Photoshop Elements Archives

Putting a Shadow on Its Own Layer

By creating a shadow for your embellishment layers, your embellishments look more three dimensional and add depth and realism to your layout. One trick to mastering your shadows is to place your shadow on its own layer.

Using Layer Masks

Have you ever looked at a digital scrapbook layout with lots of interwoven layers and embellishments and wondered how it was done? Chances are good that layer masks were used. A layer mask is a non-destructive tool you can use to control the transparency of parts of your layer, unlike the opacity sliders which control […]

Blending with the Brush Tool

Brushes are one of the most versatile tools in photo editing software. They can be used to stamp, emboss, erase, even to die-cut. I’d like to show how you can accomplish blending with brushes in your digital scrapbooking layouts. The best brushes for blending are those without hard edges. One example is the #100 Rough […]

Using Layer Alignment Tools in Photoshop Elements

When creating your layouts, do you sometimes have elements such as embellishments or alphas that you just can’t seem to line up so they look nice and neat and on the page? Maybe you want to have a row of flowers or a column of stars that you want to create a border with, and […]

Create a Collage Paper using Paper Templates

This month’s ScrapSimple Club includes both clean and messy template sets that can be used alone or combined. This tutorial will show how to combine several templates to create a collage-style background paper. We’ll start by creating the base paper. Place the lattice paper from ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Geometric in your layout. The template has […]

The 20-Minute Page with Pocket Life

Discover the Magic of Dynamic Brushes

Let’s learn a little bit about a creative little gem in the SG Design Shop – Dynamic Brushes. Dynamic Brush sets are as fun to use as they are mysterious. My goal is to show you how a dynamic brush differs from a regular brush, give you some examples, and help you learn how they […]

Altering Embellishments using Blend Modes

Let’s not shy away from the obvious: Emily’s first Scrap Girls Club, Antiquities, is gorgeous! The aged papers, the vintage ephemera, the useful buttons, the wonderful, clustered flowers…and the transfers. Those transfers! Their transparency allows them to be used as overlays, as stamps, as photo mats, and even in Art Journaling. I took some time […]

Scrap Girls SS Club Exclusive: Music Mania!

Be inspired to record the memories and events involving music with the August ScrapSimple Club: Music Mania! We asked Doris & Cherise what types of projects their club products would work well for. Here’s what they had to say: It’s great for highlighting the special moments of recitals, for reminiscing about memories of a favorite concert you’ve been to, for reflecting on how […]

Adjusting Layer Opacity In Photoshop

Changing the opacity of different layers is an easy way to enhance your digital scrapbook pages. Adjusting layer opacity allows you to easily blend papers and photos. You can also use it to lessen the effects of blending modes and actions. In this tutorial, you will learn how to change a layer’s opacity in Photoshop. […]