Hello, and welcome to another edition of our always-popular Tutorial Tuesday series here on The Digital Press blog!

Today I am here to share with you a quick and easy way to fake a plaid paper if you’re working with a digital kit that doesn’t have one, but does have a striped paper included.

You may think to yourself, “well, I’m not a designer… I have no idea how to do anything like that!” — and I’m here to show you this quick workaround trick that you can do in less than a minute or two! It’s a really fun trick to have in your arsenal of photo-editing skills… because sometimes, frankly, you just need a plaid! Trust me, I get that.

Supplies Needed

• any striped digital paper
• photo editing software (such as, but not limited to: Photoshop (PS), Photoshop Elements (PSE), photopea.com (free online photo editor), etc.)

For this tutorial, I’m going to be working with two of the patterned papers found in my Are We There Yet? kit, because it is one of the few kits I’ve ever designed that doesn’t have a plaid paper in it *gasp* (seriously, though, most of my kits always do… because who doesn’t love a good plaid paper?! *swoon*).

I’ll also be using Photoshop Elements (PSE) for this tutorial, because it’s probably the most universally-popular/used program in the digital scrapbooking world… but… don’t worry! The processes I will show you should easily translate into other programs (like the full version of Photoshop (PS), photopea.com, and others). They all have pretty universal features.

Instructions

This process is about as simple as it gets, when it comes to the “how-to” of it all!

First, you’ll want to select a striped paper and open it up in your photo-editing software. I’ve selected 2 different papers to work with, as shown here…

First, I’ll work with the multi-colored stripe.

My very first step will be to duplicate the paper so I have 2 copies (layers) of the paper in the layers palette on the right…

To duplicate an item in Photoshop Elements (PSE), there are a few different methods you can use to achieve that end-goal:

1. You can select the item in the layers palette on the right by clicking on it… and then use the “Layer” menu at the top of the screen and select “Duplicate Layer”
   OR
2. You can left-click with your mouse on the item in the layers palette on the right… and a pop-up menu will appear, where you can select “Duplicate Layer”

Once you have 2 copies of the paper, you’re going to rotate the top layer 90-degrees in either direction (it doesn’t matter whether you rotate to the left or the right; the only part that matters is that you rotate exactly 90-degrees). You’ll see the direction of the stripes change by 90 degrees in the layers palette, as shown below, after you complete this step…

To rotate one single layer, select it in the layers palette on the right… and then use the Image menu at the top of your screen, following this sequence… Image > Rotate > Layer 90 degrees (make sure you’re just rotating the one layer — not the entire document).

Now you’re going to change the opacity of that top layer, in order to allow the bottom layer to show through (thus creating the illusion of a plaid). To do this, select that top layer (the one you just rotated) and then change the opacity to 50%, as shown here…

See the delicious plaid paper that appears on the left, in the screenshot above this?! YES, IT WAS JUST THAT EASY!

The last thing you’ll want to do, to be able to use your new creation, is to select both of the layers on the right and merge them together (in PSE, that’s CTRL-E).

Bingo! Now you have one single layer that you can drag as a paper onto a layout… or you can print it to use for a hybrid project… etc.

Possibilities = endless!

Now, it’s worth noting that if you’re working with a diagonal stripe instead of a horizontal or vertical stripe… you can also flip the top layer horizontally (instead of rotating it 90-degrees). It will work either way, giving you a gorgeous diagonal plaid…

Here’s a look at the finished product(s)…

**ONE THING TO NOTE**
The reason this tutorial is called “fake a plaid” instead of “make a plaid” is because it’s truly not the best* way to create a plaid paper in all situations. What do I mean by that? Well, this process works best with papers that are lightly textured (or not textured at all). If you attempt this process with a paper that is heavily textured (think: crumpled/creased… or very obvious texture patterns like cardboard or ribbed cardstock, etc.) — you’ll find that the texture will show through when you duplicate and change the opacity of the top layer. Essentially, this means it will potentially look very weird/undesirable if the texture is obvious. So definitely keep that in mind, because you won’t want to use this trick with all striped papers.

*the best way would be to create a plaid before any texture is applied to the paper — which is what digital designers will do when creating a kit; for this tutorial, you’re using papers after that process has taken place, so you’ll want to be conscious of that when you select a paper

 

Here’s hoping this simple little trick opens up all sorts of new possibilities for you to to be able to stretch your digital stash and “fake” a pattern that might not be in a kit when you want/need it! It’s just so quick and easy, and helps make your digital supplies more versatile. Win-win!

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About the Author  Laura Passage is the owner of The Digital Press, and also the designer behind Wishing Well Creations by Laura Passage (WWC). She works now as a graphic designer in both the digital and paper scrapbooking industries, but previously spent over a decade working as a college soccer coach. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons (previously affectionately referred to as The Tiny Terrorists, but nowadays they’ve entered the pre-teen phase — so it’s even worse than that!)… and she will rationalize eating coffee ice cream for breakfast to anyone who questions it.

Hello, and welcome to another edition of our always-popular Tutorial Tuesday series here on The Digital Press blog!

Today I am here to share with you a reaaaalllly quick and easy way to add some texture to the digital items in your stash (such as those meant to be printable, etc.) that are flat and don’t have any texture.

You may think to yourself, “well, I’m not a designer… I have no idea how to do anything like that!” — and I’m here to show you this quick workaround trick that you can do in less than a minute or two! It’s a really handy trick to have up your sleeve, too, because if you’re anything like me, you sometimes like to mix-&-match different kits/products when you’re working on a project… and it’s often frustrating to be working with digital supplies that are all “texturized” already, and then find something you’d like to incorporate into your project, only to find that it’s flat/textureless, and just doesn’t “look right” when paired with the other items. This tutorial should solve that problem!

Supplies Needed

• any digital item you want to add texture to (pocket card, sticker, tag, etc.)
• one 12″ x 12″ digital paper that has a texture you like
• photo editing software (such as, but not limited to: Photoshop (PS), Photoshop Elements (PSE), photopea.com (free online photo editor), etc.)

For this tutorial, I’m going to be working with a few of the pocket cards and solid papers found in Mari Koegelenberg’s newly-revamped and re-released Kraft Basics | The Collection (which, coincidentally, is in this week’s Publisher’s Picks sale and is 50% OFF!)…

I’ll also be using Photoshop Elements (PSE) for this tutorial, because it’s probably the most universally-popular/used program in the digital scrapbooking world… but… don’t worry! The processes I will show you should easily translate into other programs (like the full version of Photoshop (PS), photopea.com, and others). They all have pretty universal features.

Instructions

This process is about as simple as it gets, when it comes to the “how-to” of it all!

First, you’ll want to select the item(s) you want to add texture to… and open them up in your photo-editing software. I’ve selected 3 different pocket cards, as shown here…

See how each of those cards is created “flat” in order to be print-friendly (i.e. no digital texture applied)?

Well, that’s perfect if we plan on printing the cards and using them on hybrid/physical projects… but if we’re actually going to be using them on a digital page alongside papers and elements that do already have digital texture applied… it becomes a bit strange and mish-mashy (technical term, LOL).

So… we’ll fix that here by adding our own texture!

Next, find a solid digital paper that has a texture you like, and open it up in your photo-editing software, as well. I’ve selected this blue-colored solid from Mari’s kit…

See the awesome weathered “canvass-y” texture on that particular paper? It’s going to be perfect for adding some texture and realism to the pocket cards!

To be able to use it for this purpose, you’ll want to remove the color from the solid paper (i.e. if your solid paper is red… or orange… or blue, like mine — no matter! we’ll fix that here!).

To remove the color, I’m going to use the following menu path (again, I’m working in PSE here for this tutorial… but the commands should be pretty similar in most other programs)… Enhance –> Adjust Color –> Remove Color

…and in doing so, I’m left with the following (the same exact paper — but now it’s in greyscale color):

Next, we’ll drag the paper into the window that contains your item, placing it on top of that item. You’ll be able to see the layer order in your layers palette (see right, in the image below, which shows the paper layer on top of the blue lined pocket card layer)…

See how the paper has taken the “shape” of the pocket card (3″ x 4″ — instead of its original 12″ x 12″)? Well, the entire paper (all 12″ x 12″ of it) is still there. If you click and drag, you’ll find that you can move the paper around on top of the card.

Drag it around until you find texture you really like. I’ve moved it around until I found some of the gorgeous painty brushmarks that will add some character to this card…

Now we’re going to do the final step… which is to use the blending modes in the layers palette to change the greyscale paper into a texture overlay. In PSE, you’ll find this function here (see the arrows)…

I like the “soft light” overlay mode for this purpose (but you can play around with all of the different options and find one that suits your needs!).

Here’s what happened when I chose “soft light” (note that you can now see the card “through” the paper, which has become a transparent texture overlay; the LEFT side of the card is the “before” and the RIGHT side of the card has some awesome weathered digital texture now)…

And… that’s it! Wasn’t that easy?! Here’s a look at my 3 newly-textured cards…

Here’s hoping this simple little trick opens up all sorts of new possibilities for you to use some of the items in your digital stash that you might have been avoiding because they didn’t have any texture… and/or allows you to mix-&-match products in your stash that do have texture with the ones that do not (without it looking like a mish-mash of different styles!). It’s just so quick and easy, and helps make your digital supplies more versatile!

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About the Author  Laura Passage is the owner of The Digital Press, and also the designer behind Wishing Well Creations by Laura Passage (WWC). She works now as a graphic designer in both the digital and paper scrapbooking industries, but previously spent over a decade working as a college soccer coach. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons (previously affectionately referred to as The Tiny Terrorists, but nowadays they’ve entered the pre-teen phase — so it’s even worse than that!)… and she will rationalize eating coffee ice cream for breakfast to anyone who questions it.

Hello, and welcome to another edition of our Tutorial Tuesday series here on The Digital Press blog! Today I’m going to show you a creative hack for using the Project Life App, something I like to call the “page within a page” technique. This technique is fairly simple and it’s a fun way to make your app-scrapped pages a little more creative. It’s also a great way to add more photos to your layouts without making them seem overly photo-heavy.

Before we get started today with my “page within a page” process… a quick recap, for anyone new to this series! You may recall that in my last Tutorial Tuesday blog post, I talked about some of the newer features of the Project Life App — like ‘Freeform Text’ and adding your own fonts. Additionally, be sure to read the entire “phone scrapping” series here on The Digital Press blog if you’ve never used your phone or tablet to scrapbook, and/or if you need a refresher on some of the things you can do.

And now, let’s get started with today’s project! Here’s a look at a page that I was working on in the Project Life app…

I use a light grey background from the ‘Project 52 2016’ kit and the white frame photo overlay is from the ‘Project 12 2019 May Overlays’ in the Project Life App. I really like the way the photos pop with the white frame on the neutral gray background.

Don’t worry about exiting out of the first layout, it will save in your library in the app. You could use any layout for this trick, I’m partial to the trio of 3×4 pockets into a 4×6 pocket, but the possibilities are endless. Get creative! Also, I leave the background white on this layout. I think It helps to coordinate with the frame overlay.

This step can get a little tricky. When you pinch and zoom in the app, it can be difficult to get it *exactly* centered. I think it’s easier to crop the photo before you bring it in to the app, either in your native photo editor, or even in Pic Tap Go (which is integrated right into the Project Life App). You can see I repeated Step 2 for the bottom left pocket.

I used k.becca’s Autumn Leaves & Pumpkins papers as pocket cards for this layout. She’s one of our favorite TDP Designer Alumni, visiting the site again this month for our 5th Birthday Reunion! Be sure to hurry and check out her shop while it’s open again during TDP’s birthday celebration (through 12/2).

Then I download the layout to my computer and open it in Photoshop to add embellishments, as well as any journaling or titles, if I didn’t add it in the app prior.

Here’s a look at the finished layout…

I love Karla Noel’s photo stamps! This one is from her Love Life – Sentiment Bits. The Thanksgiving title (recolored) is from Thanks – The Elements by Karla Noel too. I added other embellishments to fill in the white space on the trio of photos from Cornelia Designs – With a Grateful Heart kit.

I found some great layouts by our very own Meagan & Jenna from the Creative Team, in the gallery that used this technique.
Look at Meagan’s gorgeous layout. Now she used the Over app as well, but you can see how the middle photo pocket on the left side has the 3 square photos with the white space, that was done in the Project Life App. She used Rachel Etrog’s October Stuff kit. 

And this one by Jenna. She used Rachel Etrog’s At The Fair collection.

Can you tell we all love the neutral gray background with the white frame overlay on our photos? Great minds think alike.

Another fun trick is to “mat” your photos with a colored background using the ‘page within a page’ technique.

And here’s the finished layout after it got some embellishing in Photoshop.

Similar to my first page, I used Cornelia Designs – With a Grateful Heart kit, Karla Noel’s KN Touch font (for the title) and her Thanks – The Elements (the circle stamps). The coral colored background is from an app kit called ‘Brave Patient’

It’s a fun trick and a great way to add some color to your app layouts, but also what I’d consider white space, to allow for some embellishments.

Now are you asking yourself “Why doesn’t she just do ALL of it in Photoshop?” I know… I know. It’s a great question. Here’s my answer. I take the majority of my pictures on my phone and I love the ease of scrapbooking on the go with my phone. I can complete a layout while I’m on lunch break at work, while waiting in the doctor’s office, or even in bed! I used the Project Life App to get current after being perpetually 7-ish years behind. My love for the app runs DEEP. That being said, now that I’m caught up, I have the luxury of being able to spruce up my app layouts in Photoshop when I want to. However, if you want to do this all in Photoshop, here at The Digital Press, there is NO shortage of amazing pocket templates by our designers. Cornelia Designs has designed some stunning pocket templates in her Pocket Basics Template series, Anita Designs has quite a few template packs in her ‘A Story Captured’ series that lean toward pocket-style with an artistic flair, and Little Lamm Paper Co has a bunch of ‘Add-On Photoshop Templates’ that are great for adding multiple photos to one pocket.

Let me know if you have any questions about the Project Life App – I’d love to get you scrapping on the go! Be sure to post your layouts that use TDP products along with the Project Life app in the gallery! We’d love to see what you come up with!

Happy Scrapping!

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About the Author  Ashley is a member of The Digital Press creative team. She lives in Utah with her husband, 2 young boys, and 1 lazy (but lovable) pup. She works full-time at a busy medical clinic. She has been scrapbooking since childhood… scrapbooking digitally for 10 years… and most recently (& obsessively) app-scrapping on her phone. 

Welcome to another edition of our Tutorial Tuesday series here on The Digital Press blog! Today I’m here to share tips for using masks and overlays on your digital scrapbooking pages.

We all love those big-photo layouts, right, such as my example page just below this paragraph? You know… the pages which have that one spectacular picture that deserves all the accolades of being front-and-center on a page. But what happens when you want to create a collage, of sorts, and blend photos together? It might seem like a challenging task, but it’s not. Let me share with you a few quick and easy tips on combining photos to create a background for your scrapbooking layout.

When I posted this layout (above) in the gallery, I received some love with a request for instructions on how I created the look of the overlapped black and white photos. Well, here we are! What I’m going to share are my own tips on how I achieved this look. As many of us know, there is often “more than one way to skin a cat” and the world of digital scrapbooking offers a multitude of ways to achieve a specific look or outcome. I’ll be using Photoshop CC for this tutorial, but the same or similar results can be achieved in Photoshop Elements, or any other program that allows for layers and masks.

Tip 1: Start with a neutral foundation

I typically start my pages with a white or off-white color. This allows for a more seamless blending of the photos (although I will note here that sometimes I don’t want the images to just fade away and the harsher edges are good to see). If you use a kraft paper or a darker color, you may need to play with Blending Modes a bit to get the right effect. But that’s the fun of digital, playing around to find what works for you! Personally, I would steer away from patterned paper unless it is neutral tone on tone and almost not visible.

In my layout I used a simple layer filled of a light grey, knowing ahead of time that I was going to convert my photos to black and white.

Tip 2: Select photos that work with each other

Easier said than done, right? How do you determine if the photos “work” or not? Grab two or three images and place them on your layout. Lower the fill percentage on the top photo(s) to make it slightly transparent. This will allow you to position the pictures into an arrangement that will work. Look for areas where the images naturally seem to fit together.

Here’s an example of how the photos I chose for my layout, when reversed, do NOT work (vs. the placement I ended up with for the final scrapbook page). The crown in the smaller photo is too close and overlapping with the face on the larger one … nope.

What you are looking for are natural lines where things like shoulders, heads, faces blend together. It’s a bit like putting a puzzle together.

Tip 3: Make it easy for yourself and use masks or overlays

With the foundation laid of where you’d like the photos, it’s a quick step to throw some masks or overlays under them (there are plenty of options in the shop). I’m usually looking more for a general shape of what I’m looking for, i.e., circular, rectangular, etc. and will seek that out. Some masks have ‘hard’ edges to them, but many have the softer, faded edges, which are perfect when you’re layering photos in the way we’d like to in this example.

Start by adding the masks over the photos.

You may be reading this and thinking I’ve done things backwards. Surely you would do the masks or overlay first and then add the photos? Yes, you could. However, for my workflow with this kind of layout, I like to initially put the mask over the photo so I can see what will show through when I reverse the layers and clip the picture to the mask.

Sometimes through use of this process of line, I find a mask that just isn’t right or needs some resizing. In this example, the mask for the larger photo will reveal almost all of my son’s face, with other sections of the photo just showing through in bits and pieces — exactly what I was looking for!

Repeat for all photos.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to “mask the mask” 

Sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it … “mask the mask”. We’d all love it if a scrapbook page came together 100% perfect 100% of the time. Yeah. No. Doesn’t really happen that way. Even in selecting what seems to be the ideal masks or overlays for layering your background photos, there might still be a need to adjust a few edges.

You’ll see here that the upper left and lower right corners of my smaller photo still need a bit of refinement.

Making sure you have the mask layer selected, click on the “add layer mask” icon in the Layers Palette. A white square will be added to the layer – this is the one you want to work on. Select a brush from your palette (soft round, artsy – whatever you like), and using black or white, “paint” the areas of the mask you’d like to adjust. Remember, when using masks, a black brush will conceal or hide things, while white will reveal (great if you accidentally hide too much).

As you can see here, just a few small changes helps soften the edges and assist with blending the two photos. With my background now complete, I can layer in other photos or, as I did in my layout, add a template to the page.

While this might seem like a complicated process, it’s really only a few steps and then some artistic playing around to get the look you’d like – and with so many paint-like masks available at The Digital Press, why not give this technique a try?

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About the Author  Kat Hansen is a creative team member here at The Digital Press. A HR Manager in the real estate industry by day, she loves the opportunity to spend a few hours each evening being creative. Vacation memories feature pretty heavily in Kat’s scrapbooking pages, as well as her health and fitness journey. Kat has quite the sense of humor (she “blames” her father for this), which she incorporates into her journaling and memory-keeping.