Tutorial: Clipping Masks

Have you ever thought, "Wow, I love this element, but I need it to be a different color"?  There are several ways to recolor, but sometimes a simple element can simply be used as a mask!

Here is a layout I made using "Stars And Stripes" by Scrapyrus Designs:

We'll focus on the fireworks element from this kit.  I have one in red on the left and one in blue on the right.  The kit just had the red one in it. Below you can see what happened when I put it on the sunburst paper.  The red firework lines were the same shade of red used in the paper.  It didn't affect the left side quite as much like it did the right.  I wanted those lines to come out from behind the red star element I used.  On the right, the red star on the red stripe with the disappearing red firework paint was a bit much.

See how the reds just blend and the paint disappears?

So, a quick and easy fix was to use the paint as a mask and just clip a paper to it.  I grabbed the dark blue solid paper and clipped it.  Voila!  Problem area solved!

This technique works well for paint or chalk when you simply want to change from one color to another and ensure it is color coordinated with the kit!

Here is the kit used for this tutorial:  Stars And Stripes

And, my final layout. =)

I hope this tutorial will help you expand how you use some of the those elements in your kits.

If you have enjoyed this tutorial, please feel free to link others here, but you are not allowed to copy its content or claim it as your own.  You may download a PDF version of it HERE.