It’s no secret that I love word art. Elisha Barnett’s
Simple Joys Collection has wonderful cursive script word art that is so pretty and useful. One of the reasons I love word art so much is its versatility. Let me share with you three fun word art ideas to personalize your page and make your words really stand out.
Word Art Idea #1: Punched Out
Create the effect of cutting out the word art to show the layer below, as if the word art has been punched out of the layer.
There are two ways we can go with this. First, select two paper layers. Place the word art on the upper layer.
Duplicate the paper you are using for your lower layer and place this on a new layer ABOVE the word art. Clip this upper paper to the word art and flatten the layers. Then in your Styles palette, find the Bevels. Choose Simple Inner.
This will give the appearance that the word art has been cut from the layer you are on, revealing the underneath layer when really all you have done is apply a Simple Inner Bevel. Cool, huh?
Word Art Idea #2: Cut Out & Shadowed
2. The next method is much the same as the above technique except it does not use a bevel. Instead, it relies on the upper layer being shadowed to highlight the cut-out.
In this example, I placed my word art, forever, above the layer I would be cutting out, the frame.
Next, I pressed the Control key and clicked the thumbnail for the word art in the Layers palette. This gives the “marching ants.”
Then select the layer with the frame, not the word art. The marching ants are still highlighted, spelling out the word forever as per the word art. When you press Delete, the word forever is cut from the frame. To release the marching ants, press Ctrl+D.
Turn off the word art layer, and you will see a perfectly replicated copy cut-out. Once you shadow the frame, it will become easier to see.
This is a fun, simple way to add a little interest to items like frames, journal cards, and even paper overlays.
Word Art Idea #3: Using Clipping Masks
3. Our final method is one you are no doubt familiar with: Clipping masks. We all do them. All the time. Taking one layer and clipping it to the layer beneath to take its shape.
This time, however, instead of doing that with a paper or a solid color from the paint bucket, I’m using glitter. Not a glitter style, though, because I want to use the glitter clusters that come with this month’s club. I love the color variation Elisha has given her clusters, and I want that subtlety in my title.
Rather than enlarge one glitter cluster to cover my title, however, I am going to layer the same cluster several times and then flatten the layers. This way, the glitter pieces stay small and give me that gradient I like so much.
Once the layers are flattened, they act just like a regular layer and can be clipped to the word art below. I like to use the shortcut Ctrl+G for this.
See how the glitter is not one standard color this way? Super-easy, quick, and effective!
Look through Simple Joys! The word art is gorgeous and deserves a second look. Try these techniques to create your own cut-outs and glittery titles, then play with the different styles of cut-outs. Be sure to post your personalized word art creations to the Scrap Girls Gallery for us all to admire!
Tutorial written by Jody WestTutorial written using Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 with Windows 7
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