Distress and Age Your Digital Scrapbook Pages

Distressing and Aging Techniques: LIVE Class + Replay | Taught in Adobe Photoshop, with Photoshop Elements & Affinity Photo by Canva guidance

You choose a paper background, blend a photo with a mask, add a title and some embellishments, but your digital scrapbooking page doesn’t quite look right. Something is missing. Distressing and aging techniques aren’t just for making heritage photos look worn. They add depth, color, and contrast to all your memory-keeping pages, making them feel loved.

In this 2-session class, you’ll learn 5 essential digital scrapbooking techniques and use them in unique ways to enhance color, add contrast and depth, while bringing a whole lot of fun and new skills to your digital scrapbooking process.

Best of all, the class includes a free ArtPlay MiniPalette, Beatific, to practice with. We’ll use it to create at least two layouts in class.

Why Depth and Contrast Matter

Depth, color and contrast just make your pages look and feel a whole lot more interesting. It’s as simple as that.

Depth, color, and contrast all add subtle complexity to your pages. And it all happens lickety-split with intentional layers and simple techniques.  Better yet, you will use techniques you might already have in your toolbox but aren’t properly using yet.

A few simple tricks are all it takes (and you can claim the worthy title of “artist” along the way, too).

What You Will Learn

You’ll learn 5 techniques to improve color, texture, and contrast and apply each one to the four main parts of your layout: background, photos, embellishments, and words. We’re talking about adding the not-so-subtle secret sauce to every page you create.

You’ll also learn how to mix, match, and combine these techniques with any photo or digital scrapbooking product to excel in your own artistry.

2 Sessions of Distressing and Aging Techniques

Session 1: The Techniques and How They Are Used.

The first session covers five techniques. Each one applies to all four parts of the page. Therefore, you learn it once and use it four ways.

1. Blending Modes

Blending modes decide how layers mix to produce dark and inky, soft and faded, or sun-bleached effects. You will learn why black or white elements need recoloring,  how to fine-tune with Opacity and Fill, and which blending mode to choose.

2. Color Overlays

Color adds enthusiasm to your photos and stories. You’ll learn 3 ways to colorize and apply tints to photos and digital supplies. Clear steps show you which hues to choose and why, so you can pick aged colors with confidence.

3. Clipping Masks

You might already know how to clip a photo to a mask, but in this class you’ll go above and beyond the basics. You’ll master the different ways clipping masks can add excitement to your pages, and you’ll use them in unexpected ways.

4. Enhance with Brushes

If you’ve ever wondered what to do with all those ArtPlay Palette brushes or texture-style tool sets gathering dust on your hard drive, then this class is for you. You’ll learn how to use both the .png and .abr versions and make the most of them using other digital products you already have in your stash.

5. Brushes with Layer Masks

All these techniques so far show you how to enhance your pages by adding to them. Layer masks with brushes, on the other hand, allow you to seamlessly modify, blend, distress, and usually improve the photos and digital products in your pages.

Session 2: Putting It All Together.

In the second session, we’ll build another 1-2 layouts, mixing and matching the same techniques and MiniPalette from Session 1 to create a variety of clever effects. There will also be plenty of time for questions at the end, and I am sure there will be many!

At first glance, this class might look too basic, but I’ll show you how simple techniques can lead to surprisingly complex page effects. Why wouldn’t you want to do more with less? You’ll also learn to dial the approaches up and down to make them work for you and your memory-keeping process.

Note that the class is conducted in Adobe Photoshop. However, demonstrations in Photoshop Elements and Affinity by Canva can be provided if needed. Handouts are also available for all three programs.

Who Is This Class For?

This class is great for beginners and advanced memory keepers alike. If you’re just getting started in your digital scrapbooking journey, you’ll master the core techniques. For advanced digital artists, we’ll kick it up a notch by using those same approaches in ways you’ve probably never considered before.

This class is for you if:

• You want your pages to look better, using color, contrast, and depth, simply and quickly.
• You want a clear, repeatable step-by-step plan for improving realism in every part of a page.
• You use Photoshop Elements or Affinity by Canva and want steps for your own software.
• You want to know it all. Go from beginner to advanced in 3 hours or less.
• You want fresh ways to use your stash. Make the most of your digital scrapbook supplies.

What Is Included

• Two live sessions. Each runs about 1½ hours, with time to answer your questions.
• Replays for both sessions. Replays available by Monday, November 23, and watch as often as you like.
• Handouts. You receive one each for Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Affinity by Canva. ***These will be available a few days before class***
• Free ArtPlay MiniPalette Beatific. We use it in class to create at least two layouts.

It includes:

• 4 papers, 12 x 12 inches (2 artsy and 2 solid)
• 14 brushes (.abr and .png)
• 1 ArtsyTransfer (.psd)
• 1 FotoBlendz Clipping Mask (.psd and .png)
• 9 Transfers and Overlays (.png)
• 1 WordART Cluster (.psd and individual .png files)
• 4 embellishments: a heart charm, a heart button, a clock, and a grass element (.png and .psd)

Live Class Session Schedule

What Makes This Class Different

Most tutorials show a couple of techniques using a sampling of digital supplies. This class shows you how to master simple techniques to yield complex results across all parts of a digital scrapbooking page. You’ll use staple color, distressing, and aging techniques from the layout foundation to the photos, embellishments, and finishing up with the words that tell the story. And the best part? All 5 techniques work together in a repeatable format, so you can layer them up and reorder them to infinity and beyond, building a style that is truly your own.

Because Pages Should Feel Loved

A pop of color, artful blending, and simple textures change not only how your pages look, but how you feel about them. It’s a win-win all around.

Join the class, and give every page the depth it deserves.

Got questions? Email anytime at classes@annaaspnesdesigns.com