House of 3

This kit includes 4 black Mask PNG files & 4 colored Frames in PNG files.
Each will be used differently. We’ll start out with the black PNG file to get this cool effect! (I’m using Adobe Photshop Creative Suite 3 *PSCS3* in this tutorial, but you can achieve this same thing in any Photo Editing program that supports PNG files. i.e. Photoshop Elements, etc.)

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1. Go to: FILE>OPEN> & find your photo.

2. Go to:FILE>OPEN & find your Hof3 Rounded Corner Frames. You will see this image with grey & white squares behind it. Do not be alarmed. It is in a PNG file format which means it’s transparent. No worries!

3. With your Move Tool, drag & drop your photo ON TOP of the black PNG file. Your Layer Palette will look like this.

4. Go to: LAYER>CREATE CLIPPING MASK.

OR here’s a fun short cut!

Hover your cursor between the two Layers, hit ALT & a little ‘Clipping Mask’ icon will appear. (looks like 2 circles overlapping each other.) Click & it will apply the Clipping Mask!

This Clipping Mask will automatically mask your photo onto the Black Rounded Corner Frame for this final effect. Now, you’ll still see those grey & white squares. Once you are happy with your final effect, you can flatten your Layers & either print out your photos, post on blogs, email, digital scrapbook, etc. Have fun with your cool photo!

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Now, let’s play with the colored Frame files.

Follow steps 1 & 2 from above, opening your choice of Rounded Corner Square Frame.

3. With your Move Tool, drag & drop your Frame ON TOP of the photo. Your Layer Palette will look like this.

4. Now, if you have a square photo, you can just move it around until it fits.
IF you need to crop it to fit the Square frame-
Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool & select the area around the frame to show the Marching Ants like this.

Make sure you have the Photo Layer selected in your Layers Palette, then
Go to: SELECT>INVERSE & hit Delete. This will clear the photo to look like this.

5. Click on the Photo Layer & go to: LAYER>MERGE DOWN. This will still give you the transparent qualities (you’ll still see the grey & white squares in the back) but now you can add depth if you want.

6. Go to: LAYER>LAYER STYLE> DROP SHADOW & add a Drop Shadow of Distance: 5px Spread: 0px Size: 5px. I like to use a dark grey or black for this. You can also play around with the Angle for more depth & direction!

Have fun with your new toys!

R