Valentine - Old School, No Scraps

This tutorial was written by me on 01/13/2015 and assumes you have working knowledge of PSP. Any similarities to other tuts is purely coincidental and not done on purpose.

For this tut you will need:

PSP - I use version X3 but most versions will do

Tube of choice - I'm using the artwork of Jasmine Becket-Griffith

You can purchase this tube at CDO. Do not use this tube without purchasing a license first.

Ding font ess_bgalore

(I have searched all over the internet, can NOT find this font anywhere by this name or any other, if you or someone you know owns it, please let me know asap and I'll credit them and/or remove it.)
Mura Meister Copies
Xero Fritillary, Porcelain, Radiance
Mask84 by WSL

Font of choice, I used Volante

Let's begin, remember to save often.

Open a new workspace 600 x 600. Flood fill white. Click on your text tool and find your ding font. Select a nice medium dark color from your tube for your foreground, I used #870018, stroke 1. Background a slightly lighter color, I used #c6436f. Click inside your canvas, type a lower case e or other letter of choice. Highlight the shape in the text entry box, change the size to 300. This is what I used for my tag, you might want differently depending on your shape and tube.

Move the shape to about the center of your canvas and convert to raster. Rename this layer Shape. Give it an inner bevel of choice, I used this one:

Copy your tube and paste as a new layer. Duplicate your tube, hide the original for now and move the duplicate under your shape layer. Apply Mura Meister Copies, wallpaper rotate at default settings. Resize this layer 80%, all layers unchecked. Give it a gaussian blur of 10. If desired, move it so the part you like best is whithin the center of the shape. I ended up rotating mine 90 degrees to the right.

Activate your shape layer again. Click inside the very center with your magic wand. Expand by 3. Invert selection, activate the blurred layer and press delete. Deselect. Rename this layer Blur.

With your blurred layer still active, add a new raster layer. Activate your shape layer again. This time you're going to click within open space outside the center:

Activate blank layer you made under your shape, flood fill with a light color from your tube. I used #e26293. Rename this layer Shape Fill. Apply Xero, Fritillary at default settings but change the Variation to 25.

Give your shape layer a drop shadow of 0, 0, 100, 3.

Activate and unhide your original tube layer, should be top layer in your palette. I arranged mine so it looks like she's sitting on the bottom inner edge of my shape.

Duplicate your tube. On the original apply Xero Porcelain at default settings but move the blue slider to 0. On the duplicate, apply Xero Radience at the settings below, change the blend mode to soft light or one that looks good with your tube and lower the opacity to 50%.

Activate the original tube layer again. Give her a drop shadow of -3, 3, 60, 10. Repeat the drop shadow at 1, -1, 50, 5.

Hide the white background layer. Copy merged and paste back into your canvas as a new layer. Move this merged layer to just above the white layer. Give it a gaussian blur of 5. Then give it a radial blur at Spin, Strength at 10, Elliptical checked and all other options at 0.

Add mask from image, merge group. If necessary, use the raster deform tool to make sure the mask is slightly larger then your tube and/or shape, this will ensure you don't crop off any part of your tube, shape or drop shadows. Crop layer opaque.

If you wish to resize your tag, do it now. I resized 85%, all layers checked.

Activate the top layer in your palette. Add your copyright info, license and tagger's mark.

Add your name, I used the same colors I did for the shape. Give it an inner bevel of choice, again I used the same as for the shape. Apply a thin white gradient glow. Finally give your name a drop shadow, I used -2, 2, 50, 5.

Delete the white background layer, merge visible and save as a png. Or merge all and save as a jpg. Congrats, you're done!

Because I Do - PTU Scraps

This tutorial was written by me on 01/05/2015 and assumes you have working knowledge of PSP. Any similarities to other tuts is purely coincidental and not done on purpose.

 

 For this tut you will need:

PSP - I use version X3 but most versions will do

Tube of choice - I'm using the artwork of Karen Middleton

You can purchase this tube at CDO. Do not use this tube without purchasing a license first.

Scrap kit Because I Do by WD Designz

Valentine Mask 15 by Vix

Font of choice, I used Van den Velde Script

 

Let's begin, remember to save often.

Open a new 700 x 700 canvas in psp, flood fill white. Open a frame of choice, I used element 58. Copy and paste as a new layer. If your chosen frame sits more horizontal then vertical, rotate it 90 degrees. Resize as desired. I resized mine down 85%.

Open a paper of choice, I used paper 1. Resize it down so it's slightly larger then your frame, I resized mine 70%. Now press ctrl x to cut this layer out to the clipboard. Activate your frame layer. Select all, float, defloat. With your cut paper still on the clipboard, activate the blank layer above the frame and paste into selection. Deselect.

Change the blend mode of the paper layer to hard light. Merge down 1 time.

 

Copy another paper of choice, I used 8. Paste a new layer. Arrange this layer under your frame and resize so it's again slightly larger then the interior of your frame. I resized mine 50%.

Activate your frame layer again. Click inside with your magic wand, expand selection by 6. Add a new raster layer and flood fill with white. Invert selection, activate the paper layer and press delete. Deselect. Move the white layer under the frame but on top of the paper. Change the blend mode to Soft Light.

Activate the frame layer again, copy your tube and paste as a new layer. Resize if needed. Arrange on your frame where you like it. My tube has the top of her head cut off so she'll have that part under the top of the frame, but that's for later.

Give your tube a drop shadow. I used -3, 3, 60, 10. Then repeat the drop shadow at 1, -2, 50, 5. Give your frame a drop shadow of 0, 0, 70, 10.

Now it's time to start adding our elements. Don't forget to drop shadow each of them after you add them, unless they already have a shadow. I used the same shadow as I did for the frame for my elements.

Element 36, 50%. Rotate 75 to the right. Arrange on the top right side behind frame, duplicate and mirror.
Element 5, 60%. On the top right behind the green leaves, duplicate and mirror.

Element 55, 60%. On the left behind frame, duplicate, mirror.
Element 6, 90%. Arrange on top behind frame. Duplicate, flip and mirror.
Element 9, 25%. Arrange on bottom right corner of frame.

Element 53, 40%. Rotate 20 to the right and sharpen 1 time. Arrange on bottom left of frame.
Element 51, 30% and sharpen 1 time. Arrange on the left behind the white flower cluster.

Element 15, 60%. Rotate 25 to the right and sharpen 1 time. Arrange on top right of frame.
Element 44, 40%. Arrange under the bow.

Element 54. Arrange at the top left of the tag, under the frame but on top of the white layer.

Wordart 2, 50%, Arrange at the bottom of your tag, but make sure it's the top layer in your palette. Give this one a drop shadow of 0, 2, 80, 5.

Activate the bottom white layer in your palette. Copy a paper of choice and paste as a new layer. I used paper 4.

Add your mask from image, merge group. Duplicate mask layer and merge down 1 time. With your mask layer still active, crop layer opaque. The mask should be the largest layer on your tag.

Now is the time to resize your tag if you desire. I resized mine 75%.

Click on your selection tool. We're going to fix our tube. Zoom in about 300%, enough you can clearly see what you're working on. Draw your selection tool around the part of the tube that you want under the frame:

Promote selection to layer. Activate the original tube layer and press delete, deselect. Move the promoted layer under the frame layer.

Now I chose to do the same thing with the part of the bow that sits over the tube:

Be sure to move the promoted part of the bow below the promoted part of the tube. There's a tiny bit sticking out of the top of the frame, you can leave that or remove it with the selection tool as I did.

Activate the top layer in your palette, add your copyright, license info and tagger's mark.

Add your name using colors from your tube or kit. Give it an inner bevel of choice, I used this one:

Then apply a standard white gradient glow. Finally drop shadow your name, -2, 2, 50, 5.

Delete the white background layer, merge visible and save as a png. Or merge all and save as a jpg. Congrats, you're done.

CT Tag - Little Star - Extras & IM Stat

Hello everyone, I have a new CT tag to show off. This uses the always gorgeous art of Keith Garvey and a very pretty scrap kit by WD Designz. 

I've made an Incredimail Stat and matching extras. You can find the extras here and click the stat preview below to download the IMF file.