Get Framed!
Frames are usually the closest thing to your picture in a layout -- they surround it! They are what draws your attention to the photo and can give the photo the "weight" it deserves. There are all kinds of frames. They come in different shapes, different widths, some ornate and some graphic.

Sometimes the challenge is to get your photo to "fit" into the frame. With digital cameras and creative cropping, photos can come in all sizes, in addition to the traditional 3x5 or 4x6 inch standards set by photo labs.

Note: the instructions below use Adobe Photoshop, but other image editors would follow similar steps.

1) Begin by opening the paper you want to use and have the photo you want to use chosen from your hard drive. Find a frame that fits the mood of the photo and the layout you are creating. Drag and drop the frame onto the layout file. Then open the file of your photo. In this example I used the paper from the latest Downloadable Page Pak, Floral Medley, and the frame from the Simply Shabby CD.

2) Drag your photo onto the paper. Sometimes the photo and the frame aren't the same orientation. If this is the case, you will need to rotate the frame by 90 degrees. Do this by selecting the frame, and on the menu bar choosing Edit/Transform/Rotate 90 degrees. Be sure that your photo is on a layer under the layer the frame is on.

 

3) Slide your photo under the frame. In my example the frame is a "vellum" frame so we can partially see the photo underneath. When using a more "solid" frame this would not be the case. Tip: to make a vellum frame opaque, simply duplicate it one or two times!

4) Resize your frame or your photo so that they fit together. At this point, don't worry if some of the picture shows through past the frame - we will address that soon. Just pay attention to what is showing in the opening of the frame and that it is cropped as you desire.

Note: Each time you enlarge your photo you are decreasing the quality of the photo. It may be more wise to adjust the frame to the photo so that you retain the high quality of your photo. If you do resize your photo, be sure to maintain the ratio aspect. This means that as you stretch it one way (such as horizontally), be sure it is stretching the equal amount the other way (such as vertically). In most programs this can be done automatically by holding down the Shift key when stretching or you can use the Scale command on the menu.

5) Once you have your photo resized, any portions extending can be cut with the Rectangular Marquee tool.  Select the Rectangular Marquee tool, draw a selection with the mouse, and press the Delete Key or choose Edit>Delete (Ctrl X). Repeat this step for all the portions that are unwanted.

6) To complete my layout, I added more photos and framed them using the above steps, decreasing their size. I then added embellishments from the Floral Medley Page Pak and frames from the Simply Shabby CD.  I finished with some personal journaling.

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