{"id":57234,"date":"2025-05-13T14:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T21:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/?p=57234"},"modified":"2025-05-13T14:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T21:15:18","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-249","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/2025\/05\/tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-249\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greatest Hits: Weaving \u2013 the Digital Way<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ginger<\/strong><\/span> recently sent me request for a topic I’d already covered; this time the request came from Lavonne<\/strong>. Her\u00a0request again resulted in Ginger<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0sending me a link to this layout by\u00a0trinanne<\/strong>; she used the March 2023 Challenge Brush<\/strong> and clipped her papers to it over and over. Of course, I had to take the long walk down the garden path instead\u2026 I had no idea it would end up being much more complex than at first glance. I tossed the first two attempts at making this a coherent process and I think you\u2019ll find it\u2019s not as bad as all the screenshots \u2013 and your faithful demonstrator \u2013 make it look. (However, this tutorial will require intermediate-to-expert familiarity with the Elements software.<\/em><\/strong>)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, obviously, if we\u2019re weaving a bunch of papers or ribbons together, they\u2019ll look best against a neutral solid background. I\u2019m using 10 different patterned papers and a solid cardstock from the\u00a0February 2023 Daily Download<\/strong>\u00a0Noteworthy<\/strong>, from\u00a0Miss Fish<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I decided it would work best for the way I was seeing this in my head if I created a bunch of paper strip\u00a0Clipping Masks<\/strong>. If you\u2019d rather use the\u00a0Rectangular<\/strong>\u00a0Marquee Tool<\/strong>\u00a0to cut strips, that\u2019s up to you. I want to have some variations in width, some crooked and torn edges, and one strip will have a deckle edge. (Instructions not included.) To make those individual features work best, the adjustments are made to the\u00a0Mask<\/strong>\u00a0to ensure the patterns on the papers aren\u2019t distorted. I\u2019ll be making a roughly\u00a08 inch by 8 inch<\/strong>\u00a0square, 10 strips in all. Here\u2019s a tip: When using the\u00a0Custom Shapes Tool<\/strong>\u00a0you can specify dimensions and with only one click, you\u2019ve got the desired shape in the desired size. I\u2019m using a\u00a0Width 8 inches<\/strong>,\u00a0Height 1.5 inches<\/strong>\u00a0for my first strip\u00a0Mask<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t forget that when using the\u00a0Custom Shape Tool<\/strong>, the resulting shape is a\u00a0Smart Object<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s locked and can\u2019t be altered unless you\u00a0Simplify<\/strong>\u00a0it. More recent versions of\u00a0Elements<\/strong>\u00a0includes a\u00a0Simplify<\/strong>\u00a0button bar in the\u00a0Tool Options<\/strong>. If your version doesn\u2019t show it there,\u00a0right-click<\/strong>\u00a0on the layer and choose\u00a0Simplify Layer<\/strong>\u00a0from the drop-down menu that appears.<\/p>\n

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Here I\u2019ve created all 5 of my horizontal\u00a0Clipping Mask<\/strong>\u00a0layers. I\u2019ve changed the foreground colour a bit for each to help keep them separate in my mind. You can see there are some thinner and some thicker strips. Next I\u2019ll make 5 vertical strips the same way.<\/p>\n

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All 10 strips are there now. Let\u2019s\u00a0Clip<\/strong>\u00a0some papers to them!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I know you all already know how to\u00a0Clip<\/strong>\u00a0papers to template spots but I\u2019ll review anyway. With your paper right above the object you\u2019re\u00a0Clipping<\/strong>\u00a0to,\u00a0right-click<\/strong>\u00a0on the paper layer and choose\u00a0Create Clipping Mask<\/strong>. Alternately, you can use a keyboard shortcut. For\u00a0versions 14<\/strong>\u00a0and earlier,\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>G<\/strong>\u00a0will do it. For\u00a0versions 15<\/strong>\u00a0and later,\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>ALT\/OPT>G<\/strong>. My fingers just go there almost automatically now, I\u2019ve used that shortcut so often.<\/p>\n

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Here are the 5 horizontal strips with their papers\u00a0Clipped<\/strong>\u00a0in place. The process is identical for the vertical strips.<\/p>\n

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Just like that.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll show you how to make them look a little less deliberate in the next few screenshots. Here\u2019s why I opted for\u00a0Clipping Masks<\/strong>\u00a0and not just\u00a0Marqueeing<\/strong>\u00a0out a bunch of strips. If I decided to\u00a0Image>Transform>Skew<\/strong>\u00a0a paper strip, the pattern would also\u00a0Skew<\/strong>\u00a0and it would look awful. So instead, I\u2019ll\u00a0Skew<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0Mask<\/strong>, giving it crooked ends, and the paper will stay unblemished.\u00a0Skew<\/strong>\u00a0only allows the corners to move in a single direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To make each paper strip more manageable, after I make my tweaks to the\u00a0Mask<\/strong>, I\u2019ll\u00a0right-click>Merge<\/strong>\u00a0the paper and\u00a0Mask<\/strong>\u00a0layers into a single layer. The shortcut is\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>E<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here I\u2019ve made a bit of a curved cut into the end of the\u00a0Mask<\/strong>. The Smudge Tool<\/strong>\u00a0will give that effect, or you could use the\u00a0Elliptical Marquee Tool<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Cut<\/strong>\u00a0(CTRL\/CMD>X<\/strong>) away a thin curved sliver. That method will give you a cleaner\u00a0Cut<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why not, indeed?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For this strip I used\u00a0Image>Transform>Distort<\/strong>. With that command, each of the corners moves independently in all directions.<\/p>\n

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Another variation on the\u00a0Smudge Tool<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s get to the\u00a0WEAVE<\/strong>. First you\u2019ll need to decide which strip to start with. I\u2019m going to skip the first vertical strip and pass the pink striped strip then the multi-striped strip underneath my red-and-white horizontal strip. I\u00a0Selected<\/strong>\u00a0the edges of the first horizontal strip by\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>clicking<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0layer thumbnail<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0Layers Panel<\/strong>. Then I made the pink striped layer my\u00a0active layer<\/strong>. To make it look like it passed behind the horizontal strip,\u00a0Edit>Cut<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>X<\/strong>\u00a0removes that\u00a0Selection<\/strong>\u00a0from the pink striped paper.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Alternate this process for each of the horizontal layers.<\/p>\n

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Here is what it looks like before the dimension of shadowing is added.<\/p>\n

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Add a new, blank layer at the top of the stack of layers. This is where you\u2019ll put your shadows. Decide where your\u00a0light source<\/strong>\u00a0is. That will determine where your shadows will lie. I like my light to come from the upper left, at 120\u00b0. Because some of my paper strips don\u2019t have sharp, straight edges, I created custom shadows for those layers. (Custom Shadows \u2013 Jan\u2019s Method<\/strong><\/a>) If you\u2019re going with straight edges you can ignore that. Instead, use the\u00a0Pencil Tool<\/strong>. For the horizontal strips, you\u2019ll be drawing in your shadows inside the edges of the paper horizontally. For the vertical layers, you\u2019ll be drawing your shadows inside the edges of those papers vertically. The\u00a0Radius<\/strong>\u00a0for your\u00a0Pencil<\/strong>\u00a0lines can be fairly small, since the papers will be laying tightly together. I used\u00a04 pixels<\/strong>\u00a0but 5 or even 8 won\u2019t be too big. Set your\u00a0Foreground Colour<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0black<\/strong>\u00a0(000000)\u00a0Click<\/strong>\u00a0the cursor right inside the corner of the paper square you\u2019re working with.<\/p>\n

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Then hold down the\u00a0SHIFT<\/strong>\u00a0key and\u00a0click<\/strong>\u00a0the cursor in the opposite corner. Here I\u2019ve made a horizontal line. Don\u2019t be too fussy about making it perfectly straight, because it\u2019s not going to be noticeable later.<\/p>\n

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After you\u2019ve got all your paper rectangles outlined in black, add a\u00a0Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur<\/strong>\u00a0to that layer.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t go overboard here. The\u00a0Blur<\/strong>\u00a0is to soften the lines, not make them blend right into the paper! If you can\u2019t see anything in the\u00a0Preview Pane<\/strong>, click your cursor in a spot where you know there\u2019s a line. It\u2019ll pop up in the\u00a0Preview Pane<\/strong>\u00a0and you can gauge how far to\u00a0Blur<\/strong>.\u00a02.3 pixels<\/strong>\u00a0worked well for me.<\/p>\n

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Last thing to do is to change the\u00a0Blend Mode<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Linear Burn<\/strong>\u00a0and drop the\u00a0Opacity<\/strong>\u00a0to about\u00a060%<\/strong>\u00a0and it\u2019s done! Now to decide how to use the weave\u2026<\/p>\n

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You can\u00a0Save<\/strong>\u00a0this weave as a PSD<\/strong> to allow for alterations later, or as a\u00a0PNG<\/strong> to preserve the transparent layer behind. Or you can just go ahead and scrap on top and around it. To add the Brushes<\/strong> as described below, Link<\/strong> all the layers of the weave to each other by highlighting all the layers (click on the first layer>hold down Shift<\/strong>>click on the last layer in the weave then click on the Link<\/strong> icon at the left of any of those layers) so they’re separate but connected.<\/p>\n

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If you really want the Challenge Brush<\/strong> look, create a horizontal stack of varied widths and lengths of the Brush<\/strong> on a new workspace with each Brush<\/strong> on its own layer so you can adjust them one at a time. Adjust them to suit your desired look; you can flip them, widen or narrow them, overlap them, whatever your mind’s eye desires. Create a second stack of vertical Brushes<\/strong> (you can change the angle of the Brush<\/strong> in the Tool Options<\/strong>\u00a0to 90\u00b0<\/strong>) and adjust those. When you’ve got what you like, Merge<\/strong> (CTRL\/CMD>E<\/strong>) the layers. This is your Clipping Mask<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then Merge<\/strong> (CTRL\/CMD>E<\/strong>) all the Brush<\/strong> layers. Move this newly created Clipping<\/strong> Mask<\/strong> onto your layout and position it underneath your weave. Then Clip<\/strong> to your weave. Ta DA! My screenshot shows just a plain paper Clipped<\/strong> to it and is only an example. All the adjustments you’ve made to your weave and the shadowing you’ve created will be preserved when you’ve Linked<\/strong> then Clipped<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you have requests or ideas for future tutorials, you can contact me by Direct Message<\/strong>. In the Forum<\/strong> look for the envelope icon on the right, just above the blue band, then click on it. Down at the very bottom of the dropdown it’ll say Send Direct Message<\/strong>. My handle is ObiJanKenobi<\/strong>. Then if I have anything I need to clarify, we can chat!<\/p>\n

Til next\u00a0Tuesday<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greatest Hits: Weaving \u2013 the Digital Way Ginger recently sent me request for a topic I’d already covered; this time the request came from Lavonne. Her\u00a0request again resulted in Ginger\u00a0sending me a link to this layout by\u00a0trinanne; she used the March 2023 Challenge Brush and clipped her papers to it over and over. Of course, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[229,102,284,92,66,62],"tags":[373],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 07:06:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"private","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57234"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57238,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57234\/revisions\/57238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}