Matchbook Album in PSP

“Matchbook Album in PSP
By Joli Kirk, aka ScrapProfessor – www.ScrapProfessor.com

I don’t know about you but I absolutely LOVE to learn new things and to take my design ability to the next level. I especially love creating new kinds of albums, keeping my shelves and table tops brimming with fresh designs, original concepts, and especially a fresh variety of album styles. I’ve created a Matchbook Album layered PSD template file that you can use in Paint Shop Pro (remember, I showed PSP users how to do this several issues ago in Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine), and you’re going to love putting this cute little album together. They really are super adorable and so easy to make and who wouldn’t love to get one of these treasures as a gift?

Here’s a quick look at my finished “Matchbook Album”. Follow along with me in this article and you’ll end up with an equally cute and totally original mini album!

This article assumes you have basic design skills in Paint Shop Pro (or the graphics program of your choice) such as adding photos and elements to your pages as well as realistic drop shadows.

I’ve sized this project to print on 8.5”x11” paper, so don’t worry about not having a big enough printer for this project. The finished size when closed is approximately 4-3/4” tall by 3-3/4” wide.

Finally, this is an inexpensive project which is definitely a plus in today’s economy. Most people will have everything already on hand that’s needed to complete this project. Following is the supply list and a supplies photo.

SUPPLY LIST:
Paint Shop Pro (or Graphics Program of Choice)
White Acid Free Cardstock
Color Printer
Scissors; Paper Trimmer
Adhesive; Glue
Photos
Popsicle Stick or Something Like it to help with the Folds
Stapler; Staples
Misc Embellishments
The Bonus Download Included with this Article

Here’s a photo of some of the supplies I used in my project:

BONUS DOWNLOAD:
I’ve created a layered “Matchbook Album” PSD layered template to download. Remember, you can use PSD templates in Paint Shop Pro! Also included in the bonus is a mini kit called “Ice Baby” which includes 5 papers and 15 elements, all of which can be easily re-colored to suit your needs and design style.

Personal Use Only
© 2010 ScrapProfessor
www.ScrapProfessor.com

Created by Joli M. Kirk

Click HERE or on the bonus download image to download your mini kit!

CINDY – Make the image and text link linkable to the download I created.

DESIGNING OUR “MATCHBOOK ALBUM” IN PAINT SHOP PRO
Before we can begin you’ll need to download the bonus download included with this article. Save it to your computer, and unzip it to a location you can easily access.

Directions:
STEP 1:
First thing we need to do is open Paint Shop Pro and all the files we want to use with our Matchbook Album. Navigate (browse) to the folder that contains the PSD layered template files you previously downloaded. Open both files and duplicate both of the files (SHIFT+D on the keyboard), and close the originals so you don’t accidentally save over the template files.

Within the template folder there is another file called “_Directions-OPEN-ME-FIRST.jpg”. This image file contains critical layout information necessary for the properly layout and design of your Matchbook Album. I’ve used arrows on the image so you’ll easily see and understand the proper design direction. Because this project is a folded project, it’s imperative to lay it all out properly. Open this image and leave it to refer to as you design your album.

Finally, open any papers and elements you want to use on your Matchbook Album. Those may be images contained in the “Ice Baby” kit I provided as a bonus download this month, or images from other kits or products you already have.

*Make sure you duplicate all your original files so you don’t save over them.

STEP 2:
The first thing we need to do is lock the transparency of our templates. We do this in the Layers Palette. Click on the layer called “Spine” and just above that you’ll see the little padlock icon, as shown in Figure 1. That’s the “Lock Transparency” icon. At this point it is in the unlocked position. We need to lock it so let’s click it one time to do that. Repeat this process for each of the layers so they are all locked. Once you’ve locked the transparency of each layer, save the file in Paint Shop Pro’s native format, .pspimage. That way it’s easy to save as we go along, preserving all of our layers.

STEP 3:
Let’s begin by designing our cover. Minimize the album ‘page’ template for now so it’s not distracting or in the way. I’m going to start with the ‘spine’ on my cover. (Again, refer to the “Directions_OPEN-ME-FIRST.jpg” image so you know where things are located on the actual templates and the proper design direction). I’m going to use the darkest black paper for my spine, the “SP_IceBaby_Paper05.jpg” paper file. Choose the paper you want to use for your spine. If you want to resize your paper at all this is the time to do it. I’ve included resizing instructions in step 4 of this article. Press CTRL+C on your keyboard to copy the paper.

Go back to the cover template file and make sure you are on the “Spine” layer. Press CTRL+E on your keyboard to paste the copied paper as a new selection on the template. At this point your curser will be automatically placed in the middle of the template image and the paper will be clipped, so to speak, to the curser. Move the paper around until you’re happy with its position, and then left click one time to release the paper to the image. You’ll now have a ‘Floating Selection” above the Spine layer in your layers palette and you’ll see marching ants around your paper. Press CTRL+D on your keyboard to deselect the selection and you’ll see your paper magically clip itself to the Spine layer on the template.

STEP 4:
Next I’m going to choose the striped paper for the “Album Cover” layer. The paper is called “SP_IceBaby_Paper01.jpg”. However, I want to resize my striped paper to 50% of original size. I clicked SHIFT+S on the keyboard to bring up the Resize window. In the “Print Size” area located at the top of the Resize window, I changed the paper width dimensions to 6.00 inches which is 50% of the original size, and then I clicked the tab button on my keyboard to move to the next field. This automatically changed the Height dimension to 6.00 inches since I have the “Lock aspect ratio” button checked (near the bottom of the resize window). It’s critical to have that button checked. Figure 2 shows you the settings I used. I then clicked OK to accept the changes.

STEP 5:
Next I proceed to clip the paper to the Album Cover layer by following the steps I outlined for you earlier in step 3, with only one minor change. This time I had to copy and paste the stripped paper twice in order to cover the entire Album Cover layer. One important thing to note, however, is I made the stripped paper lap under the Spine layer. It’s sometimes difficult to get stripped paper aligned perfectly when you’re dealing with more than one layer. If you use a stripped paper for this layer make sure you zoom in for detail and ensure the stripped paper is perfectly aligned. That’s what I did and it looks great… and beautifully aligned! Remember, you can hit the undo button as many times as you need to get it right.
Finally, choose your paper for the “Inside Flap” layer. I’m going to use the same paper that I used for the Spine. I think this will tie it all together and look super great when my project is finished. Figure 3 shows you how my project looks thus far. And, this is a good time to do a quick save of your work so far, and that’s done easily by hitting CTRL+S on your keyboard.

STEP 6:
Now let’s begin designing and working on the “Page” template. Minimize the “Album Cover” template so it’s not in the way, and bring the Page template up. Again, refer to the “_Directions-OPEN-ME-FIRST.jpg” so you know the proper direction you should be designing, and other important details about that page template. As with our Album Cover template, the first thing we need to do is lock the transparency of each layer. Do that now, then save the template as a .pspimage. You’ll need to duplicate this template file. How many times depends upon how many inner pages you want. If you want three inner pages, for example, you’ll need to make two additional copies of it, for a total of three pages. I’m going to make three inner pages for my Matchbook Album so I have a total of three of the Album Page templates open and ready.

STEP 7:
Decide which paper(s) you want to use for the two layers of the Page template. Resize those papers if necessary. I chose “SP_IceBaby_Paper03.jpg” for the Album Page layer and “SP_IceBaby_Paper04.jpg” for the Extended Area layer. Following the instructions outlined in step 3, I clipped those papers to those layers.

Create your other inner pages at this time as well. Set them aside for now. We’ll get back to them in a little bit when we start adding our photos and other elements to our pages. Save your pages as you go. You might want to consider naming your inner pages like this: MatchbookAlbumPage1, MatchbookAlbumPage2, etc., and remember to keep them in the .pspimage format for now.

Figure 4 shows you what my three inner pages looks like so far. Pretty cute! I love the colors in this kit. And they’ll go wonderfully with my grandson’s beautiful blue eyes. And, notice I’ve made the Extended Area layer the same paper on all my inner pages. This isn’t necessary, and you can do yours any way you’d like, but keep in mind most of the Extended Area layer will be covered by the flap when your Matchbook Album is finished. And, noticed I rotated the stripped paper 45 degrees for Page two. This gives me a little design variation and I like it.

STEP 8:
It’s time to choose your photos for your project. Open your photo choices in PSP, duplicate them (SHIFT+D) and close the originals. I’ve chosen 6 adorable pictures of my daughter and grandson. I decided to make all my pictures black and white because the colors of this kit will really make my photos pop. To turn your pictures to black and white simply click on the Image menu and choose ‘Greyscale’. Viola! Your photo is now black and white. If you want to make any other changes to your photos now is the time. You might even consider creating a new folder for these specific photos for this project so you can refer to them later if you need to.

STEP 9:
Once your photos are the way you want them, open all the embellishments you’d like to use on your inside pages. Add your photos and embellishments to your pages, and your drop shadows being careful to keep things realistic. Also add any journaling to your pages. I used several components from the “Ice Baby” kit, and two fonts, Century Gothic and LD Soccer Mom. Figure 5 shows my finished inner pages. I am completely in LOVE with them all!

STEP 10:
With the inner pages completed, we’re left with the design of our cover. I decided to only add elements to the front of my Matchbook Album. I added one of my favorite photos of my grandson… he’s truly adorable in every sense of the word, and I used the black gem and the blue bookplate from the Ice Baby kit, along with a stamped font, and created my cover. It’s so super cute! Figure 6 shows you the entire cover as it will be when I print it.

Figure 7 gives you a close-up look at my cover. I used brackets from the LD Soccer Mom font to kind of frame my photo, and I used Century Gothic to write, “Love, Actually”, I’m not sure why… it just popped into my head and I thought it was cute. I also used Century Gothic to write the date 10/09 below Kade’s name inside the bookplate. Take a look…

PUTTING OUR MATCHBOOK ALBUM TOGETHER
Now it’s time to put our album together. I have to say my printer is out of sync so my printed pages look a little weird. I need to get a technician here to align my printer, or something. It’s not horribly bad, but my words aren’t bright white and the alignment is off a little. Ah well… it still turned out super cute!

STEP 11:
Print all your pages onto White Acid Free Cardstock. Cut them from the printed cardstock using your paper trimmer or scissors. Using a Popsicle stick, a rub-on stick, or something like them, make the folds in the cover page as shown in the next photo. You’ll fold both sides of the spine and you’ll fold the bottom flap for the matchbook cover. Set aside for now so we can embellish our inner pages with traditional scrapbooking supplies, if we want.

STEP 12:
I chose to decorate my first and second inner pages only. The first one I simply glued down a metal word “Happy” from Making Memories. On my second page I used a small piece of ribbon and threaded it through a Metal Washer Word (also from Making Memories), tied the ribbon in a knot, and stapled both sides of the ribbon to that page to keep it from lifting off. It turned out REALLY super cute!

STEP 13:
Now it’s time to add our pages to our Matchbook Album. Put your inner pages in the order you want them to be inside the album and slip them under the matchbook flap. You’ll want to have your inside pages all the way to the fold under the flap, as shown in the next photo.

STEP 14:
If everything fits properly, staple the album flap to the inner pages, but read my designers tip below first! Align your stapler to the middle of the flap and staple. Press firmly, and make sure your stapler is the type that will go through a thick stack of papers since we used cardstock for everything.

DESIGNERS TIP:
Placement of the staple is actually critical, as I discovered. BEFORE you staple, tuck the matchbook cover under the flap. I didn’t do this and my staple is a little higher on the flap than it should be. It works, but if it was lower by even 1/8” it would have been better because the cover would have been able to fold over, tuck under the flap, and would have been able to move down just a tad more allowing my spine to lie flat at both folds. Once you play with this you’ll see what I mean.

Here is a photo of my stapler, getting ready to staple.

Here are a couple photos of my project after the staple is in place. You can clearly see where my staple is… so take note that yours needs to be just a little lower than mine in order for things to work properly.

And here are several photos (four) of my completed Matchbook Album - page by page - beginning with the cover.

Completed Matchbook Album Cover:

Completed Matchbook Album Page One:

Completed Matchbook Album Page Two:

Completed Matchbook Album Page Three:

Isn’t this just adorable! It was truly so much fun to make as well. =)

Here are several close-up photos of my completed project too.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Give this Matchbook Album a try… I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it just like I did.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS LEARNED IN THIS ARTICLE:
For any articles I write for Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine, you will see a keyboard shortcut guide at the end which indicates all the keyboard shortcuts I’ve used throughout the lesson(s). You could easily write them down and start a master list to refer to when you’re working on your own later. I am a firm believer in keyboard shortcuts and I use them all the time in Paint Shop Pro.

SHIFT+D = “Duplicate Image”
CTRL+C = “Copy”
CTRL+E = “Paste as a New Selection”
CTRL+D = “Select None”
SHIFT+S = “Resize”

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR ME?
Is there something you’re confused about? Something you’re not clear on? I am happy to help answer your questions. Simply send an email to me, Joli, at the following email address:
admin@ScrapProfessor.com