Layouts for jessicasprague.com creative team search

So I decided to enter the jessicasprague.com creative team search. Since all my Photoshop skills were learned from her website, I thought this would be another great challenge to sink my teeth into. I got a bit of a late start, as initally I thought, "Nah, I'll never make it." But then I decided what the heck, it's a good excuse to get a blog going! Here are the three layouts I am entering:



This first layout was created last, and though it is very photo heavy, was very simple to create. Each of the border photos was created in a clipping mask, as was the focal photo, which was clipped to a grunge photo mask rather than a simple square. I also created a semi-transparent strip for my journaling and title to rest on. The final technique I used on this layout was a simple way to make the focal photo "pop" by layering an opaque block of color over the photo and removing the block from over her face.

Credits: Paper: Fairy Dreamer no 8 by Katie Pertiet (designerdigitals.com). Grunge Photo Mask: Jessica Sprague (jessicasprague.com). Fonts: PeaDaneMichael from fontsforpeas.com and HappyDaze from dafont.com



The second entry uses photos taken during our trip to Washington for Spring Break this year...the same trip as the jaguar face paint. The same day too, if you look closely, you can see the jaguar is tip-toeing through the tulips in one of the pictures. Once again I used clipping masks throughout the layout, just to make sure everything lined up. I duplicated the frame to make it a 2x3 stamp frame instead of a 1x3, and in doing so had to "straighten" out the third opening on the bottom row. I layered two fonts for the title, a technique I picked up from T+W and LOVE, and made a clipping mask out of a font for the block letters (also from T+W, I think).

Credits: Papers: AWolff (green diamonds), Feistuff (grey textured and cream textured), Queen of Quirck (grey dots) all from Songbird Avenue Soar High (April 2010). Frame: SWMazy from DesignsinDigital.com Santa’s Digi Express. Epoxy Buttons: AWolff from Songbird Avenue Soar High (April 2010). Fonts: You Are Loved and OneFellSwoop from dafont.com.


The final entry is one I tweaked from a weekly challenge entry. The challenge was to use only one photo and one color in the layout. This is what I came up with, with the exception of the colored ferry portion. I applied a Hue/Saturation layer to the entire layout, turning the orangey sky at sunset into a dreamy blue backdrop. For this entry, I have recolored only the portion of the photo that lies within the frame, creating a quick focal point for the large photo (using another Hue/Saturation to recolor the area). I also used type as a major element in this layout, both in the overlay applied to the background and the design of the word art quote.

Credits: Frame: Valerie N (valeriedesigns.blogspot.com) from Remember When kit. Font: You Are Loved from dafont.com

Thanks for checking these out! Whatever the results of the search, I am loving this hobby and loving my new knowledge of photoshop techniques.