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Making a Seamless Top Border |
1. Open the graphic you want to work with. 2. Click Edit/Copy Edit/Paste as new image. Work on the duplicate. 3. Cick on the background colour box (in this pic, the white one)  Select a colour not in the graphic, then Click Image/Add borders. Make sure that the symmetrical box is checked, type in 25. 4. With the selection tool, select a rectangle like this  5. Click on Image/Crop to Selection. You now have a rectangular box top and bottom of the graphic. 6. Click on the magic wand tool, hold down the shift key, and click on the top and bottom blank rectangles to select them both. 7. Choose a colour from the graphic, and flood fill the top and bottom using the bucket tool. Alternatively, select a small area, well in from the edges of the window, *click on Selections/Convert to seamless pattern, *click on the bucket tool, *click on the control panel, *choose Pattern from the drop down menu, *click on options, find your pattern, click ok, *and flood fill the two rectangles with the pattern (as I've done here)  8. click on Image/Effects/Drop Shadow. Have your box set up like this one.  9. Repeat step 8 (you've now applied 2 drop shadows) 10. Click Selections/All. Click Edit/Copy 11. Open a new image, say, 900 x 400 12. Click Edit/Paste as new layer twice, so you have two images on the strip. 13. Click on Image/Mirror. The two graphics will be facing eachother. Line them up exactly. 14. Click Layers/Merge All. 15. Click on the background with the magic wand tool. 16. Click Selections/Invert. Just the graphic will be highlighted. 17. click Edit/Paste as a new image. (This is really just to get the exact width). 18. Open a new image the same width as your graphic and 1000px deep. 19. Click on your graphic. Click Edit/Copy click on your new background, click Edit/Paste. Position the graphic at the top of the new image. 20. Click Layers/merge All (flatten). 21. Click on the empty white background with the magic wand tool. Fill with a colour from the graphic using the bucket tool. Use filters at this point if you want to, or add noise, just to add a little texture to the background. 22. Click Selections/Invert so that just the graphic is selected. 23. Click Image/Effects/Drop Shadow. Your settings will be retained from earlier, so just click ok. 24. With the selection tool, select within 3px each side of the entire stationery, like this  the reason for doing this is because when you applied the drop shadow, it does't quite fill the gap between the shadows of the two graphics, it's the nature of shadows to be at an angle. We need the shadow to be seamless, otherwise it's too obvious where the join is, and it ruins the stationery. 25. Click Image/Crop to selection. 26. Save in the usual way.  Feel free to visit my HOMEPAGE Sue C - SJC Designs |