I designed a new set of 3 x 4 cards last week called Check Cards. The cards are perfect for use in your Project Life pockets and some might say they're kind of adorable.
The set comes as a PNG and ABR set, but also includes sheets of printable PDFs (cards come in black ink only) for those who don't have Photoshop. Today I wanted to show you how to change the color of the PNG files in Photoshop Elements. Once you have this basic approach down, you can apply it to any PNG file you can get your hands on. Following is a short video that demonstrates the steps plus also how to size the cards down for a perfect fit into Project Life Design A page protectors.
Watch the video at Vimeo by clicking here.
STEP BY STEP: RECOLORING A PNG
1. Open the PNG file.
2. Go to Edit > Fill Layer. Under Contents, click on Color….
3. From the Color Picker, choose a color you'd like to apply. Make sure "Preserve Transparency" is checked. Click OK. Then click OK again. The color will apply to only the image content.
STEP BY STEP: SIZING DOWN 3 x 4 CARDS in PSE
1. To change the width of the card to 2-7/8 wide (the actual width of Project Life cards), or 2.875, go to Image > Resize > Image Size. In the Width field, type in 2.875. Make sure that Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are all checked. Click OK.
2. To change the height of the card to 3-15/16 (the actual height of Project Life cards), or 3.9375, go to Image > Resize > Canvas Size.
3. Click on the Center Anchor Point. Change the height to 3.9375.
4. This will add an equal amount of extra space to the top and bottom of your page. Your card is now sized correctly.
STEP BY STEP: PRINT MULTIPLE CARDS ON AN 8.5 x 11 DOCUMENT
1. Take your finished PNG file and flatten the file (Layer > Flatten Image), then double click on the locked Background layer to create a new Layer 0.
2. Create a new 8.5 x 11 document (File > New > Blank File).
3. From the upper control bar area under the Arrange Documents icon, choose Float All in New Windows.
4. Click on the PNG file window, then go to the Layer 0, click on the layer and drag over to the 8.5 x 11 document and release. The file should copy into the new document.
5. To add a trim line to the card file, go to Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings and check the box before Stroke, then change the stroke weight to "1 px." Click OK. Repeat for more cards.
FRACTION CONVERSION CHART
As mentioned in the video, I have this nifty little chart I use all the time when working on digital and hybrid scrapbooking projects. It converts fractions to decimals and millimeters which is very handy when converting for sizing in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Download, print and enjoy!
Download CZ_Fractions2Decimals
Questions? Comments? Post in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. And look for my full Project Life post on Thursday.
This set is on sale today at Designer Digitals. To purchase, click here.
