Working with Overlays in PSP
by Christine Gundersen

We have so many fabulous overlays here at DSP! This link will show you all of the wonderful choices that are available:
http://store.digitalscrapbookplace.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_144

So now that you have found lots of new favorites, you might be wondering what you are supposed to do with them. The obvious answer is to plunk them on top of a paper or a LO, but did you know that there are more options?

For this tutorial, we will be using an overlay from my Laugh Out Loud Overlay Stack (http://store.digitalscrapbookplace.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=8735)

and a paper from On Safari. (http://store.digitalscrapbookplace.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=8665)

The first version is the overlay on top of the paper, nothing fancy.

Next there are many different blending modes, you can apply to the overlay. You can also adjust the opacity, giving you an unlimited number of combinations. In this version, I used the overlay blending mode with a 50% opacity.

You can also make a selection of the overlay, then right click on the BG paper in the layers palette. Choose New Mask Layer>Show  selection. Be sure to wink off the overlay layer and the BG will be masked in the shape of the overlay.

Masks and a brush can also be used on an overlay to either cut part off or change the opacity on just select areas. In the following version, I totally masked off the right side of the overlay by using black on the mask, while using gray in the top right corner to change the opacity of just that area.

There are 2 easy ways to recolor overlays, as well. The first option would be to use Adjust>Hue and Saturation>Colorize or Adjust>Hue and Saturation>Hue/Saturation/Lightness. Move the sliders to the desired color. Hint: sometimes you have to adjust the lightness to allow the color to show through. The other option is to use the color replacer tool, then you just paint in the new color.

As you can see, overlays are very versatile and will add so much to your pages.