Article written using Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 with Windows 7
As soon as I saw Amanda Fraijo-Tobin’s Spring Fantasy Collection this month, I knew that I would be using that wooden frame! I love photo frames and the definition they bring to a digital scrapbooking page, as well as the importance they have as design elements.
A wooden frame has so much versatility – it can be used neatly as is… or with a style added so it looks like plastic… or woven through with ribbons… or in my case, with flowers. I wanted to create a look that reminded me of a spring garland of flowers that girls wear in their hair as they dance around maypoles.
I selected the flowers I wanted to use and duplicated them many times, rotating and resizing to give a more realistic feel. Using the frame as a guide, I arranged the flowers into a rectangle shape and placed them beneath the frame
Then, I duplicated this floral “frame” and overlaid it on top of my frame. Reducing the opacity, I was able to see which bits I wanted to erase to give the illusion of “weaving through.” I used my Eraser Tool to carefully erase bits and pieces so the wood twigs would peek through.
Lastly, I used a handful of selectively-placed single flowers to give a bit of depth and fill some gaps.
Using similarly soft colors, I balanced my page with simple papers and embellishments. A frame like this is a real statement piece, and I didn’t want to overwhelm my page.
This digital scrapbooking technique can be used to bring together all kinds of embellishments, alphas, frames, etc., so that they have that intertwined look:
- ribbons/evergreen garland for a Christmas layout
- strings, ribbons, or vines in/through a title on a garden layout
- a jumbled pile of alphabet letters and objects on preschool-themed layout
I would love to see your interpretations of this digital scrapbook technique, because flowers can be woven among ribbons, wire, vines, wooden frames… a whole range of pieces. Remember to post your pages in the Scrap Girls Galleryfor us to admire!
Digital scrapbooking products used:
Tutorial written by Jody West