Guest Author - Adele Sweeney

Got image editing software? One of the simplest things to do with your clipart collection is to make customised background papers for crafts, card making and scrapbooking.

I personally use Paint Shop Pro for most of my creative designing, but the procedure is probably similar in other image editing packages.

Using Clipart to Make Background Papers (Paint Shop Pro X)

(These instructions assume a basic knowledge of Paint Shop Pro or similar image editing software)

1. Open a new blank page, selecting a transparent background (see below for coloured backgrounds)

2. Locate your clipart and insert into your new blank page.

3. Re-size, adjust or edit the image as required.

4. Crop entire page down to just the image, leaving just enough space around it.

5. Select --> Effects - Image Effects - Seamless Tiling and choose to view a preview.

6. Play around with the 'Randomize Parameters' icon (the one that looks like a dice) until you see something you like, or adjust the various settings yourself and see what you can create.

7. When you see an effect you like, press OK and open an A4 or A5 new page.

8. Select the Flood Fill Tool.

9. Click onto the Materials palette and choose the Pattern tab where you will see the clipart pattern you just made as one of the patterns available. Adjust the size and rotate if required.

10. Click back into the new page to Flood Fill with your new clipart design...et voila, a customised background paper!




Making Background Papers with WordArt Clipart

Follow the same rules, except you insert your text instead of your clipart image, and design it as you wish using the text formatting options.

On this 'Valentine Kisses' paper, I applied a metallic effect to the words, then added a drop shadow once I'd added the text to the open document.

I also set the background to be a pale pink colour before I flood filled with my new WordArt ClipArt...


Putting a Colour, Texture or Pattern Behind Your Clipart

When you open the new A4 or A5 document, instead of selecting a transparent background, you can select a colour, pattern or texture for the ...or you can also do this once the page is open, by flood filling with a colour etc. Then just open a new layer to add the clipart or wordart.



Once you have created your background paper, save the image as a .png or .jpg file, Personally, I always then check the output using free Picasa software from Google, just to make sure it will print at the correct size, in good quality etc (if you have Picasa open while you are working on your clipart designs, you will see the images pop up at the side of your screen as they are automatically imported into Picasa for you...)

You could even make further edits from within Picasa appropriate to your project, such as re-sizing a larger pattern so it's more suitable for a small greeting card etc. You would use the 'shrink to fit' option to do this.

Custom background papers make lovely personalisation for handmade greeting cards and scrapbook pages, and you can play around and create all sorts of fancy effects with your graphics package.