Tutorial on digi scrapping by Creative Casey...in 5 simple steps

Hello friends! I would love for you to get to know my friend Casey Wright from Creative Casey who has so generously used her precious weekend time to put together a tutorial on digi scrapping! Just for us! In 5 simple steps!



First let's look at her digi gallery...

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I'm so excited to be guest blogging for Yvonne today - I love the idea of 'doing more with less' and that's one of the reasons I joined the fun group of people who call themselves digi scrappers! Like many of you scrappers out there, I really started to become obsessed with ALL that is scrapbooking after the birth of my first child. I find that the creative process really offers more to me than just using pretty paper and embellishments - although it is fun to try all of the different and new products. For me, it's a therapeutic process that allows me to document my family's life creatively and that offers me an opportunity to tell those every day stories, that when unwritten may be forgotten. I like to use different forms of mediums on my projects and am inspired by everything around me. Of course, I love going to my local scrapbooking store and buying all of the latest and greatest items, but I also really like the idea of conservation and digital scrapbooking really offers a wide range of solutions for that. I know that some of you out there are probably intimidated by the idea of digital scrapbooking, but follow these quick easy steps below and you will be on your way to digi scrapbooking in no time!

For those of you out there that don't have access to Photoshop Elements, I would recommend visiting their website - Adobe Photoshop Elements Free Trial and trying out the system free for 30 days.

Step 1: My tutorial today is called "Photoshop in Five" and will have you well on your way to using elements to create those digital pages. After downloading the free trial, the first thing you want to do is to open all of the papers, elements, and pictures that you might be interested in using. If you don't have any digital elements, no problem - there are several websites out there that offer free digital kits (Two Peas in a Bucket and Little Dreamer Designs). Simply select 'file' then 'open' and find the elements that you've saved on your computer. Here is a snapshot below of what screenshot should look like and where the elements should show up after opening.

Step 2: The next step is to open up a blank layout to the size that you wish. Traditionally, I used 12x12, but you could make the dimensions whatever size you wish. Simply select 'file' then 'new' and type in your dimensions along with a title and you've got your blank document. Here is a snapshot of what that window looks like:

Step 3: After you've opened up your blank layout, now is a good time to save your document and for now, just save it as a PSE (photoshop elements) file. Now you can simply start dragging items onto your blank layout. You do this by clicking on the item you would like to use and then dragging it from the layers pane (on the left) onto your layout. The most important item to learn in Photoshop is the idea of layers. Just think of it as a stack of papers - one thing layered over the other. You can change the order of what you see by simply moving the layers around in the layers pane. Here is a screen shot of where you will see the layers:

Step 4:Once you've got the idea of layers down, then you can really start to play with the size of the images. You can either use your pointer tool to drag the marquee to a smaller size by clicking on the item and dragging it smaller or you can manually change the size. I actually prefer to do it manually because I typically have an idea of how big I would like my items to me. However, there's no right or wrong way to do it as long as the process works for you! I simply select 'image' then 'resize' and after that I indicate the size and resolution. I would always recommend using 300 dpi for all elements - it just really provides a clear resolution of the elements/pictures. Here is a screen shot of the window used for manual resizing of objects:

Step 5:Once you've got your items on the page and you like the way your layout looks, then you want to move forward with flattening the image. This allows the layers to merge together so that the file can be saved at a reasonable size as a jpeg document. Without flattening, you will find that your file size will be too big and that you won't be able to view without using Photoshop Elements. To flatten images, you simply select 'layer' then 'flatten image.' Now, save the item by selecting 'file' then 'save as.' You will see a window that asks you where you want to save and this is where you select jpeg as a file type. After that, you can select the file size according to how you want to use the file. I actually like to print my layouts for my scrapbook, so I save them at a high resolution. However, if you are only interested in sharing over the computer, I would recommend saving at a medium quality. 

Here is the layout that I created for today's tutorial using the Marks Paper Company digital kit - August.

So there you have it! Five steps to Photoshop! Okay everyone - CHALLENGE TIME! Simply create a 12x12 layout using the steps used above and leave a comment here with a link to your layout - we would love to see what you've made!  
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The deadline is two weeks from today. With a RAK sponsored by Casey! :)

I'll share my inspired piece in my next post. And announce the winner of the last challenge on quilling. Please leave a little love for my guest Casey, okay? :)