Heart Garland Hybrid Project
One of the things I love about digital scrapbooking supplies is being able to print them off and use them in my paper crafting projects. Some people call this hybrid crafting but I call my little projects “Print and Craft”. Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to show you how to make a pretty heart garland. Although Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, these heart garlands are perfect year round as home décor. And pretty easy to make using my layered PSD template.
Project Notes + Overview: I’m using Photoshop CS6 but the technique works in Photoshop Elements too. If you use a different graphics/photo editing software program other than Photoshop (Elements), you can Google to find out how to use Clipping Masks for that particular program. Clipping masks in Photoshop (Elements) is pretty easy technique to learn and is definitely for beginners; however, I’m assuming you have basic knowledge of how to use a computer and your software. I’m using a PC so the file system and shortcut keys might be a little different if you’re on a MAC.
Ok, so let’s get started.
- First of all, you will need to download the Heart Garland Template but clicking on this link. Download, save to your computer, unzip and open it in your graphics software
- Choose some digital papers for your hearts. They can be 12×12, A4 or Letter Size.
- With your digital papers and your heart garland template open, select one of the hearts by clicking on the layer in the Layers palette
- Drag one of the papers to your heart garland template
- Make sure the paper is above one of the hearts as we are now going to clip the paper to the heart shape. Go to Layers | Create Clipping Mask. Short cut key for this is Ctrl+Alt+G. You can also place your cursor between the 2 layers, click on the Alt key to create the clipping mask. Your cursor should change shape. It should look something like 2 interlocking circles.
- Now repeat the process again for the other hearts.
- Once you’ve done all 4 hearts, just print out onto good quality paper or card.
- Cut out the heart shapes and, using some glue or tape, stick some string to the back of each heart to create a garland. Done! Now you just need to find somewhere to hang it up!
More Tips & Tricks
- Use different paper designs for each heart
- Resize the papers (smaller) before clipping them. Also rotate them if you need to.
- Add buttons or bows on the string between hearts
- Use digital stamps instead of paper and stamp designs onto the hearts. Create a layer above each heart and stamp on that layer and then clip to the heart below as described above
- Create garlands for the Seasons, birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, and holidays.
- Get creative with photos and make a photo garland for a fun birthday decoration.
- Print the template onto card, cut out and use as a template for fabric and make yourself some fabric hearts for a garland.
I hope you’ve found this project helpful and inspirational! Go try it and post photos of your garlands in the gallery! I’d love to see what you come up with.
I used my Ella Papers to create my garlands.
