Friday, August 20, 2021

How To Design A Basic Digital Scrapbooking Templates PhotoShop Elements


Welcome to The Cherry On Top, crafters, hobbyists and scrapbookers!

Here's a simple tutorial on how to design a very basic digital scrapbooking template.  Anyone can do this kind of template.  Trust me!  In a few minutes, you'll be scrapbooking your precious memories in just the format you chose. 

Let's jump right in!

First, open a new, scrapbooking sized document in PSE.  PS will be very similar if not the same for most of these steps.  Personally, I find PSE much quicker to design templates in.  It's amazingly user friendly and I'm no computer genius.


Go to graphics and slide or click in a square, rectangle or whatever shape you want.  You could duplicate the background if you want a square or rectangle, as well.


I already had the color picker set on grey for my shapes.  I'll show ya further down how to do it, yourself.

Once you've got your shape just how ya want it, go to the layers panel and duplicate it.


Size that shape how you want it and repeat...





If you are a perfectionist, go to View, Grid and nudge to perfection.


If you are going to sell this kind of template, rename your layers how you like.  I number mine.  Easy!


You could leave it at that or add shadows by going to FX and choosing a shadow.  These are purchased shadows, but PSE also has a few to choose from and you can even customize those.  They are under Drop Shadows.


Perhaps you'd like to add a stroke, outline or matting to your photo spots?  Easy peasy!

Go to the effects menu or panel, choose strokes.


Select the size you like.  Again, you'll be able to customize the size.


When you quickly double click on the little fx icon in the layers panel, you'll get this pop up box.  You can slide to change the stroke size.  You can also click on the little black box and change the color of the stroke.

As you can see, opacity, bevels, glows and shadows can all be adjust here.  Cool, eh?!


You'll get the little color dropper that looks like an eye dropper when you click that black box.  You can either go right to your page or document and pick a color from it or choose one from the houndreds they provide.


If you'd like all of your photo spots to be the same, go to the layers panel and right click on that layer you want to copy, choose copy layer style...(Make sure you add a shadow before copying.  If you want shadows.)


Then paste that layer style to the other layers.  You can do them all at once by selecting all of the layers.


You can stop there OR you can learn how to get that outline on another layer.  There are a few methods.

If you keep that outline, your photo spot will not be on a separate layer.  If you plan on putting a shadow on that layer or you'd like to clip a paper on to it, then keep on reading.


I always work with with a color palette that I just drag on to my document as I'm working or I use a stash of solid papers from the gallery. (I'll be showing you how to make solid papers very soon.)

If you duplicate your square or shape then enlarge it slightly, you can recolor it.  This doesn't work great for all shapes, but squares, circles and rectangles are no problem.

You can use the color picker to recolor your layer or you can slide in a paper from your gallery and clip it to the layer by selecting, create clipping mask on the layer you want to clip.


Click on the paint bucket in the toolbar and color your layer.


Straighten it out and you're all set!

See how easy that is?!  Can you just imagine how far you can take these steps?!  If you know The Cherry, we taken it to outer space.  LOL!





Planner templates are the bee's knees!  Use ours and save so much time!




We'd prefer if ya just bought ours, but sometimes ya just can't find exactly what you are looking for, right?

Thanks so much for checking out this tutorial.  If you've got any questions, you can hit me and my team up, in our scrap-a-licious group, follow us via e-mail or all of the other trendy social media platforms found in the side panel.

I'll leave you with our newest free template.

Happy scrapping!

There are SO many freebies on this blog!









 

Friday, August 6, 2021

Love For Layout Templates Train of Awesome Free Scrapbooking Templates and More

 Welcome, crafty scrapping blog hoppers. 

Look who dusted off the keyboard and got to blogging.  I've been blogging like crazy for Design Bundles Design School.  The blogs aren't live yet, but I'll let you know when they are.  Design Bundles and myself has some serious surprises up our sleeve.  Totally Cherry!  By that I mean mega freebies, tips, trips and crafting and scrapbooking tutorials, just like here at The Cherry.  Whoo hoo!  Stay tuned!

ATTENTION!  There is a free mini kit in this blog as well as an unbelievably cheap collection.  Keep reading!!!




Click left to move forward and right to go back in the train.

Check out all of the stops in our scrap-a-licious group and post your fabulous pages there, too.

Thanks so much for those of you popping in for the first time and for those of you regular fans.  I sure have missed y'all!

I've got a few fabulous pages from my awesome team.  Check out the fun ways to use this template.

Designs from Scraps N' Pieces

Use an inside shadow to get an effect like Cindy did.

Designs from GingerScraps

Esther shrunk up the template and put it in a pretty pocket.  She's so creative!

Aimee Harrison Designs

My gal Theresa is also ingenious with her unique scrapbooking ideas, too.

I gave away this entire collection, minus the templates last year.  Did you miss?!  That's too bad!  We always give out free stuff.  Sign up for our newsletter and follow us around so you don't miss out, again.

I've added a new pack of coordinating templates and composed this huge collection.  The templates are called Splash and are also sold separately if you've got everything else.  They are SO fun!  I must be insane charging only $5 for all of this?!  A full kit, alpha, journal cards and two template packs?! 

Just look what my team and I have scrapped up with them.


Remember this template?  It was also free and is still somewhere on the blog.  

Traditional scrappers can have at it, too!!!

Designs from Paty Greif and a whole lott'a fun!


Super cool effects can make terrific pages.  Designs from Clever Monkey Graphics at Sweet Shoppe.

More awesome from Clever Monkey Graphics.

How much fun can ya get?!  Designs found at GingerScraps.

Yip!  More from GingerScraps.

How totally gorgeous!?  Lovely products from LDrag at GingerScraps.

A mixed bunch of designs and super cool!

Can we get more awesome?!  Loving Rachel's page with JoCee Designs.

Designs from Kit Cart

PolkaDot Chicks found at GingerScraps

Beautiful goodies from Kimeric.

Tracey from Clever Monkey Graphics has an awesomeness collection out, today.  Lemonade Season is super fun, bright and totally refreshing.


It totally pays to read through the blog, right?  I always post free stuff at the end of the blog.  Don't forget! I started designing a collection for Design Bundles and had to make a few changes.  I didn't want to just throw away all of this work.  So, I'm giving you my mistakes.  Hehehe...There will be more coordinating freebies with this mini coming soon.  A lot more! Stay tuned!


I've got a huge write up about simple scrapbooking pages coming soon.  There are so many ideas on it.  It just might make your head spin.  You'll have a stock pile of fabulous ideas to scrap.


Scrapbooking can be so simple and pretty, right?

If you are on the hunt for free digital designs, by all means, check out those found at Design Bundles.  You just won't believe the generosity over there or the amazing deals.  This shop is so much more than a shop.  They got a You Tube channel full of fabulous tutorials of all things crafty, Design School and a bustling community, too.  Awesome, eh?


We are linked up socially in all of the hot spots.  Find them in the side bar, at the top.  Our group is really great for page inspiration.

Thanks for taking the time to check out The Cherry.  By all means, go back and check out our other blogs. I've been at this for nearly 10 years and this blog is FULL OF FREEBIES, tips, tricks and awesome inspiration.

Enjoy the little things, crafters.  Take long deep breaths, take care of yourself and make time to do the things you love.

Happy scrapping!