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"Mike in Brazil" by Joann Brown
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
Something that I like to do to give a layout a feeling of cohesiveness is to make sure that my elements touch in a layout – either by overlapping them or nestling them up near another element. When things touch, your eye automatically is drawn around the page – from photo to element to photo, etc., and it gives a feeling of completion to a layout.
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
"Be You" by Ashleigh Bronner
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I can't create works of art with real watercolor paints, but by using brushes, layer masks, and blending modes, it's easy to create a digital watercolor masterpiece. In order to color the poppies on the paper from ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Tuscan Dream, I added a new layer on top of the template layer. Then I changed the Blending Mode of that new layer to "Color." I used Dynamic Brush Set: Drawing 5701 to brush purple and pink over the flowers. Because the colors are on a separate layer, it was easy to fix any mistakes I made without altering the actual template.
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Samantha Textured, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Tuscan Dream, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Background Blenders II Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Sketch It PS 8501 Mini, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Paper Textures, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Edgy, THIN, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Clarify 11301 Mini, Dynamic Brush Set: Paintstroke 5401, Brush Set: Grunge, Brush Set: Splotches and Dynamic Brush Set: Drawing 5701 are also available. |
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
"Bulletin Board" Desktop by Becca Hauck
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I tend to be a "clean and neat" type of scrapper, but I really admire the more cluttered, messy look of some of our members, Layout Team artists, and Product Designers. I wanted to try my hand at the messier look, but I didn't know how to start. (Lifelong habits of being a neat-freak are hard to break!) Then I realized there is one spot in my house that is always messy and always cluttered - the bulletin board in my kitchen! So in my effort to get messy, I tried to recreate my kitchen bulletin board and use it as a desktop wallpaper for the months of March and April. This layout is the result!
My use of ScrapSimple Paper Templates on this layout is very subtle. To grunge up the bulletin board paper from Trish Yochum's Pin It Up Collection Biggie, I placed the Swirls paper template from her ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Caffeinated above the background paper and then used a layer mask to hide the portions that overlapped the wooden frame of the bulletin board. Next, I changed the Blending Mode of the paper template to "Color Burn" and lowered the Opacity to 50%.
To make the quote on the white board side of my layout look more realistic, I typed my text using a color to match my layout. Above the text layer, I placed the Dimples paper template from Trish Yochum's ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Story Time, clipped it to my text, and changed its Blending Mode to "Overlay." Perfect! Now my quote has the light and dark shading that are normally found when you write with a dry erase marker!
If you'd like to learn more about using your digital scrapping stash to make your own desktop wallpaper, be sure to join Becca and Angela (angelaNussbuam) this Friday, March 25th at 6pm MT in the Scrap Girls' Chat Room!
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Lightroom 3
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
"Belle" by Amy Flanagan
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I loved the Bohemian Spirit paper in the Rusty Treasures Collection. I chose it as my primary background paper. When I was finished with the entire layout, I decided I wanted to give the bird in the top left corner more priority. I thought the bird went well with the verse I used, representing hope and a future. However, the bird is actually part of the paper, so I decided to pull it out of the paper. I did that by selecting the paper layer and turning on the Magic Wand Tool. Setting "Contiguous" to Off and a "Tolerance" of 32, I clicked on the bird on the paper so that the "marching ants" were visible. Then I hit Ctrl+J, which copies anything within the "marching ants" to its own layer; this process gave me just the image of the bird. Since the Magic Wand Tool catches things that might be outside of the bird, I used a layer mask to roughly clean up the edges. I kept it a little messy because it went with my theme. After that, I realized one wing was short - because in the paper it goes off the edge. I really wanted both wings to be full. Going back to my new bird layer, I used the Rectangular Marquee Tool and selected a broad section of full wing portion of the bird. Again, I used Ctrl+J to make a new copy of just that portion of the wing on its own layer. Then I flipped and rotated it, and then I dragged it to the other wing and placed it so it lined up perfectly with the short wing. Now it looks like I have a full-winged bird that extends over the edge of the paper and over the embellishments.
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
Other Ingredients:
"Brotherly Love" by Jennifer Wight
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I decided to add some extra interest to my photo by adding a ScrapSimple Paper Template to it. First, I duplicated my photo and changed the top photo layer's Blending Mode to "Color Dodge" and lowered the layer's Opacity to 34%. Then, I placed a paper template from ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Early Fall on top of my photos. I changed the Blending Mode of the paper template to "Overlay" and the lowered the Opacity to 50%. Next, I used a Soft Round Brush with Opacity of 60% to erase parts of the ScrapSimple Paper Template that were covering the boys' faces.
Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
"Story Time" by April Martell
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I made the raised border around the bracket frame using a stroke and a style. First, I created a new layer above the bracket layers. Keeping the new layer active, I used Ctrl+Click on the thumbnail of the bracket frame layer in the Layers Palette to make a selection. I made a 15-pixel Stroke (Edit> Stroke) and played with different layer styles until I got a look I liked. My favorite was from ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Sweet Shoppe 4901 Biggie, a style I would not have thought to use on this page.
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Lets Play, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Story Time, 2 Much Fun Collection Mini, Winter Colors Collection, Brush Set: Stamped Dates, ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: New Brackets, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Basically Bordered Stitching, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Bitty Pattern, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Edgy, THIN, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Scratches Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Clarify 11301 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Realistic Shadows - Basic 11301, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Realistic Shadows - Firm Materials 11302, Design Pack: Inked Text, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Dirty Press Retro Inks 5401 Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Inked Edges 1801 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Stitching 6401 Mini and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Sweet Shoppe 4901 Biggie are also available. |
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
Other Ingredients:
Journaling: Thomas loved books, all books. While he preferred books about things like dinosaurs and trains, it really didn't matter whether the book was his or one of his sisters'. Here I am reading him a Barbie book as he listens with rapt attention.
"Boys" by Armi Custodio
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:
I wanted to brighten my background paper a bit to better match my sunlit photos. I tried using the Levels sliders, but I didn't get the effect I was after. So I experimented and layered three different ScrapSimple Paper Templates over the background paper. First, I placed template 6 from ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Dreamtime 1 (uncolored, Soft Light, 75% Opacity), which brightened my background considerably and added some subtle texture. Next, I put the Soft Canvas template from ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Day at the Beach (recolored green, Pinlight, 60% Opacity), which amplified the green color of my son's shirt. Last, I placed template 2 from ScrapSimple Paper Template: Edgy, THIN (recolored green, Normal, 55% Opacity) to add a little more green to the edges.
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Name of challenge: Create a layout using at least three ScrapSimple Paper templates.
Other Ingredients:
Journaling: You and your cousins. All boys and all under the age of 6. Each one with a mischievous look in their eyes. It is sure to be noisy, rowdy, and messy when you three are together, but it is wonderful seeing you all grow up together as well.
If you have praise, comments, or questions for any of our Product Designers or Layout Artists, did you know you can send them a PM (private message) using the Message Board? It's easy!
If you are a registered user of the Message Board, just click on the "PM" box at the bottom of any of their posts to send them a message. Or, to check out more of your favorite designer's layouts, visit the Scrap Girls Design Team section of the Layout Gallery.
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