How to Use Multilayered FotoBlendz Masks
Multilayered FotoBlendz masks arrive with stains, textures, ArtStrokes and brushes already arranged for you. Move the whole set onto your page, clip a photo, and customise each layer to make the design your own.
Creative Team member Miki Krueger shares how to get the most from multilayered FotoBlendz masks in your photo artistry and digital scrapbooking pages. The real magic of these sets is that they are more than a single mask shape — each one is a small, ready-made composition you can take apart and rebuild. This tutorial is shown in Photoshop, with notes for Elements users throughout.
The short version: A multilayered FotoBlendz comes as a layered .psd. Open it, select all its layers, and move the whole group onto a paper foundation. Clip your photo to the mask layer, then resize, reposition, recolour, rotate, or duplicate the supporting stain, texture, and ArtStroke layers to suit your page.
The .psd is the whole point — it is what makes a FotoBlendz “multilayered.”
Quick Jump — Table of Contents
- → What Is a Multilayered FotoBlendz Mask?
- → Step 1 — Create a Paper Foundation
- → Step 2 — Position the FotoBlendz Layers
- → Step 3 — Add and Clip Your Photo
- → Step 4 — Customise the Supporting Layers
- → Summary
- → Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Multilayered FotoBlendz Mask?
A mask is an easy way to crop or blend photos. The image takes on the shape and properties of the mask: you clip a photo to the mask layer to create a clipping set, and the photo conforms to the mask shape. That clipping is done with the Create Clipping Mask function in Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or Affinity by Canva.
My FotoBlendz clipping masks usually arrive in both .png and .psd formats — and for multilayered masks, the .psd is what matters:
- → The layered .psd file lets you manipulate each element — mask, stains, textures, ArtStrokes — individually.
- → The single-layer .png is quicker to use, but flatter and less flexible to customise.
- → Some single-layer masks also come in .abr brush format.
For the full primer on the formats and the basic clip, see my beginner’s guide to clipping masks. This tutorial focuses on the multilayered .psd and what you can do with all those extra layers.
Step 01
Create a Paper Foundation
Build a solid paper foundation for your design.
- → Create a new 12 x 12 inch layout at 300 DPI via File > New (Photoshop) or File > New > Blank File (Elements).
- → Go to File > Open, choose a solid paper, and move it onto the foundation with the Move Tool.
- → SolidPaper1.jpg from ArtPlay Palette Axiom was used for this page.
Step 02
Position the FotoBlendz Layers
Move all the layers of the multilayered FotoBlendz onto your foundation.
- → Go to File > Open and select the .psd FotoBlendz file.
- → Select all the layers in the Layers Panel — click the top layer, then Shift-click the bottom.
- → Move all the layers onto your foundation with the Move Tool.
- → New to moving layers between files? My how to make a digital scrapbook page guide walks it through.
Note: You can group the layers to keep them organised — select them in the Layers Panel, then Layer > Group Layers (Cmd/Ctrl + G in Photoshop and newer versions of Elements).
Step 03
Add and Clip Your Photo
Clip a photo to the FotoBlendz mask layer within the set.
- → Move the photo layer so it sits directly above the FotoBlendz mask layer.
- → Go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask, or press Ctrl/Cmd + G.
Notice: The photo layer conforms to and assumes the properties and shape of the underlying mask layer.
Step 04
Customise the Supporting Layers of the MultiLayered FotoBlendz Masks
Here is where multilayered FotoBlendz masks earn their name. Beyond the mask shape, the set includes supporting layers you can treat as your own design elements:
Select any of these layers in the Layers Panel and reshape the composition to suit your photo and page. You can:
- → Resize a layer using the Transform handles.
- → Reposition it with the Move Tool to balance the design.
- → Recolour a stain or texture to match your palette.
- → Rotate an ArtStroke for a different flow.
- → Repeat — duplicate a layer (Ctrl/Cmd + J) and move the copy to build up depth.
A photo clipped to a mask, anchored to the page with transfers and overlays from ArtPlay Palette Axiom
Anna’s Personal Opinion: This is the part most people miss. A multilayered FotoBlendz is not a fixed option — it is a starting point. Hide a texture, recolour a stain, nudge an ArtStroke, and the same set produces a completely different page. Treat the layers as suggestions rather than rules, and the mask becomes yours.
Summary on MultiLayered FotoBlendz Masks
Multilayered FotoBlendz masks give you a ready-made, fully editable composition: a paper foundation, the mask, and supporting stain, texture, and ArtStroke layers you can resize, reposition, recolour, rotate, and duplicate. Clip your photo to the mask, then make the rest your own. You will find multilayered sets throughout the FotoBlendz collection at Oscraps.
One set, endless pages
Explore Multilayered FotoBlendz
Pre-arranged masks, stains, textures and ArtStrokes — all on editable layers. Clip your photo and customise the rest.
Shop FotoBlendz →Frequently Asked Questions
What are multilayered FotoBlendz masks?
They are FotoBlendz clipping masks supplied as a layered .psd, where the mask comes with supporting stain, texture, ArtStroke, and brush layers already arranged into a composition. You clip your photo to the mask and then customise the supporting layers individually.
Do I need the .psd, or will the .png work?
For multilayered work you want the .psd — it keeps every element on its own editable layer. The .png is a single flattened layer, faster to drop in but not customisable. Use the .png for a quick blend and the .psd when you want full control.
Does this work in Photoshop Elements?
Yes. This tutorial is shown in Photoshop, but every step works in Photoshop Elements too — opening the .psd, selecting and moving all layers, grouping, clipping the photo, and customising the supporting layers are all supported.
Keep Learning
- → FotoBlendz Clipping Masks: Blend Photos Like a Pro
- → Clipping Masks in Digital Scrapbooking: A Beginner’s Guide
- → Digital Scrapbook Photo Blending: Where to Start
With thanks to Miki Krueger for this tutorial. ❤️
4 Responses
Thank you Miki! I gave this a try this morning, with some sunflowers. I love the psd FB masks, and also the transfers. They make it easy to create artsy scenes.
So fun to hear Beverly. Thanks for letting us know.
Adore Miki’s Front Porch layout…fun to read the walk through and ideas for masking and blending! Excellent blog post!
I agree. She always shares something really fun in this space.