Hello ladies, Sheri here with a couple tips and tricks for adding a little pizazz to your pages!  I use PSCS3, but the general concepts can be applied from almost any program.

First I’d like to start out with a quick refresh on maintaining the aspect ratio of either photos or elements.  The aspect ratio is the proportion of the horizontal and vertical components of your image.  When you change the size of something, but do not maintain the aspect ratio, you run the risk of creating an image that looks distorted, which detracts from your overall page design.

Here are some samples:

Here is a workspace screenshot of PSCS3:

Now on to creative cropping!  You can easily add another element of interest to your page, by creatively cropping your photos.  Here is a quick tutorial that will show you a few easy steps.

1. Click on the layer below your photo so that the custom shape will be placed under it.
2. Select your custom shape too.
3. Select a custom shape from your options tool bar.
4. Draw your custom shape, an outline will be visible even though the shape is below your photo.  Don’t worry too much, you can always change the location and size of the shape later.

5. Create a clipping mask by selecting “ctrl+alt+g” or by right clicking on the photo and selecting “create clipping mask”.
6. Apply your desired layer style (drop shadows, etc) to the custom shape.

Clipping masks are ideal, as they allow you the flexibility to change the orientation of the photo or the size of the crop without compromising the integrity of the image.

Happy scrapping!