[NanaB99]

I've give up! I can't get it straight in my head .... can someone explain to me the difference between the pngs, a template, and an overlay. Is an overlay always transparent? Can any png be treated as template (papers in particular)?

I'm sure it's addressed somewhere on this site but I keep getting distracted with other things while looking! There is soooo much info here - can someone come up with a chip to implant in my brain so I know all this stuff immediately!

NanaB99

[Heatheranne]

Hi Nana B, I'm sure that someone will come along who can explain this better, or correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll tell you what I've figured out so far. lol

pngs fit in the category with jpg, psp, pdf, psd, etc., which are all ways of saving a document, photo, etc. You usually save your LO with your program extension - mine is psp. The reason for this is that it can be saved with layers and you can go back and work on the layers. Your end result is saved in jpg, in order to print or with a smaller size, to upload to ScrapGirls.

templates, overlays, papers, embs, etc are items that you use to make your layouts pretty. They are usually saved as jpg's, png's or psd's for scrapbooking purposes. As mentioned before jpg is for the finished project and your software extension is for working on the layers.

A png is saved with a transparent background, or section of it transparent. You can not save anything transparent as a jpg. Embelllishments, overlays and lacy papers, etc are saved as png's, so that the white around the item doesn't show up and make it look like a photo of the item. If you were to save an overlay as a jpg, it would become a paper and lose it's transparency, which in turn would change the effect that you want when you overlay it on your paper.

As for treating png's like papers, if you are asking it the colours can be changed, or if they can be blended, etc, like papers, then the answer is yes. After using your selection tool, you can add paint colours and use blends, you can just use different layers and blends, or you can grey scaled them and recolour them. I've found that it's the use of layers and different blending modes that make the colours pop! Just for fun, grab a flower, emb and drag into your software window. Make three layers and change your top layer setting to overlay. Now on the second layer, put the setting as difference and see what happens, then change the middle layer setting again and again, to see what happens.

I have to stop before I end up with a novella. lol I hope that this information helps a bit. I'm sure someone else will come along who can helpf more. :-)

[MLLatscrapgirls]

Heather gave you a great description of the file types (I may have to copy that one down.)

It will help you understand the overlays if you paper scrapped - they are intended to be like the transparent papers you buy and just lay down on top of your layout. They will have some kind of pattern or flourish but be otherwise transparent (the png files Heather explains.)

There at least three things in the boutique called templates. The first ones, paper templates, can work just the way an overlay does - lay them on top of your paper. But usually you want to use those to change the paper in some way (add a pattern, or a texture or a print) so you color them in and use blend modes. (We just had a great newsletter tutorial on doing that - if you can't find it post again and I will look for it.) They can be transparent in places and are usually pngs.

Another kind is embellishment templates. These are also grey with a transparent background. You use this so you can make something, a ribbon say, into the exact color you want for your layout. If you have PSE, sometimes the easiest way to do that is with the color replacement brush - or to use Adjust Hue/Saturation, then click on colorize. Otherwise, you can color them the same way as the paper templates. These are png's because you want the embellishment to have a clear background when you put it on the layout.

And last but not least, are the layout templates. These are meant to provide a structure for your design. If you use sketches, these are like sketches with pieces you can use as clipping masks. They can really speed up your scrapping, plus give you some great ideas.

I hope this helps! Post again if you need clarification.

[NanaB99]

Thank You! You guys have cleared it up quite a bit for me. I'll use your info and play around some more! Thanks again!!!!

[Heatheranne]

You're very welcome. If you have any more questions, just ask and someone will help you out. There are lots of answers to be found here, via the Forums, University and Members. Have a great day scrapping. :-)

[Victoria TX]

My dogs are mahogany so I'm wanting to use quite a few earth tones in my layouts. I've referred to the on-line tutorial on using ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates (Open Template | Image> Adjustment> Hue and Saturation / Check Colorize), however, the colors provided are bright primaries and I'm having difficulty finding anything close to, say, a rich mahogany, a complementary beige or cream, etc. I've been able to get the color I want changing by the foreground color and using the paint bucket, however, that results in embellishments that are very flat and the embellishment lost the texture/dimension/embossed look.

I just bought Ro's Scrapbook Secrets Revealed videos last night, but haven't had time to go through all of them. I did glance through the titles and glanced at the topic lists at the Boutique, but don't see that this particular issue is addressed. I just installed Photoshop Elements 9 last night so am having to adapt to some differences in the way that program works vs. my version 5. I've purchased some really nice templates and Scrap Girls has also provided some great freebies, but I'm definitely struggling with this color issue. Thanks for any help you can provide!

Victoria

[Cheri T]

Victoria, before you use the Image>Adjustment>Hue and Saturation, change your foreground color to the mahogany you want by clicking on the foreground, then clicking once on a photo of your dog. THEN go to your item you wish to change and do the Image>Adjustment>Hue and Saturation and click the colorize button. The colorize button changes the HUE to the mahogany color of your foreground. You may very well still need to mess with the saturation and lightness sliders to get the exact effect you want.

[Belle]

I sometimes find that the Enhance>Adjust Color> COLOR VARIATION, works better. The images stay clearer. Try this one. I use it a lot especially with ribbons.

[Victoria TX]

Thanks so much for the tips. I'll give 'em a try!

Victoria