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Using Pre-Made Page Elements
Tara MarkleyEditorial Deck Crewmember
When you sit down to do some paper scrapbooking, do you create all of the page elements yourself? Some people do, but most of us use things we have purchased...alphabet stickers, metal embellishments, maybe some fibers. Well, just because you want to scrapbook digitally doesn't mean you have to create all of the digital elements by yourself. While not all of us have progressed to that level of proficiency with our software, those who have are willing to share. Many online digital scrapbooking sites offer downloadable page kits and elements. Some are free, some you have to pay for, but they all work the same. Our very own Tonya Doughty was kind enough to send me some page elements that she created, so that is what I will be demonstrating here.
The first step, as always, is to open your program and create a new file. I like to make my pages 12x12 at 250 pixels per inch resolution. Next, either fill in the background with a solid color or pattern built into you program, or open one that you have downloaded. Here I will use Tonya's "stripes" background. Open the background and go to Image - Resize - Image Size.... Change the document size to 12 inches by 12 inches and the resolution to 250 pixels per inch.
Next, use the rectangular marquee tool (the dashed-line square) to select the entire background. Then go to Edit - Copy to copy the background. Select the new file that you set up and select Edit - Paste. This will add a new layer (Layer 1) and paste the background into that layer.
The next step is to add the photo. As with the background, resize the photo to 250 pixels per inch and whatever dimensions you would like it to be. I made mine approximately 8x10. Copy and paste the photo the same way you did with the background.
Now we'll add another element...a frame for the photo. To choose the frame, use the marquee tool again. If the frame that you want contains other images, as this one does, just select everything. Now, copy the selection and paste it into a NEW document.
Within this new document, just use the eraser tool to erase the parts you don't want, and then resize the image to 250 pixels per inch. You can also change the size to be slightly larger than your photo. Then, copy and paste the frame into the original document you created. Resize as necessary by dragging the corners.
Finally, we'll add a tag embellishment and a title. Both of these are added the same way as the frame. Just select, copy, paste into a new document, resize, then cut and paste onto your page. Always make sure to keep the resolution (pixels per inch) the same when cutting and pasting, or the size of the pasted object can be incorrect. To make the title stand out more, I just used the paintbrush tool and scribbled on the background (make sure to click on the background in the layers palate) in blue.
Be sure to check back with SSR in the coming months for more on downloadable page kits!
Happy Scrappin,
Tara Markley
taramarkley@ssreflections.com
Digital Scrapping
Editorial Deck Crewmember
S.S. Reflections, Inc.
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