Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

June 16, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Challenge Spotlight: Recipe Challenge

Today’s Challenge is hosted by Angelle Designs.

It’s been a while since we looked at a Recipe Challenge, so let’s do it! For the folks who haven’t taken part in a Recipe before, I look at it like a Speed Scrap but without the ticking clock. The host of the Challenge provides a list of required elements for the Challenge, and each participant approaches the Challenge from their own angle. This month’s list looks like this:

1. warm tone background
2. a frame
3. a button or a brad
4. at least 3 flowers
5. a string
6. a journal or a pocket card

(These 6 are obligatory.)

Today I have seven layouts to share with you, and we’ll look at each one to see how well it meets the terms of the Challenge. Are you ready?

Before we jump in, I have to provide the obligatory info part of the post… Each of the layouts is linked to its spot in the Challenge Gallery. This is so that you can take a closer look, and maybe leave the Scrapper some praise. Just click on the Scrapper’s user name and you’ll be taken right to the layout. (Any time you see text in any of my posts that is BOLD, COLOURED and UNDERLINED, you’ll know it’s a hyperlink that will take you somewhere else. šŸ˜‰ )

PickyMom created this layout for her entry. Her background is “mostly” warm tones. Her frame and button/brad are easily visible, as is her string. She has more than three different flowers, and she’s also included a pocket card. Full marks!

Katherine Woodin is a bird-watcher like I am! Warm tone background? Check. Frame? Check. Button/brad? Check. At least 3 flowers? Check. String? Check! Pocket or journal card? Hmmmm. Close enough!

Now, the warm tone background dricamendes used is obvious. Yellow is what gives other colours warm undertones. (Remember colour theory?) She’s used several frames, her button is acting as a grounding element, she has some twine tucked in behind her central cluster and she has tons of flowers. I think we can be generous and consider her journal spot as a “card”.

DiDi’s Mom has also used a (mainly) yellow – therefore warm – background. She tucked her frame in behind her photo, and has both button and brad represented. I see a journaling card, a tag, and a label she’s used for some of her journaling. There’s a curl of string and exactly three flowers. All boxes checked!

Jill chose a toast-y background. I see her frame, a button anchoring one of her pieces of string, lots of flowers and a pocket card. I just LOVE the cutlery poking out of her large cluster!

DebraB went with a lighter value of toast-y here. The only required element I don’t see is the frame, but the paper behind her photo could be perceived as framing it, so let’s go with that!

At first glance, greenfiend27 has used more of a cool pink but then there’s the yellow splash that warms it right up. Button(s), frame, string, flowers… and a tag representing a pocket card. All boxes checked!

How might you have used this Recipe?

I will have out-of-town company next Tuesday, but should be able to get the final Zen Doodling installment out to you. Have you guessed what’s in the centre?

Now, I must go back to watching the wildfire crews battle a small fire on the other side of the lake…….. it looks like it’s under control.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

June 9, 2026 by 14 Comments

Zen Doodling the Digital Way – Part 4 of 5!

Yes! You read that correctly… this series is nearing its end. I just have to finish off the final version of the Mandala and it’s finished. Today I’m filling in the last of the 8 segments with some stripes. Of a sort. Some stripes, some lines of dots and some flowers are all in there. Much of this post will be basically reviewing what I’ve already shown you; most of these tips are much more broadly applicable than just to Zen doodling, too. Are you ready?

So first thing is to isolate the shape on its own layer so it can be manipulated. I popped a New Layer above the main Mandala layer but kept the Mandala layer the active one. Then I used the Magic Wand Tool to Select the last segmental shape. Then I made a Copy of it by clicking Edit>Copy [keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>C].

Then I made the New Layer active and clicked Edit>Paste [CTRL/CMD>V]

For this step I definitely could have used the Paint Bucket to change the colour, but have found I get better results with the Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color method.

When you use this method, it’s imperative that you remember to tick the box next to Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask. That puts the colour ONLY inside whatever is on the layer below it, rather than Filling the whole workspace.

Then I chose my colour. Oddly, it’s one that I see in my closet all the time. šŸ˜‰

Then, so that I don’t lose track of the shape layers, I Merged them together. [CTRL/CMD>E]

My first white stripe is 15 pixels wide, using the Pencil Tool as I’ve demonstrated before. To keep the stripes completely inside the shape, I CTRL/CMD>clicked on the shape Layer Thumbnail to Select the edge of the shape before I started drawing my stripes. Remember how do make a straight line? Click start>SHIFT>Click stop!

Then I added some rows of dots, using white and the same 15 pixel Pencil Tool. I just eyeballed them; at this scale, it would be hard to see a variation in gaps.

Do you ever use the Custom Shape Tool? It’s the one that might look like a rounded rectangle or an amoeba in the Tools Panel. This Tool is amazing for all kinds of purposes. I knew I wanted my flowers to be a uniform size and a symmetrical shape so I used the Tool Options to make sure it happened. I chose Defined Proportions – the default setting is 1:1 – and ticked the box for From Center to start. My colour is black.

There it is! It looks to be about the right size, too! Remember, Custom Shapes start out as Smart Objects, which means they can’t be altered as is. They need to be Simplified first.

I guesstimated I’d need four flowers for that first stripe, so I used CTRL/CMD>J to make some Copies. Then I moved one down to about where I wanted the flower stripe to end. By making all four layers active, I can use some other Tool Options to Work Smart, Not Hard.

If you don’t see Tool Options for the Move Tool, click on the Tool Options bar at the bottom of your workspace. Then go to Align and click Middle. All four of the flowers will line up like little soldiers.

To get them all neatly spaced out, use Distribute>Center and they’ll jump into position. They can then be Rotated and Moved as a group into place on the stripe.

 

I’ll show you this tip now, but you might want to wait until all your flower stripes are in place and Merged into a single layer so you only have to do it once. To remove the dangling parts, CTRL/CMD>click on the shape Layer Thumbnail, then Select>Inverse [CTRL/CMD>SHIFT>I] to move the Selection to the outside of the shape. Then Edit>Cut [CTRL/CMD>X].

As you can see, I got ahead of myself. I made a bunch of flowery stripes following the same basic steps as for the first one, Rotated and Moved them into place and THEN I Merged them all into a single layer so I could clean them up in one move.

How about some little white centres in those flowers? I added a New Layer so they could all be together. To make them a little softer-looking, I added a Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. But I went gently.

SUPER-gently… 0.5 pixels worth.

To make the shape a single “thing” so it can be Copied and Distributed, I Merged all the current shape’s layers. [CTRL/CMD>E]

Eight Copies later, they’re all in place and ready to Merge with the main Mandala layer.

Any guesses?

One thing I’ve learned through this process is that my vision is deteriorating fairly quickly now. It’s becoming harder and harder to see the cursor in Elements, to see the text on the tabs, and to just generally function, and light levels really affect how well I see anything. I haven’t done a lot of actual scrapping in months now, and I do miss it! I can’t say for sure whether the surgery I’ll likely need in the next year or so will help or not. I guess I’ll find out. ;( It’s a good thing that we’ve already created so many great tutorials for you, from beginner to advanced, because I think my digiscrapping days are numbered.

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Let's Get Crafty, Tutorials Tagged With:

Designer Spotlight: June 2026

June 2, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Aimee Harrison

Aimee and I didn’t manage to squeeze in a chat… too much on the go for both of us. But I decided I really should do at least a little blurb for all the Designers with whom, for whatever reason, I don’t get to chat with – instead of just not doing anything. From today forward. šŸ˜‰ And I’m late-ish today, having spent the morning at Urgent Care. (Nothing to worry about, just one of those old-lady problems that needed to be promptly addressed.)

Of course, if you’re here, you know Aimee is providing the June Daily Download, and can collect all the mini-files that make up the full kit.

You can find her Store here.

Aimee is hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge as well as her usual Color Challenge. Give them a look!

I don’t have a coupon code for you today, but it looks like most of Aimee’s Store is currently 50% off. (Bundles and some Styles are excluded.) Aimee is one of my favourite Designers, so I highly recommend you check out her deals!!

Filed Under: Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Feature Designer, GingerBread Ladies Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

May 20, 2026 by 1 Comment

Challenge Spotlight: That’s Entertainment

Before I get too deep into the weeds here, thank you all for your thoughtfulness and understanding. I do feel a lot better today (despite not having slept too well… for several nights now) and should be fine again soon. Now, let’s get down to business!

I must say, I absolutely LOVE this new-for-2026 That’s Entertainment Challenge. It brings together so many things that I truly enjoy: musicals, the use of song titles or lyrics as inspiration, thinking outside the box and scrapbooking. The premise relates to Broadway or movie musicals, taking the title of one song from the show for inspiration. (Now, if I could find some motivation to actually create a layout, I’d be laughing!) The Challenge is hosted by Lori, one half of Scraps N Pieces and it’s genius! So let’s look at what Lori chose as her prompt…

My oldest daughter appeared in a high school production of Oklahoma! many years ago, and both she and our middle grandson are active in their community theatre in Northbrook, Illinois. So this one is special to me. Here’s the set list for the show:

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
Laurey’s Entrance
Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Kansas City
I Cain’t Say No
Many a New Day
It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage!
People Will Say We’re in Love
Pore Jud Is Daid
Lonely Room
Out of My Dreams
Farmer and the Cowman
All Er Nothin’
Oklahoma!

Lori commented: “I’m thinking we are going to get a lot of Oh What A Beautiful Morning. We shall see.” Was she right? There were eleven layouts in the thread and the Gallery, so we’ll know for sure soon!

The first layout is from dricamendes. (Click on her name for a closer look – it’s hyperlinked to the Gallery.) She used a photo of a smiling couple vacationing together in Japan, and did NOT choose Oh What a Beautiful Morning. šŸ˜‰ The layout itself is quite simple, pulling colours from the floral background paper for the title and cluster. The filmstrip suggests there are more photos from that trip.

Here, granny5pics has also used a floral paper prominently. She used the title song for her title, and showcased some photos from a visit to Oklahoma she made. I love how she tied in some sheet music and guitar chords to reflect one of her favourite memories of that trip.

For her layout, teenybop61 also chose the title song. She created a grid-style layout with a photo of the state’s welcome sign paired with some symbols representing the state. (Gotta say, the musk ox confuses me. šŸ˜€ )

Jill too didn’t choose Oh What a Beautiful Morning. She sense of humour really shines here, and I think we might be twins separated at birth. All of her choices of papers and embellishments have a feminine feel; she’s playing into the stereotype of women loving chocolate, especially at that “special time” each month. Did you know there’s a physiological reason for those chocolate cravings? It relates to magnesium deficiency – chocolate is actually a SUPPLEMENT!

Grace. went with Lonely Room. Her palette pulls from her photos. Her choice of elements reflects solitude and comfort… but I’m not convinced it necessarily equates with loneliness. Sounds like heaven to me!

Ooh, another high school production of the play, this time starring a family member of alexandergirl68. I wondered if anyone would choose this title and how they’d scrap it. Wondering no more! And she chose perfect elements to add to the theme. I’m not lucky enough to have photos of my daughter’s performance – no cellphone cameras in those days.

Windswept chose the title song and focused on the history of the state for her grid-style layout.

Well, how to categorize this layout by MemmieNelleke… she used Oklahoma as a title, but Oh What a Beautiful Morning – literally the SONG – as the topic. The layout is a little musical, a little historical and a little biographical. Her elements are folksy and that poster is really different!

I’ll confess, I had to think about this one to see how it meets the Challenge criteria. Duh…. there’s a song called Kansas City. AlyciaIN kept things quite simple with baseball-themed elements.

I’d know this was a msbrad layout without looking at the credits. She loves her cruises, and so many of her layouts are cruise-related. Now, this layout is very clearly an Oh What a Beautiful Morning layout. Look at that sunrise! I love the blend-and-frame look, and the careful colour choices.

Another gorgeous sunrise – OWABM – is the focus for lebjs, supported by the quote she used for journaling. That inset stack of papers. photo and ocean-related elements reinforces the theme.

Okay… so if we’re keeping score, there are 2 Oh What a Beautiful Morning layouts for sure, with a third teetering. There are 3 totally Oklahoma! layouts, with a fourth teetering. So Lori has guess wrong! Which title would YOU choose? I’d love to come up with something for It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage! that is funny but truthful. I’ll have to see what I can dream up.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies, Tutorials Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

May 12, 2026 by 5 Comments

Digital Zen Doodling (Part 3 of maybe 5)

I’m thinking maybe nobody’s really gung-ho about digital Zen doodling, but I’m going to press on. Can’t possibly just leave it unfinished, right? I didn’t get any guidance on which space to fill next so I made an executive decision.

Many of the steps for this shape are the same as for the others, so I probably won’t be as wordy as I can be. šŸ˜‰ The Magic Wand Tool option I used here is the one that has the fairy-princess-looking icon with the yellow six-pointed star at the tip. I just clicked inside the desired target on the main Mandala layer with it to Select the edges of it. (I’ve outlined it in red just for visibility – the marching ants are hard to see.)

Yep, you guessed it. I popped a New Layer above the Mandala layer for the changes I want to make on this shape.

By using Edit>Copy (CTRL/CMD>C) I can Duplicate only the shape inside the marching ants. The active layer for this step must be the Mandala layer.

With the New Layer active Edit>Paste (CTRL/CMD>V) will drop a perfect Copy of the shape right there.

I’m going to make some um… concentric isn’t quite the right word, but let’s go with it… lines inside the shape. So again, I CTRL/CMD>Clicked on the Layer Thumbnail to Select the edges of the shape (in red for visibility only).

For ultimate Editability (did I make up a new word?) the Stroke (Outline Selection) should be on its own Layer.

Let’s use Black (hex code 000000), 10 pixels for the Width and put it Inside the Selection at 100% Opacity.

This may seem repetitious (duh!) but you really can’t do anything else unless you Select>Deselect (CTRL/CMD>D) whatever is surrounded by marching ants.

Yeah, you guessed it. I’m just going to Select those edges again… so that I can make more outlines. CTRL/CMD>Click the Thumbnail, then Select>Modify…>Contract to make the Selection smaller.

I want the new outline to be smaller, but still leave room for at least one more decrease, so I had to try a couple of numbers in the box before I settled on 30 pixels. (Remember, CTRL/CMD>Z is always there to Undo whatever isn’t working.)

I’m keeping all these outline Strokes on the same layer. Elements has remembered my settings so I can just Edit>Stroke (Outline Selection…)

… and click OK.

I repeated those steps one more time.

Let’s add some colour. I tried with the Paint Bucket, filling in the gaps between the black outlines, and it was UGLY. So I went down to the white shape Layer and tried again. Fail.

This method has never let me down. šŸ˜‰ Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color…

This menu opens. I know from previous fails that I have to tick the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask box, otherwise I’ll just have a solid colour fill the whole screen.

When the Color Picker opened I chose a bright orange.

To solidify everything I Activated both the orange and the striped layers and Merged them.

Then I decided I should connect up the corners. I used the Pencil Tool the same way as in the last installment. Click the Tool at the starting point, hold down the SHIFT key then click at the end point.

Last steps were to make 7 Copies of the orange stripy shape, Move and position them into their assigned spots and Merge the whole kit and caboodle.

Progress to this point. I like it a lot! I’m thinking hard about how to fill the large centre circle. Could be fun!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this experiment, it’s that my vision is really not what it used to be, even with appropriate correction. The cursor is getting harder and harder to see… and giving me mild headaches. There may be some hard choices coming for me. šŸ™ But I can absolutely see well enough for a Challenge Spotlight next week! Will one of your layouts be given a starring role?

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

April 28, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Digital Zen Doodling (Part 3 of ???)

Have you processed everything from Parts 1 and 2 yet? Today’s edition will be using a lot of the same processes as the others did. Many of the steps will be familiar for more experienced PSE users. As I mentioned at the end of Part 2, today I’ll be filling in the diamond-shaped (or is it kite-shaped?) spaces. As you can see in the screenshot below, I have the Composite Layer active – the layer with all the various shaped spaces where I put the Copies of the petal shapes. I’ve Zoomed in (using the CTRL/CMD>+ shortcut) on one of the diamonds. Using the Magic Wand Tool (set to Magic Wand and not to any of the other Tool Options) I clicked in the middle of that shape.

I made a Copy (CTRL/CMD>J) of the diamond shape, which lives alone on its Layer; Then I added a New blank Layer above it where I created the “veins”. By putting the veins on their own Layer, I can later make changes to JUST the veins without messing anything else up. Do you remember how to make lines in PSE? Using the Pencil Tool set to oh, about 8 pixels, and the colour of your choice, click your starting point. Then hold down the SHIFT key and click your end point. VoilĆ ! a straight(ish) line! Now, you might be able to see that there are some marching ants visible in the screenshot, and you might be wondering why… Well, that’s to make sure the lines I’m creating don’t stray outside of the shape I’m filling. See how the top is pointed and the sides are curved? I got the marching ants going by CTRL/CMD>clicking on that white diamond shape while the new Layer was the active one. The Pencil won’t draw outside the shape!

With the marching ants still working, I used the Paint Bucket and a medium blue to Color Fill in some of the spaces created by the veins. Then I went a bit darker with the blue and Color Filled closer to the centre.

Next I want to add a line of white dots on the inside edge of the diamond. To do that, I again dropped a New Layer on top of the veined, blue diamond, then Selected the outside edge of the white diamond LayerĀ  by CTRL/CMD>clicking on it. Select>Modify>Contract will make the Selected edge smaller.

This pop-up let me choose how much I wanted to shift that edge. I chose 8 pixels.

It’s hard to see the new edge in the screenshot, but it’ll be easily spotted after the next step. You might have figured out that I’m creating a Guideline…

I verified that I’m indeed working on a BLANK layer here.

Do you remember this part? I’ll add a Stroke to the Selection to create that Guideline. Edit>Stroke (Outline) Selection

This Stroke can be pretty much any colour I want. It just has to be visible so I can put my dotted trim on it. I’ll be Deleting the Guideline Layer later. The settings are 2 pixels, Color is a turquoise, and the Location is Outside.

ALWAYS remember to Deselect! Elements won’t let you do anything until you do! You can either use Select>Deselect or CTRL/CMD>D to do it, but make sure it gets done!!

You’ve probably predicted that I’ll put my dotted outline on its own Layer, and you’d be correct. I used a small (3-4 pixel), hard (meaning sharp not fuzzy edges), round Brush and white to dot my way around the Guideline. Then I Merged (CTRL/CMD>E) all the diamond Layers together.

This part makes digital Zen doodling so much easier than the paper-and-marker version. I made a total of 8 diamond Layers (CTRL/CMD>J), then Moved and Rotated into position each one over a diamond shape on my Composite Layer. Then I activated all of the diamond Layers and the Composite Layer so I could Merge (CTRL/CMD>E) them all.

Here’s a close-up. Now I’m going to ask YOU to decide which shape I should fill next – the heart or the smaller petal. AND… what colours should I use?

Many of the concepts I’m using for this massive project can be used when creating any layout. Selections, Strokes, Filters, Brushes, they’re all basic tools!

I finally have my *new* new glasses and they’re great! Good-ish vision at all distances is something I took for granted, but no more!! Of course, life chez ObiJan is never dull. We had a catastrophic washing machine failure last week… one of the springs supporting the drum (front-loader) snapped. It sounded like a truck had driven into the garage door! The drum landed on top of the drain pump and hose. Fortunately, it didn’t create a leak, but the repairman (Daniel, he’s been her before šŸ™ ) couldn’t guarantee that the pump wouldn’t fail too. So. New washer arriving tomorrow. Now I must find the source of the funk that has been assailing my nostrils all morning…

 

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

April 21, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Challenge Spotlight: In a Word

This month I’m taking a bit of a different approach to the Challenge Spotlight. This time I selected the layouts we’re going to see, rather than look at all or every other one. You’ll see why in a minute. Otherwise, everything will be the same. Each layout will be hyperlinked to the Gallery, so just click on the Scrapper‘s name for a closer look, or to leave a comment.

First, let’s talk about the Challenge itself. In a Word, hosted by the Brit Chick, provides a single word to define the theme for the Challenge. The actual word should appear somewhere on the layout, and the topic should reflect the theme. This month’s word is “rebirth“. Now, that can mean a few things, depending on perspective, and I’ll show you seven different interpretations.

First out of the gate is Windswept. Her layout reflects the Christian Easter theme of resurrection. Her focal point is the photo of a cross atop a hill, as described in the Bible. Her journaling includes “rebirth” in the quote from the book of Titus. The sheet music fragment is The Old Rugged Cross. Everything is connected.

FOr her layout, linweb chose to focus on the recent Artemis II space mission, which she aptly described as a rebirth of Apollo VIII. (Artemis and Apollo were twins. šŸ˜‰ ) She kept the layout simple to give her photos the spotlight, including a plain star and some pearly accents. What made this event truly special for me was the diversity of the crew, including a Canadian astronaut.

Katherine Woodin chose to chronicle another spring ritual, the beginning of the baseball season. The series of photos at the top under the subtitle shows a stop-action view of the player being hit by a pitch. It sounds to me like the pitcher needs to work on accuracy… Her selection of baseball-related elements supports the subject matter while the title meets the Challenge‘s criteria.

Here, lebjs turned her focus to a spiritual rebirth by communing with nature. She used one of my favourite kits – that I didn’t manage to earn. šŸ™ Each of the elements she used works perfectly with her photos AND the topic. Her journaling is a quote from Richard Louv: “There is another possibility, not the end of nature but the rebirth of wonder and even joy.”

Ah, snowdrops! They’re often the first sign of spring, sprouting and blooming through the snow, heralding the rebirth of warmer weather. The way kabrak1207 has arranged her layout, the observer’s eye moves right to the photo, while the blue palette clings to the chill of winter.

This layout by ranchcreations put a big smile on my face. I love everything about it, but especially the way she’s perched the pyjama-clad gal on that boho border. It’s such a joyous approach to what could be a very sober subject. (And I’m still struggling with my vision – I’m having a lot of trouble with colour discrimination as well as glare. I know it’s mostly cataract-related but hopefully it can be mitigated a bit. My glasses had to be remade, and I’m picking them up tomorrow.)

But this layout made me laugh out loud! Brought to us by granny5pics, the theme of rebirth is reflected by these delightful little hatchlings. The chicken-themed papers and elements are great finishing touches.

Spring has definitely taken hold in the Okanagan. The orchards are in full bloom and everything is greening up beautifully. And that means National Scrapbooking Day (May 2, 2026) is almost here! wOOt! Of course, it’s always going to be a week-long extravaganza for we GingerScrappers. Get yourselves ready!!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

April 14, 2026 by 1 Comment

Digital Zen Doodling (Part 2 of ???)

Okay… has your brain had time to process Part 1? I hope so, because Part 2 is on its way! Now, where did we leave off? Oh, right… we were getting ready to make those white dotted rings around our big coloured dots. Onward!

I needed quite a few runs at this until I figured out the easiest, smartest way to accomplish it. Free-handing and eyeballing weren’t cutting it. Once I settled in with the method below, it really got a lot better. I created a guideline – a circular placeholder on which to apply my white dots. I started with the topmost pink dot, Selecting the edge by CTRL.CMD>clicking on it in the Layers Panel. The longer route would be to click Select>Subject with that layer active. You should see a line of “marching ants” around the outside of the dot. The screenshot isn’t good for that. šŸ™

Now, that little path isn’t going to be useful in its current size, so next I went to Select>Modify>Expand then when the pop-up appeared, I typed in 15 px into the Expand by: box. Sorry, I don’t have a screenshot of that menu, I was on a tear and completely forgot! (Multiple times!)

I want the guideline to disappear and reappear at will, so it will have its own layer. Pop one of those in there above the pink dot by clicking on that sheet-of-paper icon at the upper left of your Layers Panel. Then click Edit>Stroke (Outline) Selection. Set the Stroke Width to 2 px, Color white and the Location to Outside.

With the Foreground Color still set to white (Hex Code ffffff), I went back to my Brush Tool and chose a small (5 px) hard, round Basic Brush. Each click of the mouse on the guideline gave me a dot; I pictured a clock face to space them, starting at 12, dropping to 6, back up to 3, over to 9. Then I split the spaces between those dots as evenly as I could until I got this lovely string of pearls around my pink dot. I turned Visibility for the guideline off so I could see if I needed to make any fixes. Remember CTRL.CMD>Z will Undo something you’re not happy with.

Now, this is where digital Zen Doodling really makes sense. I didn’t have to make a pearl necklace for each of the pink dots, like I would have to with paint. I could just make Copies!!Ā  Six pink dots, six Copies. CTRL/CMD>J is that keyboard shortcut. Then I moved each one into position around its respective pink dot. Looks pretty cool already! To prevent any accidental mess-ups, I Activated each pink dot and each white dot ring layer, then right-click>Merge Layers (CTRL/CMD>E). That gave me a single white-encircled-pink-dot layer.

I didn’t want to be too uniform with the white accents so for the blue dots, I decided on more of a daisy look. I turned Visibility for the guideline back on, moved it over to a blue dot and Enlarged it as shown. Again, the accents will go on their own layer. To achieve a more elliptical shape with my Brush, I clicked the Brush Settings bar and typed in 70% into the Roundness box. You could instead push on one of the “handles” in the diagram box to achieve the same thing. Leave the Angle at 0Ā°.

This time, I opted to Work Smart, Not Hard. I clicked a “ray” at 9 o’clock and another at 3 o’clock. (Somehow they ended up on separate layers. Yours shouldn’t. But if they do… Merge the two layers.) With both rays on the same layer, I can make a bunch of Copies!

I made 4 Copies, CTRL/CMD>J x 4, which gave me 4 separate layers. Again I used an imaginary clock face to arrange my Copies. I Rotated each one so that they were fairly evenly distributed around the dial. Then I Merged (CTRL/CMD>E) those 4 layers. That gave me a total of 8 rays on a single layer. Another 3 Copies of THAT layer, rotated into place and I had a complete ring around the blue dot. Then I Merged all those layers too. The advantages to doing it this way are that I didn’t have to change the Angle on every. single. ray. So, after you’ve read all the way through, if you choose to use this method for your pearl necklaces, I’ll cheer you on!

Back to good ol’ CTRL/CMD>J to make daisies for each of the blue dots. Slide ’em into position, Activate all the Layers and Merge. Easy peasy.

Are you tired of Merging? I’m not going to lie and say this is the last time, because it clearly isn’t! But let’s Merge the black layer with the Refined Edge, and all the pink and blue dot layers together. That affixes everything so nothing can be shifted unintentionally. Now we have a pretty “petal” that can be replicated as many times as necessary.

Did you catch that? I made 7 more Copies of the petal and arranged them as shown. I think it’s shaping up really nicely!

We’ll stop here. The next set of screenshots will involve the diamond-shaped openings snugged up to the notches in our petal shapes. We’ll be making lines inside them, and doing a bunch more Copy-Pasting. Next week is Challenge Spotlight Tuesday, so the next part of this odyssey will have to wait a week. šŸ˜‰ I personally have done ZERO Challenges so far this month… too many other things going on. But maybe, if I squeeze out an hour or so, I can at least update my Signature. šŸ˜€

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Tutorials Tagged With:

Designer Spotlight: April 2026

April 7, 2026 by 1 Comment

Twin Mom Scraps!

Before I get started I’d like to apologize to Rebecca (Twin Mom Scraps) for the great delay in getting this port written. It’s been rather chaoticĀ chez Jan et al the last week or so; every time I sat down to compose my thoughts, somebody or something interrupted me. And my new glasses are… not right. I have another appointment tomorrow to get that sorted out. šŸ™ Anyway…

If Rebecca seems familiar, it’s because she’s a Spotlight frequent flier! Here’s something you might not know about her: her mom Lydia was the lead Sugar Cookie for a long time before her health led her to step down. She was also my friend. Lydia left this world 2 1/2 years ago and she’d dearly missed. Now, onward!

J: Rebecca, how nice to see you again! What wonderful little snippets do you have to share with us this time? Given that I’m way behind with this conversation, tell me how you keep track of all the things, between designing, personal life, and other commitments?

R: Lists! And more lists! I use a google calendar which keeps track of all my recurring responsibilities, upcoming deadlines, etc. It has really helped keep me organized.

J: I use lists too, but for some reason, my process has fallen apart. Good for you staying on top of it all! So, tell us about your favourite part of seeing our GingerScrappers using your designs?

R: I love seeing the versatility of my designs in layouts. Itā€™s flattering to see a really beautiful page!

J: I like thinking outside the box with my scrapping, (not that I’ve done much of that lately!) and using kits for layouts that are really off-theme. It’s fun! When you’ve finished a big collection, do you have a ritual celebration?

R: Nope! I start the next one!

J: I’ll have to start calling you Queen of Hustle! šŸ˜‰ What do you do to unwind from all that busyness?

R: Some eyeball reading on my beloved Kindle!

J: Me too! My Paperwhite is starting to show ghosts of books past on the screen behind books present, but I don’t want to replace it yet. I like it because it fits in my purse. Do you have anything… unusual in your purse or pocket?

R: A painted rock – I found it the morning after my Dad passed away, and have carried it with me ever since.

J: That must bring you a lot of comfort. I remember when your dad passed. I don’t have anything sentimental like that in mine, but I do have a screwdriver and a multitool. šŸ˜€ I like to be prepared. My dad loved pizza, so whenever we eat it, I think of him. That’s my painted rock. šŸ˜‰ Do you have a specific comfort food for those moments when you really need to feel better?

R: Really, anything sweet!

J: A gal after my own heart! But I’m trying to keep my hemoglobin A1C in the green zone, so I’m cutting back. I think it’s working, because I’ve lost 17 pounds. What would you choose if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life?

R:Ā Probably pasta

J: I love pasta too, but I don’t think I could eat it every day. Did you know that if you chill pasta before you eat it, then reheat it, the carbs aren’t as readily converted to sugar? PSA for the day, <snicker> I need some new clothes; do you have an outfit or item of clothing that you’d be happy to wear every day?

R: Iā€™m happy as long as Iā€™m wearing flip flops.

J: SAME! We had a really mild winter and I’ve been wearing mine for a couple of weeks already. It messes with my brain to be outside with bare feet this early in the year, but I’ll cope. It’s been a lot of fun taking note of all the early migratory bird arrivals. I’ve been a birdwatcher for my entire adult life, and I’m learning to identify bird sounds too, using the Merlin app on my phone. Is there a hobby that you’ve always wanted to try but just haven’t yet?

R: I would love to learn how to make pretty soapsā€¦I get stuck watching videos on Tik Tok and itā€™s so relaxing

J: I watch card-making videos on You Tube while I’m brushing my wheaten terror (not a typo) and the two together really relax me.

R: I would definitely switch places with one of our dogsā€¦they are living their best life, like they pay rent

J: Right?? Well, I’m not going to keep you yakking because I know you’ve got irons in the fire. I’m going to fill our readers in on all the big plans for your Spotlight month (what’s left of it) but first, I want to wish you an early Happy Birthday! Now, back to business…

Rebecca is, of course, the provider of this month’s Daily Download. Here’s a sneak peek.

She’s so generous, she also has a Fan Club Freebie on Facebook! Click on the link!!

But wait!! There’s more! Because in addition to her regular Memory Mix Up Challenge, she’s also hosting this month’s Designer Spotlight Challenge. And if all of that isn’t enough…

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

Sp what are you waiting for?? Go shopping, get scrapping!!

 

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Feature Designer, GingerBread Ladies, Product/Designer Spotlight Tagged With:

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

March 31, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Digital Zen Doodling (Part One of ??)

When I embarked on this endeavour, I had no idea how quickly it would run away with me! I looked at the screenshots I’ve compiled so far and knew immediately this would have to be a multi-part tutorial. It’s really not that complicated, and once you get the steps down in your mind, it goes fairly quickly, but there is a learning curve. I’d call this an intermediate-to-skilled technique, but I do think with some experimentation, it’s achievable by all. So let’s get into it.

It’s been awhile since I posted a new, detailed tutorial so I’ll just make some pre-departure announcements. I make no assumptions regarding the level of expertise my tutorial readers may have. They’re written in deep detail so that even a beginner can follow along. If you’re a rockstar digi person and already know how to accomplish something, I’m not going to know if you skip that part! For keyboard shortcuts, I will always include both Windows and Mac commands; I use Windows so it always goes first. Any time you see coloured, bold, underlined text, that’s your signal that there’s a hyperlink there. And finally, any conversion to PDF format is a Ginger job. I don’t want to use any app or software that could create problems for her business, so that’s the work-around we came up with. Now, back to creating!

What better place to start a Zen doodle project than with a mandala? I found a set of free mandala Brushes at Brusheezy and downloaded them. You can get them here. I chose this particular one for its large areas just crying out to be filled. These Brushes are 2500×2500 pixels at their largest, so I put the Brush on its own layer so I can make it fill my page. One thing to know about Brushes: they aren’t “vector” images so they have some jaggedy edges when you Zoom in, but don’t worry, I’ll show you how to hack that.

I realized I’d need a solid background to make the actual doodling part easy to see. So I Filled the background layer with white.

I wanted to isolate the various shapes to make doodling in them easier, so with the white background layer active, I CRTL/CMD>clicked on the brush layer to Select the outline of the mandala. Then I just Cut the mandala outline out of the background: Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X.

I turned visibility for the outline off and this will form the basis for all the doodle-y layers. I can use the Magic Wand to isolate any of the cells in the mandala from the rest, jaggedy edges notwithstanding.

Zen doodling usually involves lots of dots of various size and colour. So the first thing we’ll do is create a 3D dot! Things like colour choice and image size are completely within your control – my stuff is simply for guidance. That said, I used a pretty magenta colour as my base. The hex code for it is ab0d93 if you’re a fan. I chose a hard round Brush from the integrated Basic Brush set in my version of PSE, sized it to 80 pixels and clicked it on its own layer. We want to be able to Duplicate these little elements so they need to be built up then Merged. You’ll see what I mean.

I wanted my dots to have a domed look, so I played around until I figured out the easiest way to do it. I went back into the Color Picker and lightened up the magenta a bit. Then I enlarged the Brush to 110 pixels and clicked it on its own layer at an offset so that it overlaps the darker dot with only a sliver of the darker dot visible.

Your eyes are going to start glazing over when I talk about Selecting edges, and once you know how to do it, you can skip ahead. šŸ˜‰ With the lighter coloured layer active, I CTRL/CMD>clicked on the darker coloured dot layer to Select the edges of that smaller dot. Then I Inverted the Selection: Select>Inverse or CTRL/CMD>Shift>I

To remove the part of the larger, lighter dot from where it extends past the edge of the darker, smaller dot, Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X

It looks a little harsh, so I’ll soften up the lighter area using a Blur. Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur

It’s cool that as the Filter is applied, the result is visible in real time. After some dithering, I decided that 4.0 pixels was the right amount. But now the lighter magenta blur sticks out…

So I Selected the edge of the darker, smaller dot AGAIN, and Inverted it AGAIN with the lighter layer active so I could cut away that overflow.

Now it needs a highlight! I added a new layer to put a 25 pixel white dot onto, positioned at the same angle as the middle layer.

It’s too harsh, so I’ll use that Gaussian Blur again. Here’s a Pro Tipā„¢: as long as you haven’t made any setting changes since the last time you used a Filter, you can just click the F key and it’ll apply the identical Filter to the new layer. Very helpful for custom shadowing!

This is a review……….

It really felt a little too bright to me, so I decreased the OpacityĀ  of the white dot layer to 75% and liked it a lot better. Gives a bit of a pearlescent look!

I want to be able to Duplicate this 3D dot, so I activated all 3 layers (click>shift>click on each) then Merged them: right-click and choose Merge Layers or CTRL/CMD>E

As you can see, I Filled one of the petal-shaped segments of the mandala with the Paint Bucket and black. Then I made another dot, this timeĀ  a bit bigger and with blue shades, Copied (CTRL/CMD>J) them all a few times, then distributed them inside the black petal. Don’t be too concerned with perfection here! Zen doodling done with ink, marker or paint is never going to be exact. Eyeballing is all good!!

Remember those jaggedy edges on the mandala Brush? Let’s deal with that now before we move on to the next phase. Select the edges of the black petal: CTRL/CMD>click on the layer, then go up to the tabs. Select>Refine Edge. The screenshot below shows that the black segment is on the main, background layer and each of the coloured dots are above that in the Layers Panel.

This menu pops open. Some of the settings you see are defaults, and as you adjust the sliders, you can see the effect in real time.

Edge Detection: Smart Radius>0.0 pixels

Adjust Edge: Smooth>17Ā  Ā Feather>0.4 pixelsĀ  Ā Contrast>3Ā  Ā Shift Edge> -1

Decontaminate Colors: Amount>50%

Output to: New Layer with Mask

Remember Settings

Make sure to Simplify the new layer so it can be Duplicated! Right-click on the layer then choose Simplify Layer.

That’s where we’re going to stop for today. I want to keep the screenshot load to a manageable number; 20 (plus the starter) is good for today. I’ll pick this back up next week as we create a Zen doodle trademark ring of white dots around each 3D dot!

 

 

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Let's Get Crafty, Tutorials Tagged With:
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