Thanksgiving is almost here and as digital scrapbookers, we usually get all excited about all the flashy Digital Scrapbooking Kits, digital embellishments, digital papers, and forget about the Custom Thanksgiving Brushes for using in either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
Compared to a digital scrapbooking kits, the black custom brush kits don’t look that exciting. They usually just look like black, white and shades of gray images – how boring! But for anyone that has used a custom brush they will tell you custom brushes are wonderful and have many more uses than you might first guess too!
For example, the Thanksgiving Custom Brush Set , (see the image on the left) is how a brush kit might look.
Usually, custom brushes are variations of black and gray colors only when you first get them. But when you use your brush the magic begins as you load your own colors into the brush in your graphic program like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Like magic, the custom brush doesn’t have to be black anymore!
Use Brushes to add more detail to your Digital Scrapbooking Projects!
A favorite way that digital scrapbookers like using the custom brushes is to 
use them in the way a traditional scrapbooker would use a rubber stamp; by picking up the ink on the stamp and “stamping” on a paper or tag.
Well, custom brushes can be used like this… only a digital-version of a rubber stamp!
In the example to the right you can see the brush in Photoshop Elements and the tag that was “stamped”.
You pick your custom brush, pick your color and “stamp” your digital tag or digital paper!
For example, the image of the tag and the outline of the cornucopia is the actual brush tool moving away from the paper after “stamping”, and the image of the brown cornucopia on the tag is the “stamped” brush after is is applied to the tag! The black brush in the kit, now with color applied and “stamped,” makes the brown cornucopia image!
Here is how it looks when you are done – see image below:
You can see how this tag was made up more as a Thanksgiving Holiday tag than just a regular tag.
Also you can use custom brushes for print projects as well.
If you have been following the blogs – in yesterday’s day blog we talked about making place cards with digital embellishments but you can also use brushes the same way on place cards. Below is an image of the same place card template in Photoshop Elements but this time we used brushes instead of digital embellishments.
In (#1) the Thanksgiving outline brush was used with a color. This is nice if you want a simple design. Also fun if you want your young Thanksgiving guests to color in their place card design! (See more about coloring later in this blog!)
Next look at (#2) in the image above. This Thanksgiving Leaf is a more solid brush so it is nice to pick up a color and use it as a more prominent design feature on this place card, tag or what ever you “stamp” with this kind of custom brush.
Now look at (#3) this is the same solid type brush used in #2 but has a layer style applied to it. This makes it look more 3-D and almost like a digital embellishment.
You could use this same idea to make a Thanksgiving invitation or a Thanksgiving card!
Just by using the Thanksgiving brush set to “stamp” a pattern on, then customize into a invitation or card, print and you are ready to go!
Bet brushes aren’t looking as boring now!
But wait there is more!
Custom Brushes can be used to Make Coloring Pages for Kids!
Did you know that you can turn your digital scrapbooking custom brushes into your very own coloring pages for your kids? You 
are not alone… many people don’t know about this simple brush trick!
Creating games and crafts to keep your kids preoccupied, busy, and happy is always a constant challenges as a mother! It can be hard to think of new activities… in fact, it can seem like a full-time job!
Custom brushes are definitely one of the easiest ways to create in quick coloring pages for kids. Coloring Pages made from custom brushes can save money and keep children entertained during the holidays. You can make Thanksgiving color pages for children to color while your are cooking the turkey!
Custom brushes are easy to use, and once you get into digital scrapbooking, you will absolutely love them! If you use a brush that looks more like line art (instead of more solid-looking digital brush) then you can enlarge the size of the brush, stamp it on a digital page, and then print it out for a home-made coloring page!
Creating games and crafts to keep your kids preoccupied, busy, and happy is always nice while you are busy cooking, visiting, or watching the holiday games on TV. Get your kids excited for this special day by making color pages from your custom brushes! Create memories and create new holiday traditions this year!
Everything so far has been made from this one Thanksgiving Custom Brush Set can you believe that! Again brushes are not so boring as one might first think!!!!
But wait there is more!
Custom Brushes Contain Even More Fun When you Colorize Them!
By taking a brush from the Thanksgiving Custom Brush Set and colorizing them, you can turn them into embellishments to add to your digital scrapbooking pages!
By colorizing, I mean to take a black and white (or gray-toned) custom brush and apply different colors to different areas of the brushed image. Doing this makes a black and gray-toned “stamped” brush look more like a colored brush embellishment …which means it can look and act more like a digital embellishment (like, adding drop shadow), than a simple-looking “stamped” brush image.
It’s common for beginner digital scrapbookers to overlook custom brushes when they add digital accessories to their digital scrapbooking projects. Many beginner scrappers aren’t as familiar with custom brushes and don’t realize the potential of a good custom brush, especially when they’re choosing supplies filled with pretty, sparkly, eye-catching digital embellishments! But you can also turn your brushes into fancy embellishments if you simply colorize them!
Step 1: ”Stamp” the brush. I took this custom brush and applied it to a new document using black as the outline color within Photoshop Elements (you can also do this in Photoshop). This brush is great because it was designed as an outline-brush… which is perfect for us to colorize in the following steps.
Step 2: Colorize your “stamped” brush!
Truthfully, a custom brush might look a little boring unless you decide to add a little color! Once you apply some color to your custom brush, it’s amazing how they can change right before your eyes and become so colorful and exciting!
Next, I applied different colors to the brush image. Adding a little color works wonders, and yes, because I did take a few extra steps to personalize the brush, I could color it in the way that I wanted it to be colored! Unlike pre-colored digital embellishments, I could color my turkey brush embellishment in any colors I want!
After seeing this change in the brush embellishment, brushes are starting to seem a lot more magical, aren’t they?!
Step 3: Add some effects- like a drop shadow.
Yes, if done correctly you can now add a drop shadow to your colorized brush embellishment. A drop shadow will make it appear more 3-D and less like a flat image.
(For more information about brushes and how to colorize them, please see our brush training in either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.)
Once a brush is colorized you can add them to your Thanksgiving Scrapbooking pages or projects!
See the example below of how this brush that is turned into a cute digital scrapbooking embellishment is added to a Thanksgiving Digital Scrapbooking Page:
This brush has turned out to be such a great Thanksgiving embellishment.
Try colorizing your custom brushes! Get Custom Brush sets and training (Photoshop or Photoshop Elements) so that you can include them in your next digital scrapbooking project!
Get Custom Brushes and Training at the Scrap Shop!
Go to the Digital Scrapbooks and More Scrap Shop to purchase this adorable the Thanksgiving Custom Brush Set that can provide several fun craft activities for the kids, or great for digital scrapbooking projects too!
Want to learn more about Digital Custom Brushes in general and get detailed instruction on how to begin using Brushes? Click Here for comprehensive and helpful Tutorials on using Digital Custom Brushes.
If you want to join in the digital scrapbooking fun, but not sure how to digitally scrap, then check out our Getting Started Series for in-depth tutorials and training on how to begin digital scrapbooking as soon as TODAY!- Click Here
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
