Illustration 1
Illustration 2
 Illustration 3
 Illustration 4
 Illustration 5
 Illustration 6
 Illustration 7
 Illustration 8
 Illustration 9
 Illustration 10
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Love Definitions Paper
This information was first published in SSReflections on-line ezine as my October 2005 font article
- For a 6"x6" page, create a blank transparent image 700 x 700 pixels at 300 dpi. (The transparent background was used so that I could add different colors, styles, etc. later)
- Create 3 transparent boxes, sized 200 x 125, 200 x 75 and 200 x 100 (illustration 1)
- Add a black 4 pixel border around each of them
- Copy and paste the blank boxes into the template, moving and rotating them you like the pattern. The grey-checked boxes in the examples to the left indicate a transparent background in Paint Shop Pro, and do not print. (illustration 2)
- Since I was using a "LOVE" theme for my definitions, I went to Infoplease Dictionary and looked up the definitions of several words, such as love, sweetheart, vow, cherish, etc, but you can choose any theme you wish. Duplicate the 3 transparent boxes (NEVER use your original files) and enter the words and definitions from the web site, using Times New Roman font size 8 for the text, and size 10 BOLD for the defined word. (illustration 3)
- Copy the template (this bears repeating - NEVER use your original file), and merge all layers except the background layer. This will aid in removing the template lines once your definitions are in place
- Copy and paste the individual definition boxes, placing them in the template, rotating as necessary, until all the places are filled. Delete the merged layer of the template lines and you are left with a "love" definitions background. (illustration 4)
While the directions I give are for using a graphics program with layers, the same effect can be obtained by using text boxes in Word. They can be colored, borders added, and rotated. If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll try to answer.
Nov comes the fun part - adding backgrounds
- To add a gradient background (illustration 5)), add a layer, fill with any gradient, and move the layer below all other layers.
- To do the peach background (illustration 6), add a layer, fill with a solid color, and then draw a line around the edges with a brush tool, using a darker complimentary color. Add a Gaussian Blur to the line and it looks like inked edges.
- To add texture to the background (illustration 7), add a layer, fill with a solid color, and add any texture you wish from the PSP textures - experiment to see which ones you like. Add the "inked" edges.
Taking this a step further, you can colorize and "ink the edges" of the individual definitions before adding them to the template page (illustration 8).
- Choose three shades of brown and color the various definition boxes
- Add "inked" edges in darker shades of brown (see (illustration 6)above)
- Open the master template and copy and paste the brown definition boxes as before, rotating to fit.
To change the color, but keep all the shading and details of the original, you can Colorize the image (In PSP 10, Adjust-Hue & Saturation-Colorize). You can play with the the Hue and Saturation settings to get the color you want, as well as the strength. If you want to lighten the shade even more, you can lower the opacity on the layer. (See illustrations 9 and 10)
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