be RAW). Underexposed a bit but all the basis for a great layout.

Next I do my adjustments in Camera RAW in Adobe Photoshop or PSE. (tip! did you know you can adjust jpeg images in the RAW plugin too?) I make adjustments slightly to the white balance and exposure. I also like to bump up the vibrancy, but that’s a personal choice.

Now the steps are the same for PSE or PS users (all other users I’m sorry I don’t have access to the programs you use. Try to follow along!) Haze intentionally being added to soften the color of a photo is a big popular post-processing trend right now. Here is a simple way to do that.

First I create a levels adjustment layer and the only slider I will move is the black output levels. It’s this little slider under the levels graph on the left.

This level will not be the same based on your image. If you don’t want a haze skip to the next step.

Color tone in PS
I add a color fill layer with a light shade of the tone I want to give to my photo. Then I change the blend mode to soft light and lower the opacity to taste. You can experiment with blend modes to get different effects.

Here is the final toned image with a slight pinkish tint.

For more advanced users of both programs try adjusting the output levels of each color channel (rgb) in the layers adjustment menu. You can adjust the tone this way too!

Here is my layout using Chelle’s Beauty Within kit and Cheryl’s (gonewiththewind)
Fuss Free: Day by Day set 1

And here is the CT girls showing you how easy it is!

LeeAndra using our guest Micheline Martin’s 2011 Grab Bag

Becca using Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs Fuss Free: Week by Week set 1 and Micheline Martin’s 2011 Grab bag

Challenge reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in Saturday Special 1.15.11 thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of January 2011 to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Yay for another Saturday Special! Amber here {Stolen Moments} and this time around, I thought I’d take the opportunity to give you a few tricks regarding shadowing acrylic elements.. So many of the winter kits out there right now have them, and while many designers pre-shadow their acrylic elements, sometimes the angle doesn’t match with the rest of your layout, or it’s too dark or too light, depending on the other pieces of the kit you are using.. So – here we go..

You’ll notice that just applying a layer style or regular shadow to acrylic {or other translucent} elements doesn’t leave them crisp and clean underneath.. See how my 2 and the gears are grey underneath..

I’m going to show you 3 different techniques to beautify your acrylic shadows.. I’m using CS4, but between these different options, hopefully you’ll find something that will work with your program.. Before you start, make sure your elements are placed where you want them, as the angle you shadow them at is kind of permanent {without a redo} for some of these..

First option.. ctrl+click on the layer of your acrylic element to get the marching ants around it, and add a new layer directly beneath your element..

Choose a color for your shadow to be – I used 2d2316 in my sample – generally a softer color than straight black will look more realistic.. Now fill the new layer inside your marching ants with the color you’ve selected.. {I’ve hidden my element layer so it’s easier for you to see what’s going on..}

ACK! You’ll notice mine kept the dots from the original element.. No worries – some pieces will do this to you, and there is a workaround..

Undo so you have no marching ants, but you do have the new layer under your element.. Now, with your element layer selected, click with the magic wand tool anywhere outside the bounds of your element. Then use ctrl+i to invert your selection. This should give you the marching ants around your element again, but because we didn’t directly select it, the characteristics of the element {the dots} weren’t selected.. Now fill your color into the new layer inside the marching ants.. Vwallah!

Now – the rest of my shadows on the page are set at the angle -20, so I want my shadow layer to match with that.. Simply nudge your color filled layer a little bit in the direction the rest of your shadows are – in this case, up and to the left..

Obviously we can’t have that hard line there for our shadow to be realistic, so we’re going to tweak it a bit more.. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and play with the slider until you get the softness you like.. I used 6.3 here, but went back and made it a bit larger later on..

Once you have the softness you like, play around with the opacity and blend mode of the shadow layer until you find something you like.

Your final step of this technique is to get rid of the extra color directly beneath your element. To do this, ctrl+click the element to get the marching ants {you don’t have to do the workaround this time}. Then with your shadow layer selected, hit delete. You’re now left with a beautifully shadowed acrylic element! {If deleting the selection deletes your entire layer, try right clicking and choose Layer Via Cut. From there, you can delete the layer you just created with the cut.}

Second option… this one is a bit easier, but sometimes doesn’t work, depending on your program..

Without any layer styles added, duplicate your acrylic element and add your shadow to the bottom one. Then using the “fill” slider {underneath the “opacity” slider} take it all the way down to zero. This will essentially erase the element itself – and the grey underneath it – leaving the layer style there in all it’s beauty..

Just for fun, you can hide the top element to see what it looks like underneath..

Third option.. as far as I know, this only works in CS..

Add a layer style to your element. Then show the effects in your layers palette and right click on the drop shadow option. This will bring up a new menu, where you can select “Create Layer”.

You will get a pop-up box saying that “Some effect cannot be recreated, blahblahblah..” hit okay.

This essentially does for us what we labored over in the first option – creating a separate layer for our shadow.. So now, you need to ctrl+click to get the marching ants around your element, and with the new shadow layer selected, hit delete.

And one final step – with all of these techniques – is to link your new shadow layers to the elements themselves.. This makes repositioning them a breeze, and you won’t accidentally do anything to mess up the alignment. You do this by selecting both of your layers and either right-clicking and choosing “Link Layers” from the menu, or clicking the little link icon at the bottom of your layers palette.

I hope these little tutorials have been helpful to you.. Now go and conquer all acrylics that stand between you and greatness!

Here is my finished page, as well as some from our FABULOUS team!

using Bits & Bots and Retro Clear Alpha by Stolen Moments & Nikki Beaudreau Designs

by LeeAndra

using Magical Winterland by the SM Design Team and Happy Scrap Girl’s Acrylic Alpha

by Melissa – aka profiler_mar

using Bits & Bots and Retro Clear Alpha by Stolen Moments & Nikki Beaudreau Designs

A few rules to remember..

-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post.

-You have until the end of December to play along, then I’ll choose my favorite to receive an extra point.

-Remember no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Happy Scrapping!