Christmas Scrapbook Page With Photoshop Elements

Scrapbook pages are a great way to share special occasions and Photoshop Elements makes it both easy and fun to do. In this step-by-step tutorial we'll show you how to create a scrapbook page with digital photos, use a clipart border for decoration and add text too.

Both Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop work great with EPS format graphics so we've included a free Cliptures clip art image in EPS format so that you can do this tutorial on your computer. Although the directions are written for Photoshop Elements, the same basic steps work in Photoshop too.

Important Terms:

Click and Drag: Click and hold the mouse button down. While continuing to hold the mouse button down, move the mouse to somewhere else on your screen before releasing the mouse button.

Handle: Small square boxes that appear at each corner of an object when it is selected.

Project Setup

Create a project folder on your desktop to keep the files for this scrapbook page project in one place.

Download the Cliptures image and save it in the project folder. This image is the EPS color version from the Cliptures Vol 31 - Fun Borders 3. Click the link below to download the version for your computer. Then move the downloaded file to your project folder and decompress it. (The files are compressed in .zip format.)

|:. Download Windows Image .:|:. Download Macintosh Image .:|

Prepare Your Photos

1. Select 2 to 4 (depending on their size) digital photos to use on the scrapbook page and place a copy of them into the project folder. (Do any photo touch up that might need to be done first.)

2. The scrapbook page will have a printing resolution of 200 pixels per inch and your photos will need to be the same resolution. Here's an easy way to both crop a photo and set it to the right resolution at the same time.

3. With your photo open, select the Crop Tool from the toolbox. When you select the Crop tool, a shortcuts menu bar will appear below the menu bar at the top of the Photoshop Elements window. Clear any settings in the Width and Height options so they are both blank. Then set the Resolution to 200 and the Measurement to pixels/inch.

4. Now you can crop the photo to get rid of any extra subject matter you don't want around the outer areas of the photo.

5. Click and drag over the photo near the upper left point where you want to start cropping and move the mouse towards the lower right corner of the photo. When you've selected the general part of the photo you want to keep, release the mouse button. You can fine-tune the cropping area by clicking and dragging the handles that appear at the corners of the cropping area. Once you've adjusted the cropping area, click the Check symbol on the right part of the shortcuts bar. Your photo will be cropped and its printing size will be set to 200 pixels per inch.

6. Follow these steps for each photo you're going to use on your scrapbook page and save it in the project folder. (If your original is a .JPG format image, don't save it in that format. Instead, save it as a Photoshop .PSD format file. From the menu bar select: File > Save As and select Photoshop for the file format.)

Create the Master Scrapbook Page

1. Create a new Photoshop Elements file by selecting from the menu bar: File > New

2. In the New File window set the file size to: Width 7.5 inches, Height 10 inches, Resolution 200 Pixels/Inch, and RGB mode.

Note: Since most printers will not print all the way to the edge of an 8.5 x 11 inch page, the printed scrapbook page will be 7.5 x 10 inches. After it's printed, trim the white borders off the printed page and mount it on a piece of complimentary colored 8.5 x 11 inch paper. That will leave a 1/2 inch colored border on the scrapbook page.

Add a Background Color

1. From the menu bar select: Windows > Color Swatches to open the swatch window.

2. Move the mouse over the swatch window and click a light yellow colored swatch.

3. From the toolbox select the Paint Bucket tool.

4. Move the mouse over the page and click the mouse button. The page will be filled with the selected color.

Add Cliptures Clipart Border

The Cliptures clipart border image is a "vectored" EPS format graphic. All Cliptures clipart is created with another Adobe product: Adobe Illustrator. The EPS format they are saved in works really well with Photoshop Elements and all of Adobe's other products too. One of the cool things about using Cliptures clipart with Photoshop Elements is that you can make the images as large or small as you want and they will retain their crisp, high-resolution appearance. Another cool feature is that the background areas around the image are transparent. (The center part of this border is transparent.) This makes it easy to layer Cliptures graphics on top of backgrounds or other layers. And that's perfect for this project because we're going to use the Cliptures border around the edge of the page.

1. From the menu bar, select: File > Open

2. Click on the Christmas.eps image to select it and then click Open. This will pop up the "Rasterize Generic EPS Format" window.

3. Make sure that the check box for Anti-aliased is checked and the box for Constrain Proportions is not checked. Set the Width to 7.7 inches, the Height to 10.2 inches, Resolution to 200 pixels/inch and Mode to RGB Color. (This is going to open the border image slightly larger than the finished scrapbook page.)

4. Click OK and the image will open in a new window.

5. Increase the contrast in the image a little by selecting from the menu bar: Enhance > Quick Fix.

6. In the Quick Fix window set:

1. Select Adjustment Category: Brightness

2. Select Adjustment: Brightness/Contrast

3. Apply Brightness/Contrast: Brightness 0 and Contrast to +25

Then click OK.

7. Select the Move tool from the toolbox.

8. While holding down the Shift Key, click and drag (click on top of the Cliptures border) over onto the scrapbook page window. This will copy the Cliptures border onto a new layer on the scrapbook page. (Holding down the Shift key while you click and drag the border will center it on the scrapbook page.)

9. You're done with the separate Cliptures image window so you can close it. When Elements asks if you want to save the file, click No.

Save the Scrapbook Page

Save your page as you go along just in case something happens while you're working on it.

1. Save the scrapbook page by selecting: File > Save As from the menu bar. Browse to the project folder (if it's not the current folder) and save it along with the other project files.

2. Give it a short easy name and then click Save.

Keep the scrapbook page file open so you can add the other elements to it as your continue the project.

Add Photos

Photos can be added to the scrapbook page the same way the Cliptures graphic was added.

1. From the menu bar, select: File > Open and then select the first photo to add to the scrapbook page. (Make sure it is a single layer image by selecting: Layer > Flatten Image from the menu bar.)

2. Select the Move tool from the toolbox.

3. Click and drag the photo from the photo window to the scrapbook page window.

Repeat these steps for each of the photos you're adding to the scrapbook page.

Edit Page Elements

Layers:
As you add each photo to the scrapbook page, Elements will place it on a new separate layer. This makes it easy to move around the individual elements on the page. This is a powerful feature of Photoshop Elements because it allows you to overlap objects on top of each other.

To see the current layers in the scrapbook page open the Layers window by selecting: Window > Layers. This will show you how many layers there are in the page and their current stacking order.

The layer at the top of the list is the topmost layer in the page. Anything on this layer will cover over everything in all the layers below it.

You can use the Layers window to change the stacking order of the layers. Just click and drag a layer above or below whatever other layer (in the Layers window) you want.

Moving Objects:
Elements is pretty smart. Select the Move tool from the toolbox and then click on top of an object on the page. In most cases Elements will select that object regardless of what layer it is on. (If you have trouble selecting it this way, you can also select it by choosing its layer in the Layers window.)

Once you have selected an object you can use the Move tool to click and drag it wherever you want.

Resizing Photos:
It's easy to fine-tune the size of objects on the page. Be careful though! If you take a small photo and make it real big, it will probably print fuzzy.

1. To resize an object select the Move tool in the toolbox and either click on the object or select its layer in the Layers window. When the object is selected you will see a handle in each corner of the box around the object.

2. While holding down the Shift key, click and drag one of the four handles. Dragging outwards will make the object bigger. Dragging inwards will make it smaller. Holding down the Shift key while doing this keeps the image from getting its height and width distorted out of proportion.

3. After you have changed the size of the object, press the Enter/Return key on the keyboard or click the check mark on the shortcuts menu bar to make the resizing permanent.

Rotating Objects:
Adding a little tilt to objects can give the scrapbook page an informal look and it's easy to do too!

1. Select the Move tool in the toolbox and click on an object on the page. When the object is selected you'll see the handles in each corner of the rectangle around the object.

2. Move the mouse a little outside of one of the handles. When you get it in the right spot the mouse cursor will change to a little curved line with an arrow on both ends.

3. When you see the cursor change, click and drag the mouse a little bit left or right. As you drag your mouse you will see the object begin to rotate. When you're happy with the rotation, release the mouse button.

4. After you've rotated the object, press the Enter/Return key on the keyboard or click the check mark on the shortcuts menu bar to make the rotation permanent.

Arrange Photos and Clipart

Using the above techniques (layering, moving, resizing, and rotating) you can arrange everything on the scrapbook page where you want it to be.

In the sample page, the photos have been slightly layered on top of one another. The layer with the Cliptures border has been moved to the top layer so that it slightly overlaps the edges of the photos. We also left some room to add a "Topper" (headline) to the page and a few of places to add some "Journaling" (notes) about the photos.

Add "Topper" Text

1. Select the Horizontal Type tool in the toolbox.

2. In the shortcuts bar underneath the top menu bar set the font face, size, color and other font options for the Topper text. Start out with a large font size like 36 points. You can adjust the font options after the text is on your page.

3. Once you have set the font options click on the page where you want the text to begin and type in the topper text. When you're done, click the checkbox in the text shortcuts bar.

4. Using the Move tool you can fine-tune the text by moving it around, changing the layer stacking order, and rotating it.

5. If you want to change any of the text styling, click on the Move tool on the toolbar, click on top of the text to make sure it is selected and then click on the Horizontal Type tool. When you do, the shortcuts menu bar for that text will appear under the regular menu bar and you can change the options.

In the sample page, we used a Comic font face at a 30 point size and a blue color. We also rotated the text a little to match the rotated photo theme.

Add "Journaling" Text

Over time some of us forget the special little things about an occasion. Adding "Journaling" (notes) to a scrapbook page can help us remember those moments and fill out the scrapbook page too.

Journaling is added the same way as the topper except in a smaller font size.

In the sample page, we added journaling in a few open spots using the same Comic font face but in a smaller font size and a dark orange color.

Add Drop Shadows

For a last touch, add drop shadows to the photos, the Cliptures border and the topper text. This will give the page a little depth and make the page elements look more like they're actually layered on top of one another. You do this with a Layer Style.

1. Click on the move tool in the toolbox and then click on top of one of the photos.

2. In the Window tabs on the menu toolbar, click on the Layer Styles tab.

3. At the top of the Layer Styles window is a drop-down list of styles. Click the down arrow to the right of the list and select the Drop Shadows styles.

4. Click on the style labeled Low. This will add a small drop shadow to the photo you selected.

5. If the shadow is too big or small, you can fine-tune it by selecting from the menu bar: Layer > Layer Style > Layer Settings.

6. In the Style Settings window that opens up you can increase or decrease the size of the Shadow Distance. For the sample page we set it at 6 px.

7. Add drop shadows to the rest of the photos, the Cliptures border and the topper. You can also experiment with changing the stacking order of the layers so that different objects are on top of each other.

You can also remove a style by selecting the styled layer and then selecting: Layer > Layer Style > Clear Layer Style from the menu bar.

Fine-Tune Page

With all the elements in place and the drop shadows done, now is the time to do any final fine-tuning on the page. Each of the elements is still on its own layer so it's easy to polish up the page.

Save File

From the menu bar select: File > Save. You named the page earlier so all you need to do now is click OK and the file is saved.

Print

From the menu bar select: File > Print. Check your printer to see if there are any specific options for printing photos. If there are, use them so that the photos will look their best.

Trim & Mount

After printing, let the ink dry really well before touching the printed areas. (Letting them air dry over night works really well.) If you're printing more than one page, spread them out in a safe place (don't stack them up).

When the ink is dry, trim the non-printed edges of the page and then mount the trimmed page on a piece of colored paper.

Happy Scrapping!

Cliptures Downloads!