Hello! Welcome back to another Keeping it Real technique for digital scrapbookers. For this round, I’ll cater to our Elements users though the technique works in Photoshop too.

Stitches, staples, brads, pins and the like all have one thing in common: holes. We typically create holes on our layouts using the items listed. Nifty! But in the digital word, not all holes are alike. No, no, no. Some digital holes are better than others. Today I’ll share one brush and layer effect combination that is sure to help your holes look real. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Design the Brush

The trick to an authentic hole is a by way of a brush in the shape of an imperfect circle, a circle with an undefined border. To create such a brush:

1. Open Photoshop Elements and create a new document sized 2 x 2 inches with a resolution of 300 dpi and a white background. Also set the Color Picker foreground to black.

2. Next select the Brush tool, pick a hard round brush from the listing and use it to draw a mass.

3. Then, to define it as a brush, go to Edit > Define Brush and enter a name.

Punch Out the Holes

We’ll use this newly defined brush to create holes for a digital item in a layout.

1. With your layout open, drag your stitches or staples into the layout using the Move tool.

2. Create a new layer and arrange it below the stitched layer in the Layer’s panel.

3. Select the brush tool and target your new “hole” brush tip in the listing. Decrease the size of the brush tip so the hole is slightly larger than the tip of the stitch or staple.

4. Our next step is to stamp holes to imply the stitches/staples are weaved into the surface beneath. Now unfortunately there’s no known shortcut to this process. You have to stamp each hole one by one and match it up with the beginning and end of each stitch or staple.

Keep It Real

The final part of our process ensures our holes look as real as possible.

1. Choose Bevel from the dropdown menu in the Effects panel.

2. Select the Simple Sharp Pillow Emboss and apply it to the holes layer.

3. Click on the fx icon of the holes layer and reduce the size of the Bevel.

Looks good, yes? Play around with the additional preset bevels. Which ones mimic the effect we created? Do you think this technique applies to holes you could create using other elements like a pushpin or safety pin?

Take a look at my final layout. Something so small lends a layer of texture and realism to my page. And that’s what keeping it real is all about!

Until the next Keeping it Real tutorial – Happy Scrappin!

Materials Papers and Word Art by TaylorMade Designs • Ribbons by Rachel Young • Border, Staples by Tiffany Tillman • Journaling Font: Serifa BT

Tiffany Tillman

Tiffany Tillman is a graphic designer and illustrator internationally noted for her colorful and technique-inspired creations for the scrapbooking industry. Tiffany is also a popular instructor here at reneepearson.com.

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Tags: Photoshop Elements | scrapbooking