Fall is a great time to get images that can easily be made into Fall Digital Scrapbooking Embellishments. These embellishments can be used to really make your digital scrapbooking pages and projects look great!
Here are step by step instructions to making a Fall Digital Scrapbooking leaf in Photoshop. For those of you using Photoshop Elements check back tomorrow for how to do it in Photoshop Elements too.
How to make a Fall Digital Scrapbooking Leaf Embellishment in Photoshop:
Step 1: Gather up some leaves. If you can find ones with interesting shapes and colors that would be nice. In Southern California where I live we don’t have as many interesting colors especially this early, but if you follow along you will get the idea for your wonderful foliage!
Step 2: Put the leaves on the Scanner and scan into Photoshop. First turn on your scanner and then turn on Photoshop.
Arrange a leaf or two on the scanner bed. Make sure the leaves are not touching each other and that they are in the areas that can be scanned.
Close the lid and go to the Photoshop controls.
Step 3: Select the scanner controls in Photoshop. Go to the top menu in Photoshop and select File > Import > WIA Support.
Then a pop-up menu will appear select the start button.
Then from the list of devices, select the scanner that you want to use.
After you have picked the scanner, then set the scanner setting and scan your leaves
Here you can double check to see if the leaves are touching or out not in the scanner bed correctly. If all looks ok then push the scan button.
Step 4: Once Photoshop brings the scanned leaves in then start preparing it to turn into an embellishment. First duplicate the background and hide the original scanned layer.
Next, Select the Magic Wand Tool and click on the visual layer’s white background. This will select all the area surrounding the the leaves. Hit the Delete button to delete the white background. Deselect to turn off the selection controls.
Step 5: Put each leaf on it’s own layer. After the background is removed. And if you have multiple leaves you have scanned at one time and they have plenty of space between them, then you want to select them separately and put them on their own layer. One way to select them individually is to get the Marquee tool and draw a rectangle or elliptical marquee around the leaf (see example below). Make sure that you select the area that contains only one leaf! Then put this leaf on it’s own layer by hitting Ctrl + J computer keys – (MAC Cmd +J) If you would like to know more about the Marquee tool then read these articles: In the Spotlight: The Marquee Tool Part 1 which is about the Rectangular Marquee tool and also check out this article: In the Spotlight: The Elliptical Marquee Tool Part 2 that gives more information about the Elliptical Marquee Tool.
Repeat the step above for each leaf until each leaf is on it’s own layer.
Step 6: Hide other layers so you can work one leaf at a time.
When all the layers are hidden except the layer you want to work with you can save the leaf as a PNG Format so that it will be an embellishment and in a format that will save the transparent places. Turn on each leaf you have scanned and save that layer as a separate leaf embellishment.
Now you have a leaf embellishment or two for your digital scrapbooking projects.
It is easy and fun to make your own embellishments!
Scrap Bonus Tip: Change your leaves colors with other Photoshop controls and filters. For example I took the brown leaf and turned it yellow using color variation controls in Photoshop.
I repeated this step several times and got several color variations on the same leaf! Now using just this one leaf I have four different color leave embellishments to use on my digital scrapbooking page!
Tip 7: Start digital scrapbooking with your leaf embellishments. Take your new leaf embellishments and get some digital scrapbooking papers and supplies and start making a great digital scrapbooking page with your new digital scrapbooking leaf embellishments.
I took this kit the Autumn Days Digital Scrapbooking Kit and used it with my new digital scrapbooking leaves that I just made in Photoshop. (You can get this kit in the Scrap Shop along with other great Fall digital scrapbooking supplies)
With this digital scrapbooking kit, a photo and the new digital scrapbooking leaves that I just made I designed a fun digital scrapbooking page.
You can make great digital scrapbooking leaf embellishments too! Take your children on a hunt for leaves this weekend and scan all the leaves you gather and make exciting digital scrapbooking embellishments for your Autumn scrapbooking projects.
Check back tomorrow for Photoshop Elements directions for making a leaf embellishment. Some steps are the same but some steps are different and we will be showing you how to use the Lasso Tool instead of the Marquee Tool. Both tools can be used in Photoshop or Elements so it is good way to learn a new tool.
till tomorrow then — happy scrapping,
Cheri
————–
Get training to learn digital scrapbooking, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements ~ buy the Getting Started Series for Digital Scrapbooking in either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
