Supplies:
Tube and Scrap: scrapcp_enysguerrero-50.htm(Chaos Priestess unfortunately, retired)
Font: andara
Mask: AoRK_Sacred-Mask.jpg
Brush: 288497-10-kind-lace-vintage-border-photoshop-brushes/
Please do not use any of the licensed supplies without purchasing them first.
First off, unzip all supplies.
Open the mask you would like to use. You don’t have to use the one I have chosen.
Select > All
Edit > Copy
Select > Edit in Quick Mask Mode
Edit > Paste
Select > Edit in Quick Mask Mode (uncheck)
Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection
Layer > Layer Mask > Apply
Layer > Matting > Remove Black Matte
Right click the layer thumbnail in the layers panel
Select Pixels
Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection
Layer > Layer Mask > Apply
Save this as a .psd on your desktop (or wherever you want)
Open a new canvas. I always use 800×800 pixels. Be sure your resolution is 72 Pixels/Inch. This keeps your tag at web viewing standards.
I usually add a color fill layer to the tag so it is easily changed should I use it on a different color website. Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color…
White usually works with most websites.
You can drag and drop items straight from your file browser into the canvas. This makes it faster to place items.
Browse to the mask that you just saved in your computer’s file browser. Drag it onto your tag. Don’t forget to set the Transformation by double clicking the layer on the canvas, or clicking the checkbox at the top of the window. Or you can just hit enter. 
Next, choose the paper you would like to use on your mask. Drag the paper onto the canvas above the mask, just like before.
Now you have two layers in your layers panel. (because I totally needed to tell you that)
In your layers panel, right click on the paper layer and choose Create Clipping Mask.
That’s it! How easy is that?
Today, we are going to be checking out some brushes to make a border.
Grab your custom shape tool. If you can’t see it in your list, then you will need to right click a few places to find it. Sometimes tools are hidden behind other tools.
Right click on your canvas to bring up the options for your shapes. Or you can look at the top of your screen and choose a shape from there. Make sure it is set to “Shape” instead of “Path” or “Pixels.”
I am going with a heart.
Drag your cursor across the canvas to place your shape.
Now that we have a shape, we need to copy the path onto a new layer to add our border.
Find the “Path Selection” tool in your tools panel. You may need to right click a few tools to find it.
Click on your heart and you will see the outline become visible with little squares at all of the anchor points.
Edit > Copy (or copy path)
Layer > New > Layer (you can name it whatever you like)
Edit > Paste
This will place the path on your new layer. However, we don’t want it to be masked, so right click the vector mask in your layers panel and choose “Disable Vector Mask.” This will add a big red X across the mask.
For this tutorial, I searched up a free brush for you to use. If anyone notices this to be a non-legit item, please let me know and I will remove the link immediately.
Grab your brush tool from the tools panel and let’s adjust a few settings.
In your top menu, make sure you have your brushes and brush settings panels visible. Window > Brush Settings and Brushes. This will show you where the panels are visible. If they pop up as a floating windows you can dock them by clicking on the header of the panel and dragging it to a spot that has a blue border when hovered with the panel grabbed. You can read more about docking in the Adobe Help Center.
To load your brushes, open the Brushes panel and click on the 4 horizontal lines at the top right. You will see the option to Import Brushes. Browse to the brushes you saved and double click. Now, when you open the panel back up, you will see a folder with the title “10 Kind Lace vintage border photoshop brushes.” Click on the little arrow beside the folder to expand the group, just like you would do in the layers panel.
Now that you have the panels all set up, let’s do the adjustments.
I chose the brush labeled 867.
Go into your Brush Settings panel and change a few things. Here is what I have used: (Ignore all of the other brush heads. I am a brush junkie, so I have tons.)
Go back to the blank layer that we disabled the mask on. It is very important to have that mask disabled. If you don’t see the red x, then back up to the previous instructions to disable.
Now grab your Path Selection tool again from the tools panel. Click on the mask in the layers panel to activate your path. You will see the blue outline around your shape.
Right click on your canvas and choose “Stroke Path.”
If you notice that your brush goes outside of the canvas, you will need to make the brush smaller by choosing the brush tool again and going back to the Settings panel to reduce the size.
This is mine:
Now that you have your border, you can right click the mask and delete it. You won’t need it anymore.
If you want your border more symmetrical, you can duplicate the layer, flip horizontal, and merge down. I haven’t done this because I like the slightly asymmetrical look.
Now, time for the elements! This is where the real magic begins.
Instead of telling you exactly where to put what and what size to use, I am just going to show you a animated image of what I did. This way, you can create your own version of the tag without doing exactly what I have done.
When placing your elements, you can transform them again by going to Edit > Free Transform. Just be sure you hold the shift key to constrain the proportions.
As you can see, it is pretty random. I just place the items where I think they might work.
Now, back to the frame element layer. You have a frame, right? If not, you can skip this part. We need to add a fill layer to the picture frame.
Highlight the layer UNDER the frame in your layers panel. Now drop the paper you would like to use onto the canvas.
Grab your selection wand from the tools panel. If you can’t find it, check out the basics page for a better understanding of the tools layout.
The Selection Wand options should look like this at the top of your window:
Click on the center portion of the frame.
In the upper menu of Photoshop, click on Selection > Modify > Expand…
Expand your selection by 2px.
Now highlight your paper layer.
Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection.
Now you have a fill to your frame. Easy Peasy!
We definitely want to add some shadows to our elements. Without shadowing, the tag will just look flat. The secret to a good tag, is a good shadow effect.
Right click (or ctrl+click) a layer and choose “Blending Options.”
I add a drop shadow and an outer glow. The glow enhances the effect a bit.
Now after you have hit OK, right click the layer again and choose “Copy Layer Style.”
Highlight all of your element layers (and the shape layer from the beginning) (click the top one, then shift + click the bottom one) and right click again. This time, choose “Paste Layer Style.”
It makes a HUGE difference to add shadows:
Now that we have all of that done, time to add the next details. Tube and text. Fun!
Choose where you want your main tube to be placed. DO NOT ADD COPYRIGHTS UNTIL AFTER YOU RESIZE!
Now drag and drop your tube onto the canvas. Resize and adjust it to your liking. Always make sure you constrain your proportions while resizing. Hold the Shift key while you drag the corners.
I have decided that I want to remove some of the tube from under the crosses. Highlight the tube layer in your layers panel.
Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All
Now grab your eraser tool and choose a big fluffy round brush. These should all be in the default brushes of your Photoshop installation.
Carefully erase the portion of the tube that hangs down below the crosses.
Add the same drop shadow you did before.
Now is the time to resize if you wish. After that…
Don’t forget your copyright text!
Highlight the top layer of the layers panel.
Grab your text tool and add the name you would like. Position it just where you want it and add a layer style. This is mine:
Choose a paper from the kit and drag it onto the tag. Right click and Create Clipping Mask onto the text layer.
That leaves us with the non-animated version of the tag! If you wold like to keep the JPG version, you can save here. Simply File > Save As… and choose the jpg option from the drop down box at the bottom of the dialog.
Here’s where it starts getting complicated. We want to add animation!
Make sure your Animation Panel is open. Window > Timeline (or Animation, if you are on earlier versios)
You will need to click the “Create Frame Animation” button. If you do not see this button, please refer to THIS page for more information about the timeline.
You will see that your first frame is already there.
Highlight the layer that you created the border. Don’t worry about the paper clipped to it (if you added a paper, that is).
Open a new image. File > New 300×300 pixels should be good enough.
Fill the layer with gray. Some version of a middle gray, or you can go to Edit > Fill… and choose 50% gray from the dropdown.
Filter > Nose > Add Noise
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
Edit > Define Pattern…
Name it whatever you like.
You can now close the image without saving.
Back to the tag.
Right click the border layer and choose Blending Options.
You can click ok, now.
You have the animation panel open, right? No? I’ll wait…
Ready? Ok!
Duplicate the frame by clicking the little plus sign at the bottom of the panel. (It’s a double paper icon on older versions)
Go back to your layers panel and back to the Blending Options of the border layer.
Select the Pattern Overlay again. This time DO NOT CHANGE anything. Instead, take your cursor and click/drag it across the actual tag. You can see the pattern moving. Give it a good 2-3 swipes and then click ok.
Back to the first frame of the animation panel.
Click on the 4 horizontal lines at the top right of your animation panel and choose “Tween…”
This will leave you with 5 frames in the animation panel. This should be ok. More than that wouldn’t make any visual difference.
You can now click play at the bottom of the animation panel to check out your creation!
Oh, right! Don’t forget to set your frame delay.
Highlight all of your frames in the animation panel. Highlight the first frame and then hold shift. Click on the last frame. Now all frames are highlighted.
Click on the little arrow beside the time of the last frame. This will bring up a popup for more “delay” options.
Now you will need to save your animation as a gif file.
In your animation dialog, use these settings:
My Forever List can find their tags in their Fotki folders! :flying hearts: