Tip of the Week - Background Paper - Football Fever

This time of year, football is everywhere.
Our high school aged boys are playing under the Friday night lights.
Our university alma mater is playing on Saturday afternoons.And we are rooting on our Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoons!

Even if the Packers are not your team, surely you know someone at feeds weekly on football fever.
It's a good thing. It's scrapbook worthy!

In this tutorial we'll spread a little bit of football fever across the background of our scrapbook page.
Manuela Zimmermann's kit, A Man's World - available with the November 2011 Premier Membership - is the perfect kit for scrabbooking the football fan in your life.
But even if you don't have this kit, follow along with me and adapt the tutorial to any kit you own.

Tip for:
Photoshop Elements 9.0
Photoshop CS5

Tip of the Week - Cutout Alpha

I love to work with my hands.
Any DIY project is the project for me - especially the ones that take a basic list of tools and a little elbow grease.
My DIY tool belt includes things like a hammer, a cordless drill or screw gun, and a tape measure.
When I'm working with Photoshop Elements, I find myself generally sticking with the Stape tools, the Type tool and the Marquee tool.
In today's tip we'll add a little elbow grease to the before mentioned list of tools to create a custom embellishment that is sure to dress up any scrapbook page.

Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Intersected Frame

"Sometimes you feel like a nut.
Sometimes you don't."
I've got that little Almond Joy jingle stuck in my head!
It was driving me crazy until I applied it to my scrapbook page.
Sometimes I feel like square cornered frames.
And sometimes I just don't!
Today, I shall have it both ways... square corners AND rounded ones.
I just love it when things work out!
Check out this sweet little frame I've added to my scrapbook page.
I know you'll want to make one too! So, here's how...

View the Tip for:
Photoshop Elements 9.0
Photoshop CS5

Tip of the Week - Polar to Rectangular Filter

I love it when a plan follows through — seamlessly.
Don’t you?
The most current Digital Scrapper Premier kit — Alphabet Soup by Christina Mortimer — includes a super-duper cute circular frame. (You can see the frame below.)
As soon as I saw it, I had grand plans to put the frame into action.
Then I thought — hey, this frame would look super-duper cute as a horizontal strip, too!
Too bad for me? Think again.
Photoshop Elements is packed full of power filters.
Check out this one for turning circles into horizontal lines.

Tip for Photoshop Elements 9.0 OR Tip for Photoshop CS5

Tip of the Week - A Touching Title Track

The title element of a scrapbook page can make or break it.
With a simple change of Photoshop options, you can go from merely elegant to elaborate in just a matter of seconds — but getting off the straight and narrow path sometimes requires a bit of outside inspiration.
Come take a trip with me to inspiration station as I squish the letters of a title together and skid them across the page.
It may be just what you need to put a little giddy-up in your title.

Tip links for:
Photoshop CS5
Photoshop Elements 9.0

Tip of the Week - Title Tag – Road Trip

All right. I’ll admit it.
I’m cheap.
I’ve never gotten a manicure, I cut my own hair, and I rarely buy new clothing.
The Goodwill is the place for me!
All that frugal-ness trickles down to my scrapbooking tendencies as well.
When I get my hands on a fabulous Digital Scrapper Premier kit… I make sure and stretch it a LONG way.
In this tutorial, you can follow along with me as I use a custom shape to create my own title tag that compliments the August Premier kit, Off We Go. Check it out…

Get this tip for:
Photoshop Elements 9.0
Photoshop CS5

Tip of the Week - Border Patrol - Apron Lace

Every scrapbooker needs a toolbox.
I have one (aka. a folder) on my PC called "templates and shapes".
It houses Me-made shapes and elements that I find myself using over and over again on my scrapbook pages.
This collection of mine saves me tons of time.
In this tip you can follow along with me as I add another great template to my stash in the shape of apron lace.

TIP for PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
TIP for PHOTOSHOP

Tip of the Week - Photo Filled Layouts - Fading Gradients

Sometimes the harsh edge of a photo is a distraction on a scrapbook page.
In this tutorial I'll show you how to make a photograph gradually blend into the background with the Gradient tool.
It's the third (and final) tutorial in my series called "Photo Filled Layouts".

Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Photo Filled Layouts - Chalk Painting

Every once in a while I take a photo that really speaks to my heart.
It is typically just an ordinary snapshot, but something sets it apart from the others to me.
In my opinion, photos like these should not have to share the spotlight.
They should be big.
They should be bold.
They should be bossy! (hmmm — sounds like someone I know.)
Join me for a series of tutorials, called Photo Filled Layouts, where I share ideas of how to design scrapbook pages that are filled with a photo. Here’s the second in the series — Chalk Painting.
In this tutorial we’ll get out our chalk brush and paint on a photo. The results will knock your socks off — and leave you feeling like an accomplished artist!
Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Photo Filled Layouts - Smoke Screen

My family loves baseball.
I love baseball.
We always try and get in a Major League game each summer. But most of our viewing pleasure comes in the form of little league.
In the summer of 2007 I acquired a super-cool zoom lens for my DSLR. The photos of my son’s games turned out fantastic! You know — the kind of photos that make you want to frame them all in poster size on your wall?
Coming to my senses, I decided it’d be better to just choose a few of my favorites and fill a scrapbook page with each one.
Join me for a series of tips, called Photo Filled Layouts, where I share ideas of how to design scrapbook pages that are filled with a photo. Here’s the first in the series — Smoke Screen.
Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Puppy Dog Eyes

Since the release of the camera flashbulb in 1930,
one thing has plagued puppy dog photos everywhere…the dreaded glow.
Dogs (and other animals) have a special layer in their eyes that reflects light. This reflective layer is what helps them to see in low light conditions.
Photoshop Element’s Red Eye tool is rendered useless in this type of a situation, however. It is only meant to heal human eyes. Fortunately there are some work-arounds. In this tutorial, I will show you one very simple way to fix the glow from puppy dog eyes.
Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Egg-cellent Element - Part Two

In Part One of the Egg-cellent Element tip, I showed you a quick and easy way to create a custom egg shape in Photoshop by using the Marquee Tools.
This tip will show you how to take any linear object — such as a ribbon or stitches — and give it a little “warp”.
It will help give your object a rounded look as it wraps around your egg.

Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Egg-cellent Element - Part One

Easter brings to mind fond childhood memories.
My mother had eight siblings – making for a boatload of cousins for me. As an only child, I cherished the times we would get together in any type of celebration.
Easter was no exception.
Easter eggs were crafted by the dozens during these family gatherings. My anxiety level still rises at the thought of rushing out of the house with recycled butter tubs in hand to find our works of art.
Ahh, good times, good times.
Adobe Photoshop Elements does not come packaged with a custom egg shape. However, with just a couple tools and a few minor adjustments, you’ll find yourself crafting eggs by the dozens in a matter of minutes.
In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create your own custom egg shape. Then, next week I’ll show you how to take any linear object – such as a ribbon or stitches – and give it a little “warp” as it wraps around your egg.
Let’s get started…
Tip for Photoshop Elements
Tip for Photoshop

Tip of the Week - Feedburner - Blog Updates Via Email

I was recently checking out the Digital Scrapper Blog.
Have you done that lately?
WOW.  Here at Digital Scrapper (aka Scrappers Guide) we have an amazing community of creative individuals. The blog is chalked full of announcements, challenges, and inspiration to get your juices flowing.
But even with this knowledge embedded in my noggin, I can testify to how easy it is to forget that the blog is there.
If you have the same noggin ailment as I, know that there is hope for the weary! And it comes in the form of the FeedBurner!
Let me show you a fail-safe way to stay in touch.

Link to Tip

Tip of the Week - Blending Mode Shortcuts

Are you a blender?
You know, one of those people who love to play with the blending modes in the Layers panel.
I am. I’m constantly cycling through them to see what interesting effect I can achieve. In the end, though, I usually wind up using the same three or four modes.
In this tip, I’ll share three ways to put a giddy-up in your blender so you can get blending faster.

Tip for Photoshop CS5 ----OR---- Tip for Photoshop Elements 8.0

Tip of the Week - The Waxy Crayon

I bet I've colored a million pictures in the last 20 years.
When our son was small we bought him a Mickey Mouse coloring book from an airport in Orlando, Florida. Because of the totally ridiculous price of the book, we decided to make copies of the book so it would last longer.
It did. It lasted for four years!! Whew! That was a long running Mickey obsession!
I'm currently on my second run of coloring now that my nieces and nephews are coming of age. I LOVE it!
So in honor of middle-aged color book addicts everywhere, this tip is for you! Check it out...

Tip for Photoshop CS5
Tip for Photoshop Elements 9.0

Tip of the Week - Layer Visibility Shortcuts

I love Adobe shortcuts!
My A-type personality does a little jig each time I commit another one to memory. The other day I came across a new one (to me) and I thought I'd share.
But before I do, let's do a little bit of a visibility review for those of you that may just be getting started...

Tip for Photoshop CS5
Tip for Photoshop Elements 9.0

Tip of the Week - Stumped by Stripes

Can we talk?
I have to admit, sometimes I look at an element or paper in a digital scrapbooking kit and say to myself, “What am I supposed to do with THAT?”
HA! Do you do that too? I hope I’m not alone.

One of my biggest stumpers is stripes. Being a minimalist by nature, a page full of stripes makes me want to hyperventilate. So with that in mind, I set out on a therapy mission. (That’s “code” for flipping through magazines and creeping in on-line galleries.)

Here is one thing I discovered. Sometimes you’ve just got to go with the flow. Let me show you what I mean...
PHOTOSHOP tip or ELEMENTS tip

Tip of the Week - Character Map (Windows)

I’m a PC.
Always have been.
Did you know that Windows comes standard with a Character Map?
I didn’t.
Do you know what a Character Map is?
I didn’t.
Well, here’s the low-down on the illusive Character Map… You’re gonna love it!
Windows Character Map is a rock solid utility that can be used to copy and paste accented letters, foreign characters, and dingbats into any Windows application.
And the best news of all is… even a dingbat like me can figure it out!! Check it out…

View this tip at Scrappers Guide

Tip of the Week - Designing With Dingbats

The dingbats are calling your name – and I’m not referring to the ones living down the road from you.

These dingbats are super-duper smart and majorly add to the value of your scrapbook page.

The possibilities are endless – check it out…
at Digital Scrapper .com

Tip of the Week by Jen White
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5 / Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0
Photo: by Jen White

Featured kits: “Project 365 / 4 Seasons” by Micheline Martin Designs and “Cherish This Moment” by Digital Scrapper Designs.
Fonts: Faux Snow BRK – snowflake dingbats, Times New Roman