Meri CT Tutorial

**This tutorial was written using Photoshop CC. I believe the instructions should work with various other versions, but they are not tested on any other version.  

This tutorial is my own creation.  Any similarity to any other tutorial is not done purposely or knowingly (aside from the fact that the process is pretty similar in most tutorials).  

If you do not know how to do some of the things I mention here (like mirroring an image, adding a drop shadow, resizing elements, etc.), check out my “Tips and Tricks” tutorial. **

Supplies:

Kit- “Nina Terror by Skyscraps” by Tiny Turtle Designs which can be purchased here.

Tube - Meri by Designs By Norella.  You can purchase the tube exclusively at Scraps From the Heart.

Template – Template 01_2013 by Xoiya Creations which can be downloaded from her blog.

Abbreviations:

DS – Drop Shadow

Settings I use:

DS Settings - Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacity set to 75%, Angle set to 129 degrees, Distance 5, Spread 0, Size 5

Ready…..Set….Tag!

Open up the PSD file for the template.  This will be referred to as the working canvas in my directions when switching between canvases.

When working with a template, the first thing I do is figure out if I am going to cover the layers with papers or styles and then apply all of them from the bottom up.  For this template I used a clipping mask to apply papers.  (If you do not know how to use the clipping mask feature in Photoshop, you can check out my tutorial on how to use them.)

Here is what I used on this template:

• Raster 4 layer I covered with a clipping mask of Nina Terror 27 paper.

• Raster 6 & 7 layers I covered with a clipping mask of Nina Terror 25 paper

• Raster 3, 5, 9, 10 & 11 layers I added a transparent bevel style

• Raster 2 layer I covered with a clipping mask of Nina Terror 4 paper

• Raster 8 layer I covered with a clipping mask of Nina Terror 18

 After applying the papers and styles, I then am ready to add my tube.

Add your Meri layer to the canvas.  Resize her so she fits in the canvas on the right side on top of all the template layers.

Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to draw a box around the top part of the Meri poser in Layer 0 of the Meri psd file.  Copy (Ctrl + C) the selection and return to your working canvas.

On your working canvas make sure the Paper Nina Terror 18 layer is selected then paste (Ctrl + V) the copied selection.  Resize the selection so that Meri’s head fits to your satisfaction on the right side of the rectangle.  Clip it to the paper layer.  Reposition the head until you like how it appears.  To give it the transparent look that mine has, apply the Blend Mode of Multiply in the Blending Options. 

Voila!  The focal point of your tag is now created.

Now decorate your tag with any of the chic elements from the kit.  Resize the elements as you add them so fit the proportions of your tag.  Experiment with rotating them and mirroring them for more variety.  In addition duplicate elements and use multiple times to fill in holes and add more pizzazz.  In this tutorial to indicate when I used more than one of the same element I will add (X#) by the name to indicate how many versions of the element I used. 

Here are all the elements I used from the bottom layers up (although they are sometimes in between layers of the template for better impact.

• Nina Terror 68 – Pink sparkly blob (x4)

• Nina Terror 56 – Pink sparkles (x6)

• Nina Terror 20 – Pink lit columns (x2)

• Nina Terror 38 – Bead necklace

• Nina Terror 39 – Black rose

• Nina Terror 43 – Wider black rose

• Nina Terror 21 – Pink flowers on vine

• Nina Terror 34 – Stack of striped presents

• Nina Terror 86 – Sparkly silverish heart

• Nina Terror 96 – Corset

• Nina Terror 27 – Flower and bow

• Nina Terror 9 – Clock with teacup

• Nina Terror 10 – Love with flowers

• Nina Terror 16 – Bird cage with flowers

Because I layered so many elements around the edges of the focal point of the tag, there is no need to brush the background or add a mask.

Add your license and copyright info to the tag.

Add name and any other text of choice.

Save as PNG and go share with all your friends!

Thank you for trying my tut! I’d love to see how your tags turn out so if you like what you made, please post a copy here or show me on Facebook!