Brushes
Miss M Handmade Photoshop Brushes

Fonts
Fonts for Peas
dafont

Miscellaneous
EScrappers
Free Photoshop
Useful Photoshop Plugins
Zen Textures

Quotes
Scrapbooking Quotes

I will update with more links as I get my files more organized

Digital Scrapbooking
Torn Paper
Curled Paper Edges
Hand Cut Paper Effect
Warhol-Inspired Photos
Color Replacement in a Photo
Preparing a Layout for Posting Online
Pencil Sketch
Photo Editing
Photo – Easy Sharpening and Skin Smoothing
Changing a Horizontal Element to a Circle
Graphic Art Photo
Glamour Photo
Better Black and White Photos
Mosaic Layout (TaylorMade Designs)
Bright Eyes
Cast Shadows Tutorial (My favorite tutorial!)
Extraction and Custom Drop Shadows
Creating Custom Drop Shadows
Drop Shadows by Megan Turnridge
Makeshift Floor Shadowing by Miss Behaving
Text on a Path
Text Paths inside a Shape
Text Paths inside Text
Chipboard letters
Adding a border to photos
Loading files into Layers
Recoloring elements by SuzyQ Scraps
Recoloring elements by Misty Cato
Realistic Text on a paper (making your writing blend in)
Stamped Text Effect
Extractions for Dummies: Part II by Miss Behaving

Photoshop
Pen Tool
Layer Masks
Top 10 Photoshop Tutorial Websites
53 Tips for Better Photoshopping
Photoshop Essentials
Text Tricks and Tips
60 Photoshop Actions for Photo Touch-ups and Enhancements
45 Amazing and Free Photoshop Actions

Illustrator
30 Useful Illustrator Tutorials
Illustrator Tutorials
How to make a Tapered Line Brush

Digital Designing
Acrylic Elements
Glass Elements
Glass Buttons
Glass Orb
Postage Stamp Frames
Paper folds and Creases
Worn Paper
Rusty Metal
Metal Shapes
Creating Patterned Papers
Eliminating Jaggies
Creating a Scalloped Frame
How to Make a Hot Air Balloon
Copper Rivet
Folding a Ribbon
3D Letters
Coloring Doodles by Ellie Lash
Creating a Scribble Alpha
Plastic Text

If you find that a link no longer works or I got it wrong, please leave me a message so I can fix it

First is a FREE copy of her shadow styles for you to download. Go to her blog HERE to download.

I use her shadow styles on most of my layouts.

And here is a tutorial she did on using the warp tool. Go to her blog HERE.

Done reading? Good. It takes a bit of extra time to do your shadows properly but it is so worth it. Since I’ve started using the techniques desribed in these two posts my layouts have come miles as far is looking realistic. One extra tip I would share is that I will often place all of my elements, photos and papers, etc where I want them and have the layout pretty much finished before I start playing with the shadows. Then to make sure I don’t miss any layers, I scroll up to the the top of my layers list and work down one at time, creating a new shadow layer, warping and reducing the opacity.

Good luck with your shadows everyone. If you make a new layout using these shadow techniques, link me up so I can go leave you some love on your new mad skillz!

Today I want to talk about shadows. I see so many layouts in the galleries that are beautifully laid out, but lack realism because their creators haven’t played with shadows yet. This is the best tutorial out there that I have found on using shadow effectively:

Cast Shadow, posted at Something Blue Studios.

Go ahead, click on it, I’ll wait here.

Ok, done? Good. Isn’t it great? The key is PUTTING YOUR SHADOW ON A SEPARATE LAYER. That’s right. On your layers palette, right-click, select “Create Layer” and it will drop it underneath your element layer. Then you can click on Edit>Transform>Warp and squish it around to your hearts content. Then adjust opacity. Then dodge, burn, dodge some more.

Wasn’t that fun?? Here’s an example of a layout I’ve done with some shadow work:

Click image for credits. See how I made the wing appear to lift off the page a bit? and the ribbons on the string? I’m no expert, but it gives it a little extra depth. Now, an expert would be Bec from Scrap Orchard. Here is an example of an incredible layout with her amazing shadowing techniques:

Look at how she pulled the heart out from the page, and how she burned the edges of the ribbons to make them appear folded under. Here is some of her technique in her own words:

“I create my shadows in a new layer and then warp the shadow to help ’shape’ things and then I blur the shadow and reduce the opacity. Sometimes I’ll warp the element a little too. I really like the ‘lifting of the paper’ look It can help to select just part of the shadow for warping too or use the smudge tool to pull out just one corner of the shadow.
I do this for each and every shadow which can take ages but I’ve made actions to make it a bit quicker. One action to move the drop shadow to a new layer using layer style/create layers, and then an action to blur and fade the shadow. I have 3 copies of the blur action with a radius of 5, 10 or 15 pixels depending on how much depth I want. For the flatter elements or paper I’ll use 5 and for the bigger 3D objects I’ll use 10 or 15.
Then I’ll go over the papers and elements with dodge and burn to further enhance the shading or give it a well handled look
Oh and I always try to pick a shadow direction that matches the lighting on the elements and photos I use.”

Check out Bec’s gallery if you want some divine inspiration!

Come back next time for my other favorite Shadow tutorial for when you’ve extracted a picture….that’s the OTHER technique I’ve used in the Sk8ter Girl layout!