Digital Scrapper

Straight Talk About Crooked Ribbons (Photoshop Elements)

Jen White — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:35:35 +0000

I like my buttons stitched, my shadows custom, and my ribbons straight.
Maybe it’s just me? But maybe not.

Nowadays, many of the ribbons being included in kits have a bit of a bend.
I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just not my style.

I recently had a little talk with one of the ribbons from a Premier kit.
Turns out the ribbon was easy to persuade into turning its life over to the straight and narrow.
Here’s what I did to convince the little guy to see things my way…

Step One: Create a New Document

Create a new document (File > New > Blank File) that is 12×12 inches at 300ppi with a white background.

Step Two: Add a Ribbon

Open a ribbon (File > Open) that has a bend.
I am using Ribbon4 from Susan Bartolini’s A Mother’s Heart kit. This is the May 2012 Premier kit.
Get the Move tool.
Holding down the Shift key, click on the ribbon and drag it onto your document.

Step Three: Rotate the Ribbon

In order for this technique to work, your ribbon must be sitting in a vertical orientation. If your ribbon is already vertical, simply skip this step. The ribbon I show above is sitting in a horizontal orientation, so I’ll change it.

Click on a corner handle of the Bounding Box to activate the Transform options.
If you do not see a Bounding Box, press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T).
In the Options Bar, enter 90 in the Rotate box.
Click on the green check mark to commit the changes.

Step Four: Straighten the Ribbon

In the Menu Bar, choose Filter > Distort > Shear.
In the dialog box, click on the black line in the grid to place an adjustment point and then drag very slightly in the direction you need to move your ribbon in order to straighten it.
Different ribbons will require different adjustments. You can place as many adjustment points along the line as you need.
Keep a close eye on the preview box to see how your ribbon is effected by the adjustments you are making. The preview box is really not a very good indication of how your ribbon will look, however, so it’s often best to just click OK and see the results.
Click OK when you think you’ve got it straight.
It will often take several adjustments with the Shear filter or just starting over (Ctrl Z, Cmd Z) to get the hang of it.
Try not to let yourself be too much of a perfectionist with this technique. You will never get the ribbon ‘perfectly’ straight. But that’s okay, because in real life, ribbons are not perfectly straight anyway.

Step Five: Save the Straight Ribbon

Whenever I alter an embellishment, I almost always save my creation alongside the original.

Click on a corner handle of the Bounding Box to activate the Transform options.
If you do not see a Bounding Box, press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T).
In the Options Bar, enter -90 in the Rotate box.
Click on the green check mark to commit the changes.
In the Layers panel, click on the Background layer and drag it to the Trash.
Get the Crop tool.
In the Options Bar, set the Aspect Ratio to No Restriction.

On the document, click and drag out a selection outline slightly larger than the ribbon.
Click on the green check mark to commit the changes.
Save the ribbon (File > Save As) a PNG file with a unique name in the same folder as the original ribbon.

ATTENTION: No ribbons were injured in the writing of this tutorial.

Here’s my BEFORE ribbon:

And here is my AFTER:

This technique can make a big difference when placing a straight ribbon along the edge of a paper on your scrapbook page.
Here is the May 2012 Premier Quick Page I created using this technique:

Note: This is also a great way to give a little bend to the straight stuff! Just use the same techniques on a straight ribbon to give it a little wave.

Credits:
Digi Scrap Tutorial: Straight Talk About Crooked Ribbons, by Jen White
Papers & Embellishments: A Mother’s Heart by Susan Bartolini
Layout: Quick Page 02 from May 2012 Premier
Software: Photoshop Elements 10.0

Download a PDF version of this “Straight Talk About Crooked Ribbons” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

Straight Talk About Crooked Ribbons (Photoshop)

Jen White — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:35:05 +0000

I like my buttons stitched, my shadows custom, and my ribbons straight.
Maybe it’s just me? But maybe not.

Nowadays, many of the ribbons being included in kits have a bit of a bend.
I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just not my style.

Step One: Create a New Document

Create a new document (File > New) that is 12×12 inches at 300ppi with a white background.

Step Two: Add a Ribbon

Open a ribbon (File > Open) that has a bend.
I am using Ribbon4 from Susan Bartolini’s A Mother’s Heart kit. This is the May 2012 Premier kit.
Get the Move tool.
Holding down the Shift key, click on the ribbon and drag it onto your document.

Step Three: Rotate the Ribbon

Click on a corner handle of the Bounding Box to activate the Transform options.
If you do not see a Bounding Box, press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T).
In the Options Bar, enter 90 in the Rotate box.
Double click inside the Bounding Box to commit the changes.

Step Four: Straighten the Ribbon

In the Menu Bar, choose Filter > Distort > Shear.
In the dialog box, click on the black line in the grid to place an adjustment point and then drag very slightly in the direction you need to move your ribbon in order to straighten it.
Different ribbons will require different adjustments. You can place as many adjustment points along the line as you need.
Keep a close eye on the preview box to see how your ribbon is effected by the adjustments you are making. The preview box is really not a very good indication of how your ribbon will look, however, so it’s often best to just click OK and see the results.
Click OK when you think you’ve got it straight.
It will often take several adjustments with the Shear filter or just starting over (Ctrl Alt Z, Cmd Opt Z) to get the hang of it.
Try not to let yourself be too much of a perfectionist with this technique. You will never get the ribbon ‘perfectly’ straight. But that’s okay, because in real life, ribbons are not perfectly straight anyway.

Step Five: Save the Straight Ribbon

Whenever I alter an embellishment, I almost always save my creation alongside the original.

Click on a corner handle of the Bounding Box to activate the Transform options.
If you do not see a Bounding Box, press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T).
In the Options Bar, enter -90 in the Rotate box.
Double click inside the Bounding Box to commit the changes.
In the Layers panel, click on the Background layer and drag it to the Trash.
In the Menu Bar, choose Image > Trim.
In the dialog box, choose Transparent Pixels for the Based On and place a check mark next to all the Trim Away options. Click OK.

Save the ribbon (File > Save As) a PNG file with a unique name in the same folder as the original ribbon.

DISCLAIMER: No ribbons were injured in this tutorial.

Here’s my BEFORE ribbon:

And here is my AFTER:

This technique can make a big difference when placing a straight ribbon along the edge of a paper on your scrapbook page.
Here is the May 2012 Premier Quick Page I created using this technique:

Note: This is also a great way to give a little bend to the straight stuff! Just use the same techniques on a straight ribbon to give it a little wave.

Download a PDF version of this “Straight Talk About Crooked Ribbons” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

It’s a Stretch – Crop Tool Magic! (Photoshop Elements)

Barb Brookbank — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:35:44 +0000

I have a 12in x 12in, 300ppi layout which I am getting ready to send to the printer. I’ve flattened it and saved it as a jpeg.

Suddenly, at the last minute I decide that it would look so much better with a bit of a border. I’m not prepared to go back to my original PSD file and add a border — so what to do?

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to add a border around a layout using the Crop tool!

Now wait a minute! Doesn’t the Crop tool, ummm, crop things off? Well… yes, and no.

Here’s an example of my layout before and after “cropping.”

This complete Digi Scrap Tutorial is available to our Digital Scrapper Plus and Premier Members. If you’re a member, please take a moment to log in, then just come back here and refresh this page. Not a Plus Member? It’s free! Find out more information here.

It’s a Stretch – Crop Tool Magic! (Photoshop)

Barb Brookbank — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:35:11 +0000

I have a 12in x 12in, 300ppi layout which I am getting ready to send to the printer. I’ve flattened it and saved it as a jpeg.

Suddenly, at the last minute I decide that it would look so much better with a bit of a border. I’m not prepared to go back to my original PSD file and add a border — so what to do?

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to add a border around a layout using the Crop tool!

Now wait a minute! Doesn’t the Crop tool, ummm, crop things off? Well… yes, and no.

Here’s an example of my layout before and after “cropping.”

Blinging It Up with Brushes (Photoshop)

Nannette Dalton — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:47:34 +0000

What is it about things that twinkle and shine that we as women are so attracted to? I found out that it starts at a very young age.

I took my oldest granddaughter on a date right before she started kindergarten to pick out a new outfit for school. She picked a dress that was covered with sparkly stuff. She thought it was the best thing ever! Not only did it have lots of bling, but it twirled just right.

I took a picture of her in it to remember our day, but I found that the picture just didn’t do the sparkles justice. I found an easy way to add a little bling of my own to jazz up her dress and the elements on my layout. I wanted to share with you how I did it, so here we go.

Here is my layout after I really blinged it up.

Blinging It Up with Brushes (Photoshop Elements)

Nannette Dalton — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:47:12 +0000

What is it about things that twinkle and shine that we as women are so attracted to? I found out that it starts at a very young age.

Here is my layout after I really blinged it up.

Connecting the Dots (Photoshop Elements)

Jen White — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:42:51 +0000

“How do you make that?”

Do you ever ask yourself that question when checking out an element on someone’s scrapbook page?
Some elements look soooo simple to make, yet the technique for creating them eludes you.
Thankfully, many scrapbook elements do not require Designer status. You just need that first little hint.

Several readers of my Cut It Out! A Title Trick tutorial asked that question about the dotted circle around my cut out.
That particular dotted circle was part of Amanda Taylor’s Me Personally kit.
But as promised, here are the instructions for creating your very own.

Use this technique to draw an eye to anything on your scrapbook page. It is guaranteed to get attention.

Connecting the Dots (Photoshop)

Jen White — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:42:44 +0000

“How do you make that?”

Use this technique to draw an eye to anything on your scrapbook page. It is guaranteed to get attention.

Paper Snippets – Free Transformation (Photoshop)

Barb Brookbank — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:56:41 +0000

So, what do you do with all the little extra snippets of paper you have laying around? You know, the pieces you trim off and can’t bear to throw out because they are so pretty and you might need them someday? And there they sit, cluttering up your hard drive…

OK! Yes, you’re right, I’m kidding!! But if you have ever scrapped the traditional way with real paper and glue, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I don’t paper scrap any more, yet I have several boxes of these tiny snippets of paper that I’m quite sure I’ll use… someday…

I thought it would be fun to create a layout with some of these imaginary left-over pieces of paper. And because we’re talking digital here, I want to keep all my options open.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to turn paper into little lopsided snippets without distorting their patterns. Extra bonus — you don’t even have to cut them!

Paper Snippets – Free Transformation (Photoshop Elements)

Barb Brookbank — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:56:38 +0000

I thought it would be fun to create a layout with some of these imaginary left-over pieces of paper. And because we’re talking digital here, I want to keep all my options open.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to turn paper into little lopsided snippets without distorting their patterns. Extra bonus — you don’t even have to cut them!